It didn’t rank up there with the National Football league draft, but the Genesis draft was just as exciting if you are a fan of ballet.
Genesis is the international choreography competition staged every two years by Michael Pink and his Milwaukee Ballet Company. This year Genesis will take place at the Pabst Theater Feb. 16-19.
The competition features three young guest choreographers who are selected from a big field of applicants. The chance to work on a daily basis with a professional company and with the full support of the entire organization is very attractive to choreographers the world over.
Each choreographer gets eight dancers to work with, and they chose them during a draft at the start of the week. Pink held two large flower pots, one with the male dancers and one with the female dancers. Each choreographer drew on an alternating basis until they each had a mini-company of eight dancers.
The actual choreography started the same day and all three are works in progress.
"These three choreographers all have a recognized body of work," Pink said. "They look young but they have a lot of great work behind them. This is going to be something very special for Milwaukee."
Here are the three contestants, their teams, and the music they will be using.
Enrico Morelli
Jonathan Batista, Marize Fumero, Davit Hovhannisyan, Erik Johnson, Alexander Negron, Luz San Miguel, Lizzie Tripp, Lahna Vanderbush.
Morelli will be using a Piano Concerto by Chopin and a new composition by Adrien Casalis, a young French musician who composes electronic music.
Mariana Oliveira
Parker Brasser-Vos, Itzel Hernandez, Annia Hidalgo, Quinby Kasch – Milwaukee Ballet II, Rachel Malehorn, Timothy O’Donnell, Isaac Sharratt, Ariel Soto.
Oliveira will be using music from Charlie Chaplin’s "The Circus."
George Williamson
Marie Collins, Randy Crespo, Garrett Glassman, Alana Griffith, Patrick Howell, Janel Meindersee, Barry Molina, Nicole Teague-Howell.
Williamson will be using a Violin Concerto by Jean Sibelius and Rachmaninoff’s Vespers.
Information on tickets and showtimes can be found on the ballet’s brand new website here.
With a history in Milwaukee stretching back decades, Dave tries to bring a unique perspective to his writing, whether it's sports, politics, theater or any other issue.
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