“spring” ballet

On Sunday April 14, 2024 Dance Wisconsin will present a FREE performance geared toward elementary and middle school aged children to introduce them to classical and contemporary ballet as well as the theater experience. One segment will feature Act III, Scene Two- Jardin Anime of Le Corsaire which takes place in a beautiful garden. It will also include an educational section on theater etiquette, a contemporary ballet dance and the book “Harrison Dwight Ballerina and Knight” written by Rachael MacFarlane as told through ballet, and a question and answer session with the dancers. The entire event should last 50-60 minutes. This FREE performance is made possible by our season sponsors: Kramer Madision, North Central Utility, Cardinal Heating and Cooling, the Bank of Sun Prairie, A-1 Furniture and Bedding, Dupaco Community Credit Union, Maria Antoinette Real Estate and our generous donors. Please consider making a donation today to support this FREE event at MyArts (Madison Youth Arts) 1055 E Mifflin ST Madison WI 53703.

Regional Dance America’s National Festival

The season will conclude in Dayton Beach Florida at the National Regional Dance America Festival. One of the "Sonder" pieces will have been adjudicated in January and selected to be performed at the Festival in front of 1000s of dancers, directors, college educators, professional company directors and recruiters.

Regional Dance America’s National Festival - April 2024 - Daytona Beach Florida - Pictures from Adjudication 2024, January 29, 2024, with Adjudicator Jill Bahr. Ms. Bahr observed class as taught by Ballet Mistress, Elise Woloshin and then the dancers performed four concert length pieces for her to review. Dance Wisconsin also had five dancers perform either a classical variation or contemporary solo for Ms. Bahr in the hopes of being selected MidStates Region’s Outstanding Dancer. Ms. Bahr then met with the dancers providing feedback to them and their educators. It was a wonderful evening and results of the adjudication will become available in late February 2024.

New Works, “Sonder”

Sonder is the underlying theme of the season and is the name of our fall concert at the Overture Center of the Arts on October 7 and 8. The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows defines sonder as the profound feeling of realizing that everyone, including strangers passing in the street, has a life as complex as one's own, which they are constantly living despite one's personal lack of awareness of it. "Sonder" will be an evening of primarily contemporary ballet concert length pieces performed at the Overture Center of the Arts. Tickets will go on sale August 2023 via the Overture Center for the Arts website. Link to be made available when ready.

NUTCRACKER BALLET

A forty-six-year Madison holiday tradition, Dance Wisconsin’s Nutcracker is the only local performance that includes dancers, a live orchestra (the Dance Wisconsin Orchestra), and the magical vocals of the Monona Grove High School Singers. The cast includes members of the Dance Wisconsin Company, additional dancers from all over south central Wisconsin including the counties of Dane, Green, Rock, Iowa, Waukesha and Sauk.

The first concept of what is now Dance Wisconsin began in 1976 as Madison Youth Ballet with a production of the Nutcracker at West High School. Madison Youth Ballet transformed into Wisconsin Dance Ensemble and a partnership was formed with the Madison Civic Center in 1981. Ms. Retrum worked very closely with David Lew Crosby, then Director of the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, and the Nutcracker was accompanied by live orchestra music. In 1999 Wisconsin Dance Ensemble made another transformation to Dance Wisconsin and the home of its productions moved to the Wisconsin Union Theater and Taras Nahriniak formed the Dance Wisconsin Orchestra.

Repertoire

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

Coppélia

Dance for Life

La Fille Mal Gardée

New Works

Nutcracker Ballet

Nutcracker Fantasy

Paquita

Peter and the Wolf

Peter Rabbit's Ballet

Les Sylphides

Wizard of Oz