Ballet Beat: The ever-graceful art that takes discipline to master the effortless ensemble

 

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- The delicate and ever-graceful art of ballet requires a certain love and discipline to make the dance look effortless. Young professional dancers explain what it takes to get to the top and how a summer program aims to make ballet more accessible to the greater Milwaukee area.

"It is extremely similar to an Olympic sport where from a very, very young age of 5, 6,or 7 you have to make the decision that this is what you want to do," said Calvin Hilpert.

Dance may very well be a universal artform everyone can enjoy, but when it comes to ballet, not everyone can master the demanding sport.

"It's not just pretty ladies in tutus standing on their toes, it's hours and hours of grueling hard labor," added Hilpert.

Calvin Hilpert was chosen to be the rehearsal director for Milwaukee ballet's summertime series--'Ballet Beat.'

"It starts from maybe like six months ago picking the repertoire for a program we'll be presenting in the summer...skipping forward to the now when we actually have dancers in the room," he said.

Hilpert left his professional career as a dancer about six years ago for another role.

"It's a lot more fulfilling being a part of a dancer's journey towards their goals," he said.

Rachel Howell, the community engagement manager at Milwaukee Ballet, said the company has been around since the 1970s. They coach kids as young as two and they even have classes for seniors.

Their annual summer program, however, aims to take ballet off the concert stage and into the community.

"We do workshops, we do demonstrations, and we do full-fledged performances," said Howell.

This summer, the program will conduct a total of12 performances--all of which Hilpert says has taken him more than 100 hours of preparation.

"For myself it requires substantial amounts of time to go through and learn each and every person and place within each piece to be able to eloquently and clearly disseminate that information to the group in front of me," he said.

To master the effortless touch, dancers are required to practice at least 40 hours a week.

"I definitely have to like, go home, and go over choreography outside of rehearsal time," said one of the dancers, Logan O'Neal.

O'Neal told CBS 58 Sunday Morning that he is in six different performances.

Alyssa Schilke, 21, is in three and explains it's more than discipline and determination--It's a lifestyle.

"I feel like when it comes to the arts, especially with dance, it kind of chooses you, you don't really choose it," she said.

Hilpert said coaching is easier when you've quite literally, already been in their shoes.

"It's an incredibly special and intimate relationship--coach and dancer--and it requires a lot of vulnerability on both sides," Hilpert said.

The summer program comes to an end Sunday Aug. 6 with a free final performance in downtown Milwaukee.

"We're opening the doors to our community to say, 'come in, look at what we're doing, look at how these people devote their lives to this,' whereas before the only way you could see us was if you paid the hundred plus dollar ticket to go sit in the theatre," Hilpert added.