(class chatter) - Let's start from the top.

All right, it is a work through.

Please no stress.

(soft music) - [Narrator] Grace, power, poise, beauty.

These are just some of the words that describe ballet.

(soft music) It's an art form brimming with vibrancy and intrigue.

Ballet captivates, entertains, and inspires.

On the surface, it's impressive for its feats of strength.

Underneath, it's as mentally demanding as it is physically.

Join us on this episode of The Arts Page, as we explore the underlying nuances of the art of dance.

(soft music) (bright music) (bright music) South of downtown in Milwaukee's Third Ward, the Baumgartner Center for Dance opened in 2019.

The 52,000 square foot building is home to the Milwaukee Ballet, and its opening, celebrated the company's 50th anniversary.

(bright music) Parker Brasser-Vos is a leading artist at the Milwaukee Ballet.

He fell in love with the discipline required to be a professional dancer.

- Parker, ballet is so structured, there are right and wrong ways to do it.

What is it about that discipline part of ballet that appeals to you so much?

- So I think that true art has a mix of form and passion.

If you just have passion, then of course you have the pure joy of just flying around the room.

But there's no structure, you know?

And if you have just structure with no passion, it's really boring and no one cares.

So true art, I think is a mixture of those two things.

(soft music) And ballet, I think, expresses that beautifully.

I think in the past few years, people have been very critical of dance and ballet in regards to, oh it's outdated.

Or, these stories don't make any sense.

And it's like, just wait a minute, just wait a minute.

In ballet's defense, let me just say, the stories that are created for classical ballet, that exist, are not really supposed to make sense.

Nothing in life is perfectly logical.

There are vessels through which we can all share in the deepest parts of our emotion.

We may not be able to visit the grave and have the dead rise up like in "Giselle", but we all know what betrayal feels like when Giselle's heart's broken.

So I think if we can suspend belief, we can get to the real emotional core of these stories and everyone can relate to them.

The discipline makes it accessible for the dancer to track their progress, I think.

I think, if the rule is that the leg has to be here and it has to be rotated, you achieve that, and you can feel good about yourself.

Do you know what I mean?

Or you have something to aim at, a real hardcore goal.

Pick a turn, pick a jump, pick something for your extension.

If you achieve that for the day, you can look at yourself in the mirror and go home happy.

That's true peace, that's what I try to do.

But the discipline is, I think, it's there to provide the blueprint and the structure so that when the dancer goes on stage, you don't have anything to worry about.

- [Narrator] Raven Loan hails from the south of Australia, she's only been professionally dancing for a few years, but has traveled the globe.

She joined the Milwaukee Ballet in the 2022, 23 season.

- So you are in the early stages of your career.

- Yeah.

- What have been some of the challenges so far as a young performer?

- So I think that transitioning from student to professional is quite a big difference.

(bright music) As a student, you just really focus on technique.

That's the main goal, to just build your technique as best as you can.

But as a professional, the artistry really comes into it.

And I've found it hard to balance still working on my technique with also working on my artistry.

It has been difficult coming into the studio and having a whole list of things that I need to think about rehearsal wise, but also still just focusing on my techniques.

- What have been some of the most cherished moments from this early part of your career?

- Interacting with the experienced dancers definitely has been great.

They give so much insight and performing Nutcracker last year was definitely a highlight for me so far.

It's just so much fun to be in that environment and I learned so much.

- When you're performing, what do you hope people take away from seeing you perform?

How do you want them to feel?

- I just want to inspire people.

The theater's just so magical and beautiful.

(soft music) And you never know who's gonna be in the audience.

That could be a little girl, same as me, who sees a performance and then that just changes their life.

Inspiring people is definitely my top priority.

- [Narrator] Michael Pink is the Milwaukee Ballet's artistic director.

He joined the company in the early 2000's and has been critical to the growth and success of dance in Milwaukee.

- Michael, you have been here over two decades now.

Congratulations.

- Well, thank you for reminding me.

(laughter) - I'm sure it just flown by.

- Indeed, it has.

It truly has.

- Well, how have you seen ballet change here in Milwaukee over these past two decades?

- Well, I think it's changed significantly and I think one of the things that I always like to say is, let's not call it just ballet, let's call it dance.

Because there's so much dance in the community that we just have to harvest the talent and the enthusiasm, and that's where the evolving of the Milwaukee Ballet has been very crucial to our dance heritage here, because I have tried to really curate new work, existing work, and to take narrative dance and elevate it to a place where our unsuspecting unknowledgeable audience have an access point so they can come in and then I truly believe that once you get people in, you tell them a good story, (soft music) they leave and they have an emotional response to it.

The chances are they'll talk about it, but also they'll come back and then the next time they come back, their expectations have taken a big step up.

So we're elevating the process.

We're educating without really sort of forcing people to be aware of that.

We're doing it in a constructive, and I guess a subliminal way that I think resonates with people.

And once we have an emotional visceral response to something, it stays with us.

Good or bad?

(soft music) - [Narrator] Passion, authenticity, honesty, dance has the power to move you.

It tells a story in a way that is uniquely its own.

These are the true qualities of the art of dance.

(soft music) Thanks for watching The Arts Page.

Please like, subscribe, and turn on notifications for more stories of art in our community.