The Milwaukee Ballet is a professional ballet company founded by Roberta Boorse of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States. It is located in
Milwaukee
Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...
, and is currently run by
Michael Pink, the artistic director.
History
The Milwaukee Ballet was founded in 1969, and held its first performance on April 24, 1970 at the School of Fine Arts at the
University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee
The University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee (UW–Milwaukee, UWM, or Milwaukee) is a Public university, public Urban university, urban research university in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States. It is the largest university in the Milwaukee metropo ...
. Less than a year later the company began performing in Uihlein Hall at the
Marcus Center for the Performing Arts, where it still performs today.
Milwaukee Ballet's Studio was located at the Jodi Peck Center until Fall 2019 until the opening of their new studio, the Baumgartner Center for Dance. The Baumgatner Center for Dance is a new 52,000-foot, state-of-the-art facility in
Milwaukee's Third Ward.
In 1975 the Milwaukee Ballet opened an affiliated school, the Milwaukee Ballet School. Today it is the only dance school in the Midwest accredited by the National Association of Schools of Dance, which allows it to offer work
visas to foreign dance students.
On average the company holds 45 performances each year, which have an annual attendance of over 50,000 people. Production of
the Nutcracker
''The Nutcracker'' (, ), Opus number, Op. 71, is an 1892 two-act classical ballet (conceived as a '; ) by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, set on Christmas Eve at the foot of a Christmas tree in a child's imagination featuring a Nutcracker doll. Th ...
has become a staple of the company, and it continues to be performed annually since 1977.
The Milwaukee Ballet produces at least one world premiere each year.
Former dancers
*
Ryan Martin (2005-2015)
[
]
External links
Milwaukee BalletMilwaukee Ballet School
References
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Ballet companies in the United States
Culture of Milwaukee
1969 establishments in Wisconsin
Performing groups established in 1969
Dance in Wisconsin