Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra and Madison Ballet collaborate on an evening of movement and melody

Classical music and dance aficionados alike will enjoy Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra’s Masterworks concert “Davis & Dvořák,” presented in collaboration with Madison Ballet this month.

The concert opens with “Dance Card: No. 5,” the final movement of “Machina Rockus” from Grammy-winning composer Jennifer Higdon's string suite.

“It is a fast, energizing and driving work,” said Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra Music Director Andrew Sewell.

This piece sets the stage for the nine-movement “Liberty Suite” by Oliver Davis, a collection of short string miniatures.

“The entire concert is inspired by dance, and we are delighted to present it in collaboration with Madison Ballet,” said Sewell. “And, as it turns out, it’s the perfect canvas for a choreographer's imagination.”

Madison Ballet's Artistic Director and Choreographer Ja' Malik brings his original choreography to the performance in a seamless integration of movement and sound.

“I find Oliver’s music to be what I call danceable,” said Ja’ Malik. “It is rhythmical and beautiful. It has imagination and wonderment. It has speed and lyricism. It has elements of surprise. These are all things I am drawn to as a choreographer. It paints pictures, and I create the visual picture to the soundscape.”

Ja’ Malik discovered Oliver Davis through an online music recommendation.

“I have close to 100,000 songs from a variety of genres in my music library, and sometimes when I am listening to one artist, they will recommend a new artist for me to give a listen to,” said Ja’ Malik. “Oliver Davis came up, and it was his ‘Guitar Concerto.’ I just fell in love with his compositions and have now created six ballets to his music.”

Ja’ Malik describes his choreographic process as organic, starting with getting to know his music extremely well, “living with it” for a minimum of six months. Then he goes into the studio with the dancers, moving to the music like it is a part of his body. The dancers follow him, mimic him, add and subtract layers.

“I relate it often to cooking from scratch,” he explained. “You know what spices are needed and when it’s missing something. I keep going until I feel the taste of the ballet is right.”

This will be the second time that Ja’ Malik has choreographed an Oliver Davis composition for Madison Ballet to perform alongside the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra. In the 2023 season of Concerts on the Square, they performed “Dance Odyssey” together.

But the two organizations have worked together every year for the past 30 years on “The Nutcracker.”

“We are familiar with one another as organizations, and artistically, we work well together,” said Sewell. “The inspiration of dancing to 'live music' brings both art forms to life.”

The collaboration between Overture resident companies is beneficial to each organization.

“The partnerships I have formed with the other resident companies of Overture—Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, Children's Theater of Madison and others—have really helped Madison Ballet grow, and they have helped me understand how beneficial partnerships and building communities is to sustain the arts in Dane County,” said Ja’ Malik.

The second half of the concert features Dvořák’s Serenade for Strings, a lush and challenging work full of rich harmonies and timeless melodies.

Sewell enjoys the unpredictability of working with live music, stating, "For dancers, there is a certain predictability when working with 'canned music' over 'live music,’ yet nothing compares to experiencing it 'in the moment.’”

Witness the partnership in motion in an enchanted evening of music and movement on Friday, Feb. 28 at 7:30 p.m. in Capitol Theater. Ticketholders are invited to a pre-concert discussion from 6:30-7 p.m. in Wisconsin Studio.

“Seeing the art unfold on stage will be special,” said Sewell. “With the composer present for the performance, there will be an opportunity to engage with him about his music both during rehearsals and at the pre-concert talk.”

As an audience member, be prepared to become engulfed in the entire experience.

“Take in the music, take in the orchestra, take in the dancers, let it wrap around your mind and spirit, and see how it makes you feel at the end,” encouraged Ja’ Malik.

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