MILWAUKEE – Ballet has been around for hundreds of years, but “it still resonates,” according to Michael Pink, artistic director for the Milwaukee Ballet.
“Dance is still a viable dream for so many children,” Pink told Wisconsin’s Morning News on Wednesday. “We have more than 650 students (in Milwaukee Ballet). That’s incredible.”
Wednesday marked World Ballet Day, a day that includes live-streamed rehearsals and backstage access.
“That, in itself, reminds you how many people pursue a career as a dancer,” he said. “The balance is to preserve the legacy and create for the future. We are feeding the next generation with new work. What a dancer could do fifty years ago is a fraction of what they can do today.”
“We’re pushing the boundaries and pushing the limits. That’s why we need more orthopedic surgeons,” he joked.
Pink referenced the company’s new re-imagined Nutcracker performance.
“It’s a whole newly imagined world,” he explained. “I want people to be sucked into the whole journey. (But) I certainly don’t want to trample on the audience’s fond memories.”