Festival City Symphony
MUSIC:
Festival City Symphony: ‘Going for Baroque’ @ The Pabst Theater, Jan. 29 | More information
The Festival City Symphony continues its season with a concert of familiar and not-so-familiar Baroque-era pieces, some of which appear in much more modern guises. To many, Johann Sebastian Bach is known by one piece, his Toccata and Fugue in D Minor; originally composed for organ solo, we hear it in Leopold Stokowski’s magnificent arrangement for full orchestra. Tomaso Albinoni is a Baroque one-hit wonder with his immortal Adagio; here it’s to be performed in a new orchestral arrangement written specifically for the FCS. Other works on the program include pieces by George Frideric Handel and Francesco Manfredini. (John Jahn)
DANCE:
MBII: ‘Momentum’ @ South Milwaukee PAC, Jan. 28 | More information
In what SMPAC bills as “the crowning show of their season,” Milwaukee Ballet II (MBII) dancers will “showcase their techniques, artistry and athleticism in a diverse display of dance” in two performances (2 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.). Many of the Milwaukee Ballet Company’s dancers are graduates of MBII’s esteemed training program. Now in its 39th year, MBII nurtures and develops dancers’ technical skills, preparing them for a professional dance career. Momentum features four world premiere dance pieces by choreographers Thom Dancy, Garrett Glassman, Tania Bolivia Vergara and Rolando Yanes. Milwaukee Ballet’s Daniel Boudewyns provides piano accompaniment and both shows will be followed by talkback sessions with the artists. (John Jahn)
DanceCircus: ‘Winterfest Splash Dance’ @ Urban Ecology Center-Washington Park, Jan. 28
DanceCircus is asking anyone, even those with two left feet, to join their self-described and ongoing “freshwater flash mob” called Splash Dance. DanceCircus, a modern dance company that’s been around for more than 40 years, provides education and entertainment for all ages within the large embrace of music, art, poetry, media and, well, dance. Splash Dance is specifically described as “a movement choir—a community outdoor celebration of water and the environment [that brings] the community together and often includes viewers in the dance!” (John Jahn)
‘Winterdances: Woven’ @ UW-Milwaukee’s Mainstage Theatre, Feb. 2-5
Each winter, excellent professional choreographers—most of them members of UWM’s dance faculty—present new works developed through the fall semester with student dancers. It’s a joy to attend these concerts since there’s no commercial motive, just the passion to test what’s possible and meaningful in dance today. This dark winter, Simone Ferro, Dani Kuepper, Darci Brown Wutz and the current New Work Award winner Daniel Schuchart have woven together projects involving all of the imperiled Peck School of the Arts departments and many Milwaukee communities. (John Schneider)
‘Real Time Fight and Flight’ @ Danceworks Studio Theater, Feb. 3
Christopher Elst will be the featured guest artist this month in Andrea and Daniel Burkholder’s First Friday series of movement and music performances. Elst is a certified fight choreographer and co-founder of Milwaukee’s Theater RED. He’s studying aerial work with Andrea and she’s learning stage combat from him. They’ll perform two duets, one in each of their fields of expertise, and share stage combat secrets with the audience. Daniel and Andrea will dance too, playing with partnering tensions in the air and on the ground. The hour-long, you-set-the-price, cash-only show starts at 8:30 p.m. (John Schneider)
