Dance

Already break your New Year’s resolution? Make a brand-new one: to discover more Milwaukee dance this spring.

Dance companies are fewer than theater companies or musical ensembles. But choreographic talent abounds here.

Danceworks kicks off the season, with The Sequel! running Jan. 20-29. The show marks a return to the aesthetics of Hollywood films, which Danceworks first explored last year in Lights, DPC…Action!  Then, at the end of April, they celebrate 15 years as a company with Want or Need, an introspective show running April 27 to May 6.

The Milwaukee Ballet dances in both winter and spring. Their Winter Series (Feb. 16-19) at the Pabst Theater features three still-unnamed world premieres, including one by Mauro de Candia, the winner of the Ballet’s 2011 international choreographer competition Genesis. The Spring Series (March 29-April 1), at Uihlein Hall, comprises Lila York’s Celts, a tribute to both traditional and contemporary Irish dance; The Last Glass, set to the music of Beirut; and Extremely Close, to piano solos. May 10-13, MBC will revive artistic director Michael Pink’s Peter Pan. The work premiered in 2010 and proved a hit for adults and children alike.

Hungry for more? Wild Space has a  Delicious show, a fusion of cooking and choreography at the Rep’s Stiemke Theater Feb. 9-11. Turns out Wild Space founding member Jennifer Goetzinger, is a local chef. She’ll be cooking onstage for much of the show. As the summer begins, the company and artistic director Debra Loewen will take over Turner Hall for one Wild Night (June 23) exploring travel and wanderlust.

Dance-lovers with that wanderlust can explore earlier in the season too, with a smattering of visiting options scattered about the city. Out at the Wilson Center, you can discover the touring Ailey II group on Feb. 14, straight from Alvin Ailey’s famous dance company. You can also travel to MSOE’s Todd Wehr Conference Center on April 14, where Alverno Presents will bring David Zambrano Dance Company to town for Soul Project, a clever show where the dancing — all to the music of R&B/soul greats like Aretha Franklin and Marvin Gaye — happens all around you.

Flamenco will come to the South Milwaukee Performing Arts Center on Feb. 4, in the form of Flamenco Vivo Carlota Santana. Santana co-founded the company in 1983, with the late Roberto Lorca. Since then, Flamenco Vivo has traveled the world and won wide acclaim.

I’m sure this isn’t an exhaustive list, so if you’ve got more dance discoveries I’ve left out, add them in the comments below. You should also check in regularly with TCD, as we’ll be covering these shows in much greater detail as they approach. And if you haven’t already, bookmark our 2011-2012 Performing Arts Guide, which I’ll be updating later this week to reflect the remainder of the year. First on my list, though, is to ship out guides for the spring music and theater season, which should be on-site tomorrow and Wednesday. Stay tuned, arts fans.