Milwaukee Ballet Announces 2025/26 Company Roster

Milwaukee Ballet Artistic Director Michael Pink has announced the Company roster for the upcoming 2025/26 Season. Milwaukee Ballet School & Academy (MBSA) alumna Jennifer Hackbarth joins as a Leading Artist while three new dancers join the ranks as Company Artists, including a Milwaukee Ballet II (MBII) Second Company graduate.

Hackbarth trained at MBSA from 2002-2013 before going on to dance professionally for New York City Ballet, Germany’s Dresden Semperoper Ballet, and Florida’s Sarasota Ballet. Notable principal roles have included Odile in Swan Lake, the titular role in Giselle, Marie in The Nutcracker, and, most recently, Aurora in Michael Pink’s Sleeping Beauty, which brought her back to Milwaukee Ballet as a Guest Artist this past spring.

“Jennifer is a brilliant artist, both technically and emotionally, and I know Aurora was just a glimpse into her potential as she steps into her new position,” says Pink. “We are thrilled to have her talent with us now full-time.”

“She is a gifted dancer whose skill and artistry exemplifies the best of MBSA’s education and training,” continues Kristin Dimmer, MBSA School Director. “Her path is one that many of our current students hope to take, so I’m certain she will be an inspiration to them all.”

Learn more about Jennifer here

One of the three new Artists joins Milwaukee Ballet from the organization’s Second Company. Jackson Mitchell spent the 2024/25 Season in MBII after training with City Ballet School San Francisco and The Joffrey Ballet. His promotion highlights Milwaukee Ballet’s commitment to cultivating world-class ballet talent in its home city.

“Milwaukee Ballet II continues to develop the next generation of Company talent, with seven of our Artists having come up through the program in the last three years alone,” says Pink. “I’m delighted to promote Jackson, who demonstrated great potential in his year as an MBII dancer.”

Learn more about Jackson here.

Two fresh faces will also join the Company this fall. Ivan Spitale and Mihai Costache both come to Milwaukee from Sarasota Ballet, where Spitale has danced since 2018 and Costache since 2019. The two hail from Italy and Romania, respectively, and have each found success in international ballet competitions while training around the globe. Milwaukee Ballet welcomes their distinct backgrounds to a company full of diverse talent.

Learn more about Ivan (left) here and Mihai (right) here.

The Company will return to the studio on September 8^th in preparation for the season’s first production, Michael Pink’s Giselle, presented by We Energies Foundation, which runs from October 17^th through 19^th at Marcus Performing Arts Center. This production marks 10 years since Giselle was previously in Milwaukee and features five Milwaukee Ballet musicians on stage in addition to the Milwaukee Ballet Orchestra in the pit. In partnership with the Milwaukee Youth Symphony Orchestra and Violins of Hope (VOH), the onstage violinist will play an instrument from the VOH private collection of instruments owned and played during the Holocaust.

The remainder of the season includes the third year of Michael Pink’s The Nutcracker: Drosselmeyer’s Imaginarium, presented by BMO December 6^th through 26^th, the mixed repertory performance Encore January 30^th through February 8^th, the biennial choreographic competition Genesis March 13^th through 15^th, and the family-friendly ALICE (in wonderland) May 1^st through 10^th. Individual tickets are on sale now for each production.

2025/26 Season Roster

Leading Artists: Parker Brasser Vos, Randy Crespo, Marize Fumero, Alana Griffith, Jennifer Hackbarth, Marie Harrison Collins, Lizzie Tripp-Molina, Lahna Vanderbush

Artists: Josiah Cook, Mihai Costache, Eric Figueredo, Garrett Glassman, Amanda Lewis, Raven Loan, Kristen Marshall, Emery Meroni, Marko Micov, Jackson Mitchell, Nanaho Nakajima, Flynn Stelfox, Ivan Spitale, Jacqueline Sugianto, Ben Zusi