Madison Ballet defies convention with shoulder rolls and combat boots | Entertainment

Ballet on the stage is as graceful as it gets. The dancers appear to be as light as a feather, executing pirouettes and jetes with immense poise, never breaking a visible sweat. 

In the close quarters of Madison Ballet’s studios on Odana Road, things look different. 

As the company prepares for its mixed repertory program “Re: Focus Pointes of View,” opening this weekend in Overture Center’s Promenade Hall, nothing hides the dancers’ flushed cheeks and perspiration. Performers wear shredded tights and ripped pointe shoes, torn apart from hours of being dragged, lifted and spun around in practice. 

When not making the floor shake with their leaps and lands, dancers sit on the sidelines nursing their blistered and bandaged feet. 

“Last week, a dancer busted their lip open after slipping on the floor, and another’s head collided with their partner’s teeth during a lift,” said Ja’ Malik, Madison Ballet’s artistic executive director and one of four choreographers behind the upcoming show. 

“Re:Focus” is an anthology show, spotlighting traditional ballet techniques performed in various, nontraditional ways from gender swapping to boot stomping. 

“Our performers get concussions and dance with hurt ankles and damaged knees,” Ja’ Malik said. “They don’t get paid a lot but they kill themselves to be here because they love it. Even if you don’t like the music and ballet isn’t your thing, still see the show just to appreciate the athleticism.” 

When ballet gets flirty

There are five different ballets in the 95-minute show, including three Madison premiers: Heinz Poll’s “Schubert Waltzes” exploring different stages of love to the tunes of Franz Schubert; Tom Mattingly’s explosive “Flight” with music by Oliver Davis; and Ja’ Malik’s “Variations on a Grosso.”

“Variations on a Grosso” is a new rendition on Ja’ Malik’s 2013 ballet, accompanied by Baroque Italian composer Arcangelo Correli’s call-and-response music.

The ballet is now 13 minutes longer and 80% is brand new choreography. Classic turns and pirouettes are accompanied by flirty butt bumps and shoulder rolls. It’s like Jane Austen produced a saucy ballet influenced by catwalk model moves. 

“Some of these ballets are very contemporary, some are neoclassical,” said Ja’ Malik, who has a second ballet in “Pointes of View” called “Agapé,” focused on exploring vulnerability between two men in traditional ballet skirts. 

“Variations on a Grosso,” he said, was influenced by Baroque-era dances. 

“I was watching ‘The Tudors’ at the time and was obsessed with movies like ‘Elizabeth’ and the documentaries about Mary and Anne Boleyn,” he said. “In those days, flirtations were all done with the bosom because these big dresses covered up so much. I wanted to explore what these movements would look like in ballet with more leg showing.”

“Variations” is a sensuous number, where dancers have their eyes locked on either each other or the audience while striking beautiful poses celebrating the art of ballet and the athletic capabilities of the body. The quick and witty additions of hip pops amidst the elegant formality in the dance are delightful, designed to subvert expectations.

“We also have moments where not all of the movements are synched up,” Ja’ Malik said. “There are moments of unison but there are times we break out of that. It’s how we keep the audience awake and interested even when things are very tranquil.”

Ballerinas in combat boots

Few “Pointes of View” works subvert expectations more than School of Madison Ballet principal and rehearsal director Richard Walters’ humorous “Weibermacht.” 

The ballet is performed by an all female ensemble and “kicks off” with ballerinas trying to break out of their pointe shoes. At one point in the piece, a ballerina dressed in a knee-length tulle skirt attempts to teach another female dancer in a blazer and combat boots how to perform traditional ballet moves from rond de jambes (a circular movement with one leg) to assembles (a side jump, where your legs meet in the air). 

Eventually, the entire stage is filled with ballerinas stomping in the boots. It’s very reminiscent of Charlie Chaplin humor, mixed with female empowerment.  

“The word ‘Weibermacht’ actually means ‘power of women’ in German,” Walters said. “Mozart’s music goes so well with it because it’s got these moments of big vibrancy and power but also moments where it’s just these little flutes. It’s almost cartoonish … but it’s a lot about disruption and changing the view of what it means to be a female dancer. 

“We also call ballet shoes ‘boots’ so it’s a bit of a play on that as well.”

The dancers themselves were not used to attempting pointed-toe ballet techniques in flat-footed boots. 

“It took a while for them to get the hang of turning in those shoes,” Walters said. “But they’ve all been having a lot of fun, poking at these stereotypes, and have helped to make this performance so enjoyable.” 

While “Pointes of View” is focused more on changing views of technique rather than portraying inspiring messages, both Ja’ Malik and Walters encourage attendees — both avid ballet fans and otherwise — to “find something in the dance that reminds you of you.”

“It doesn’t have to be deep,” Walters said. 

“I watch Richard’s ballet and think, ‘That’s just me struggling on a Monday,” Ja’ Malik added. “And Tom’s ballet is me on a weekend, feeling easy and breezy. 

“There’s no wrong way to connect with art. We just want you to stay awake and stay interested.”