Milwaukee Ballet Opens its Season with ‘Giselle’

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Photo Via Milwaukee Ballet - Facebook (Luz San Miguel, Milwaukee Ballet Company, Mark Frohna, Nathaniel Davauer)

Giselle (2015)

Last week, I had the pleasure of sitting down with Michael Pink, artistic director of the Milwaukee Ballet and choreographer of the company’s season premiere production: Giselle, a classical romantic ballet composed by Adolphe Adam. We discussed his vision for the show, the ways in which new dancers can influence how the story is portrayed, and how a story of heartbreak and betrayal can still build community. 

Pink is a seasoned choreographer, having worked not only across the U.S., but also internationally, creating and recreating both classic and original ballets for professional companies. Giselle is a ballet with which Pink has had a long relationship; he choreographed the Milwaukee Ballet’s production back in 2015, and while he plans to use the same physical production, he reminded me that “[the show] is live; it’s continually growing and evolving.”  

Pink’s conceit lies in a shot forward in time by a hundred years: instead of a village in the 1840s, we will become acquainted with the community living in a ghetto in the 1940s. “It is about betrayal and revenge and some amount of forgiveness,” Pink said. “So, it [sits] very well in the context of World War II.”  

While this shift in period provides ample opportunity to cut down on costs—most of the costumes have been bought from thrift and antique stores, revitalizing real clothes in a creative way instead of getting carried away with exotic or elaborate designs made with new materials—it more importantly opens a door for audiences, inviting them to dig deeper into a more recognizable story. 

Violins of Hope 

While the production does not dive into specifics regarding the geography of the piece—who these people are and who the occupying forces are—out of respect for people’s memories, audiences can draw those parallels for themselves. “Now in this moment in time it’s even more powerful,” Pink said, explaining the Ballet’s partnership with Violins of Hope. One of the instruments from the organization, which has numerous residencies all throughout the state of Wisconsin until January 2026, will be played by one of the performance’s five on-stage musicians. Each instrument salvaged from the Holocaust has a story of loss and perseverance behind it, so it makes sense that one should find its way to the stage for this reworking of Giselle, providing life and music to the community portrayed there. Pink told me that the whole room felt changed when they brought in those five musicians for their first rehearsal with the dancers: “I’m thinking, ‘that’s all we need: five musicians!’” 

The dancer-actors have been mastering both a contemporary and classical vocabulary for this production: the first act will be more heavily steeped in the traditional choreography, while the second act will dive into a more contemporary style of movement, reflecting the consequences of the story and how the larger community we see on stage has been and will be affected. This kind of show requires a real maturity from its dancers, Pink told me, and he’s found the last few weeks creatively fruitful, digging into the material and shifting and changing elements based on the great work being done by all the artists involved. 

He also told me that his desire is for audiences to come ready to engage with the story. It’s relevant, and it’s going to be a powerful piece of theater that requires real effort: “Sometimes,” he remarked, “it’s not a bad thing to sit there and go, ‘My God.’”  

Performances are October 17-18 at 7:30 p.m. and October 18-19 at 2 p.m., at the Marcus Performing Arts Center, 929 N Water St. Contains scenes of gun violence. For information or tickets, contact the Box Office at 414-902-2103 or email tickets@milwaukeeballet.org.