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Milwaukee Ballet Stays on âPointeâ for Live/Virtual Dance Concert
Photo Credit: Nathaniel Davauer
It was wrenching to hear live applause as I watched Milwaukee Balletâs new concert, âTo the Pointe,â on my home TV screen. âWeâre in the health business,â artistic director Michael Pink told me recently and the city health inspectors agreed. Fifty people were permitted at each performance last week in the companyâs intimate Third Ward studio. I promised myself Iâd be there next time. On Demand viewing has this consolation, though: I can enjoy the show repeatedly for three days.
The dancers look better than ever, which is saying a lot. Not only have they mastered the demands of this concertâs classical style, they seem to have grown as artists. Maybe thatâs because theyâve grappled with so much to make this. Or maybe itâs just that Iâve missed them so much.
Thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, the season artistic director Michael Pink and the Milwaukee Ballet are having is far from the one they planned. But in pirouetting to the new realities, the ballet is creating work that s friendly to new audiences.
The ballet opened To the Pointe Thursday in two ways: as a live performance for a limited capacity audience at its Baumgartner Center for Dance, 128 N. Jackson St., and as a video on demand for ticketholders through March 7. In line with city health regulations, the socially distanced live audience is limited to 25% of capacity, maxing out at 50 people. To the Pointe features three classical ballets, plus choreography by Pink and Timothy O Donnell in a kindred spirit, set on classical music. These works challenge the dancers to exhibit grace while being exact in their form and technique.