Milwaukee Ballet. - Milwaukee, WI - dance reviews

Dance Magazine, Feb, 1996 by Beth Berdes

Milwaukee - Steamy primeval jungles, the pursuit of illusion over reality, and magical exotic islands are not easy things to come by, especially in the middle of winter in Wisconsin. But Milwaukee Ballet, one of the Midwest's best-kept cultural secrets, will bring all these back when it re-stages Margo Sappington's popular Virgin Forest February 15-18. The program will also include George Balanchine's Concerto Barocco and Peter Anastos's Yes, Virginia, Another Piano Ballet.

Virgin Forest, first offered in 1987, is one of Milwaukee Ballet's most daring and ambitious adventures to date. Based on Sappington's imaginative interpretation of five Henri Rousseau jungle paintings, this twenty-six minute ballet features a commissioned score by Paul Schwartz, hand-painted costumes by former Joffrey Ballet dancer Christian Holder, and G.W. Mercier's set design of a jungle fantasy. The original production, says Milwaukee Ballet artistic director Basil Thompson, was "very expense, very risky, and a huge success. You see Rousseau's paintings being brought to life on an enormous, three-dimensional scale."

"The traditional evening-length ballets will always be our company's cornerstones," says Thompson, "They are extremely popular and carry very few financial risks. But I'm equally as committed to exploring more avant-garde, contemporary choreography for our repertory. Choreographers like Louis Falco, David Parsons, and Paul Taylor. Plus, we just received the green light from the Antony Tudor Foundation."