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Here's a comprehensive list of all of the dance performances scheduled for Spring 2020 in Milwaukee.
February
DANCE
Out of Many, One (World Premiere) Danceworks Performance MKE Feb. 6-8
Danceworks Performance Company added eight new members to its well-known core of dancers and choreographers and attached MKE to its name to signal a new commitment to represent the city’s many cultures. The two-story glass wall of the Jan Serr Studio on the 6th floor of UWM’s Kenilworth Square offers a spectacular view of the city, a perfect backdrop for the new company’s first concert, featuring dances by Dani Kuepper, Gina Laurenzi and Dawn Springer. (John Schneider)
Black Like Me Marcus Center (Wilson Theatre) Feb. 12 “Ballet Russe Reimagined” (3 World Premieres) Milwaukee Ballet (Pabst Theater) Feb. 13-16 “Hyperlocal MKE #22—Nexus” Hyperlocal MKE Feb. 23
All-too-rare Hyperlocal MKE performances are fully improvised by a varying cast of excellent dancers and musicians, working within agreed-upon guidelines and inspired by a word, in this case “nexus,” meaning a central point of connection. According to co-founder Maria Gillespie, this 22nd edition at 4p.m. in the Jan Serr Studio will be the only one this spring and will feature a smaller, more intimate cast of seasoned professionals including many of the original players. (John Schneider)
Mala! Mala! (World Premiere) Ko-Thi Dance Company Feb. 23
“Mala! Mala!, meaning ‘to shine,’ comes from the Manding language of West Africa,” says Demar Walker, the young artistic director of Milwaukee’s oldest African Dance Company. This free Sunday 6:00 p.m. concert will feature both the adult company and Ton Ko-Thi Children Performing Ensemble at Wisconsin Lutheran College’s Center for the Arts & Performance. Seating is limited. RSVP at the website. Walker promises “to have you clapping your hands and rocking in your seats!” (John Schneider)
The Tap Pack South Milwaukee Performing Arts Center Feb. 29
March
“DIAVOLO / Architecture in Motion” Sharon Lynn Wilson Center for the Arts (Performing Arts Series) March 1 “Momentum” (World Premieres) Milwaukee Ballet II March 7 Off the Page (World Premiere) Wild Space Dance Company March 12-14
Inspired by books, reading and the Boswell Book Company’s bookstore itself, Debra Loewen’s new site-specific adventure will “move the audience in small groups through the bookstore’s cozy niches and book-lined shelves to view and ‘read’ dances,” she says. “Readings from short stories, untrue tales, poetry, children’s classics, teen fiction and mystery-thrillers will accompany dancers in a mix-up of genres. The store windows will offer opportunities for an outside-inside event with audiences viewing from either location.” (John Schneider)
“Milwaukee Ballet II: Momentum” Cardinal Stritch University March 14 “Irish Eve with Trinity Dancers, Rising Gael & Drew Hayes” Cedarburg Cultural Center March 14 “DanceScapes ’20” (Student Production) UW-Whitewater Dance March 14-17 Germantown Community Dance Recital Germantown Performing Arts Center March 17 The Turbulence Project (World Premiere) DanceCircus March 19-22
At Next Act Theatre, with a pay-what-you-can preview on March 18, these new works by artistic director Betty Salamun “convey deeply felt environmental concerns in movement, stories and video,” Salamun says. Performing with poet Cy Ozgood, she addresses “what we’ve lost in our world and what is becoming our legacy. Part lullaby and part chronicling of environmental crimes, this series of encounters reveals the infinitely deep connectedness of our planet and our capacity to transform.” (John Schneider)
Rosie Herrera Dance Theatre: Make Believe and Carne Viva John Michael Kohler Arts Center March 19 Hiplet Ballerinas Marcus Center (Wilson Theatre) March 26 “PUSH.” (World Premieres) Milwaukee Ballet March 26-29 an-am-ne-sis (World Premieres) Danceworks’ DanceLAB Emerging Choreographers Series March 28
April
Water on Water (World Premieres) Water Street Dance Milwaukee April 11
Milwaukee’s new professional contemporary dance company continues to experiment. According to artistic director Morgan Williams, each dancer will perform a solo choreographed by another dancer and also create a solo on a fellow member. “This showcase of both physicality and creativity is a presentation not only of the company members’ abilities as movers but also as visionaries and creatives. It’s sure to speak volumes on the company’s versatility. You’ll see the dancers as never before.” (John Schneider)
“Springdances” (Student Production) (World Premieres) UWM Peck School of the Arts Dance April 16-19
UWM’s spring concert of premieres by faculty and guest choreographers created with student dancers is always rich in variety, wit, passion and purpose. In the Jan Serr Studio this year, one highlight will be an NEA-funded project with San Francisco-based choreographer Joe Goode developed in partnership with FORGE Milwaukee—our local branch of the national transgender anti-violence organization that provides direct services to transgender, gender non-conforming and gender-nonbinary survivors of sexual assault. (John Schneider)
Stomp Kohler Foundation (Distinguished Guest Series) April 17 “Groove Regional Dance Competition” Wisconsin Center District (Miller High Life Theatre) April 24-26
May
“Spotlight Dance Cup” Wisconsin Center District (Miller High Life Theatre) May 1-3 “Holding the Circle within Us” (Working Title) (World Premiere) Lake Arts Project May 2
Area high school students join professional artists in an original performance at Milwaukee Ballet’s new studio theater at 128 N. Jackson St. Collaborators include Milwaukee Ballet School and Academy, Alliance High School, Milwaukee Ballet’s Pre-Professional Company and dancers Barry Molina and Lizzie Tripp, choreographers Catey Ott Thompson, Thom Dancy and Ashley McQueen, the military veterans’ theater company Feast of Crispian, jazz musician Ryan Meisel and dance artist and social justice visionary Adam McKinney of DNAWorks. (John Schneider)
“Celebrate Dance” (Student Production) Marquette University Dance May 3 “African Diaspora, Salsa/Merengue Showing” (Student Production) UWM Peck School of the Arts May 6 “Hip-Hop Showcase” (Student Production) UWM Peck School of the Arts May 7 Away from the Mirror (Student Production) Carthage College Dance @ East Library May 8-9 “SYNAPSE: An Artistic Impulse” Catey Ott Dance Collective May 9 Peter Pan Milwaukee Ballet May 9-17
J.M. Barrie’s beloved children’s classic returns to the Milwaukee Ballet for a 50th anniversary celebration. Artistic director Michael Pink’s production of Peter Pan premiered in 2010. Since then, the production has gone on to be performed internationally and broadcast nationally by PBS. Featuring the Milwaukee Ballet School & Academy, Milwaukee Ballet Orchestra and Milwaukee Children’s Choir. (Harry Cherkinian)
101 Ways to Enter and Exit (Stage Door Left) (World Premiere) Danceworks Performance MKE May 14-16 “Creation Dance Regional Competition” Wisconsin Center District (Miller High Life Theatre) May 29-31
