Milwaukee Ballet Company artistic director Michael Pink will continue heading the organization’s dance productions for the next five years through a contract extension to 2020.
Pink has choreographed and directed ballet productions for Milwaukee for 13 seasons and has become “a major force” in the city’s arts scene, said Jud Snyder, president of BMO Harris Equipment Finance Company and board chair and president of the Milwaukee Ballet.
“He continues to push the artistic and cultural boundaries of our community and expand our understanding of a classic art form,” Snyder said in a press release. “We are thrilled to extend Michael’s contract.”
The Milwaukee Ballet Company has also announced a new executive director, dance industry veteran Julia Glawe, who brings international dance administration experience to Milwaukee.
Glawe’s career in the performing arts spans more than 25 years. Throughout the past 17 years, she has focused on booking and touring international dance productions. During 15 of those years, she worked as senior vice president for the Dance Division of IMG Artists.
Glawe also spent five years at the Hubbard Street Dance Center, a touring dance company located in Chicago, where she was responsible for booking and outreach activities.
“Julie has a quiet confidence, an entrepreneurial spirit, and a great passion for ballet,” Snyder said. “She brings outstanding international experience and business acumen to the company, as well as a wonderfully grounded sense of the Midwest thanks to her personal and professional connections here.”
With her background in the international dance scene, Glawe will “inject unique vibrancy” into both Milwaukee’s ballet company and broader arts community, Pink said.
She was selected for the role of executive director after a national search.
While solidifying its leadership team, the Milwaukee Ballet Company has launched a matching campaign to fund new stage works.
The “Campaign for New Work,” backed by Sue and Allan “Bud” Selig, took flight during the ballet company’s annual board meeting on Tuesday.
Additionally, the ballet company has named a set of new board directors: Griselda Aldrete, president and chief executive officer of Hispanic Professionals of Greater Milwaukee; Mark Benskin, senior vice president, managing director, U.S. Bank Private Client Reserve; William Bonifas, executive vice president, CBRE; and Chris Piotrowski, executive vice president and chief marketing officer, Associated Bank.
