By definition, dance is art in motion, and figuratively speaking, Milwaukee’s dance culture is not standing still. The theme of the Shepherd Express’ 2019 Spring Arts Guide is dance, a field in performing arts that has been the site of great activity.
A decade ago, Milwaukee’s dance season was compact: four shows and The Nutcracker by Milwaukee Ballet; three by Danceworks Performance Company; and three—including at least one exciting site-specific adventure—by Debra Loewen’s Wild Space Dance Company. Add to that UW-Milwaukee Dance Department’s winter and summer concerts, a couple of touring shows hosted by (now defunct) Alverno Presents and the rare performance by the long-and-still-standing DanceCircus and Ko-Thi Dance Company. In summer, Trinity Irish Dance and a variety of cultural dance groups might make an appearance along with early Danceworks DanceLAB showcases.
Today, that season will also include performances by the Catey Ott Dance Collective, HyperlocalMKE, Maria Gillespie/The Collaboratory, Andrea and Daniel Burkholder, SueMo: A Dance Experience, Dawn Springer Dance Project, Karlies Kelly’s Panadanza, Lake Arts Project, Gina Laurenzi Dance Project, ReVamped Dance Company, Poison D, Joshua Yang Project, Fusion Collective and a great many individual artists presenting original work in found spaces, somehow supported.
To honor the extraordinary growth of Milwaukee’s dance culture, we interviewed five representatives of local companies, including financially struggling outsiders as well as the richly endowed. Their voices are spread across our 2019 Spring Arts Guide, which offers Southeast Wisconsin’s most comprehensive arts calendar along with critics’ choices in all media.
Milwaukee will never be mistaken for New York City, and in many ways, that’s a good thing. Our city has long been a good environment for nurturing artists. Increasingly, it’s a place that draws performing artists from around the nation and beyond.
David Luhrssen Arts Guide Editor John Schneider Arts Guide Assistant Editor
