Ja’Malik Previews Madison Ballet’s 2025-2026 Season: The Beauty of Unity (Part 2 of 2)
Ja’Malik danced professionally for almost 30 years before eventually becoming artistic director of Madison Ballet.
by Jonathan Gramling
The eyes of Ja’Malik, the artistic director of Madison Ballet, light up when he talks about the art form. It is more than agile bodies gracefully gliding across a stage. It’s about artistic expression of our hopes and dreams. It is an expression of our humanity.
And the 20 professional dancers, from places like Brazil, The Philippines, Texas, Ohio, the East and West Coasts and Wisconsin bring that expression of humanity to life. In 2025, the Madison Ballet will be producing Rock the Ballet in October and everyone’s favorite ballet, The Nutcracker, in December. And in 2026, Madison Ballet continues its season.
On February 13-15, 2026, Points of View will be performed at the Overture Center.
“That’s another what we call a Mixed Rep program where we have new choreography mixed with returning works and some works that have not been presented in Madison,” Ja’Malik said. “We actually have a former colleague, Tom Mattingly, who used to be the rehearsal director here. He is returning to set one of his ballets on us. We have a legacy piece by Heinz Poll who is the founding director of Ohio Ballet. We’re bringing back one of my ballets that I created in 2012. It’s been a long time sine I’ve done that ballet. And I think we have another surprise guest choreographer who is on that program as well.
On May 8-10, Choreographers will be performed at the MYArts Starlight Theater.
“Choreographers is an evening of all female choreographers,” Ja’Malik said. “I’m really excited about that program. We have a returning work by Stephanie Martinez. We also have a brand new work that is premiering here by Stephanie Martinez. This will be her fourth ballet that she has come to set on and create on Madison Ballet. We have Miami Ballet principal Nathalia Arja. She’s coming to set a work on us. We have Princess
Grace award-winning Kylie Kwon. She is setting a work that she created in the New York City Ballet Choreographic Institute. This will be the first time it’s being performed by a company. And I am glad that Madison Ballet is that company. And we also have a new world premier by Endalyn Taylor who is the dean of dance at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts. And we have a world premier by Ilana Goldman who I actually danced with for the Oakland Ballet in 2003. I’ve been following her career as a choreographer for 20 plus years. And I just love what she creates. So I invited her to come and create a new ballet. So it’s going to be a fun evening of new works and restaged works. But it is just exciting to see all of these female voices on one stage because there is still such a lack of diversity in the world of choreography by female choreographers. I wanted to make sure that I gave them a platform and a home to create and show their work.”
And the 2025-2026 season closes with Innovation II.
“This is the second year where we have done Innovation,” Ja’Malik said. “The choreographers flip the switch. And it’s the company dancers who create on each other. We want to give the dancers that we have the opportunity to express themselves. A lot of them are hopeful emerging choreographers. We want to give them a platform to be able to create. A certain group of them will select dancers and create new ballets on each other. It’s the colleagues working on each other creating ballets. That’s what makes it interesting, innovative, fun and exciting. That’s in May in Promenade Hall at Overture Center. It’s fully choreographed. They have four weeks, about 40 hours to create their ballet. I think we have six works on that program, so six of the company dancers will create on their fellow dancers.”
With his 30 years in ballet as a dancer and artistic director, Ja’Malik is able to keep Madison in touch with the national ballet scene.
“I made so many friends along the way,” Ja’Malik said. “And we are all still in the business in different aspects. It’s great to have a place and an opportunity to provide so many opportunities for them to create and show their strengths and give them opportunities to also expand their voices and learn new things. It’s fun. That’s the most exciting part.”
Madison Ballet is a vital part of Madison’s art scene that helps keep Madison one of the top cities to live in the United States.
“People should come out to experience us because we are called Madison Ballet,” Ja’Malik emphasized. “And we have to support the local arts. What I have created over the past three years here is a really distinguished, contemporary classical ballet company, a chamber-sized ballet company that has really elevated the dance and ballet scene here in Madison. It’s exciting. It’s new. It’s fresh. It’s a lot of stuff that is created exclusively for Madison, which is a gift. A lot of companies don’t have that opportunity. And we have that here and I am proud of that. So I think it is something that the community should feel proud of and want to get behind and support by coming to the shows, by donating, by volunteering, by getting involved, by bringing your children to the School of Madison Ballet. Like I said, we’re all about Madison. There’s a reason we are called Madison Ballet. We’re the ballet company of Madison. We’re here to represent and show what Wisconsin and especially Madison and Dane County can show the world through ballet.”
While The Nutcracker is the ballet experience that many Madisonians look forward to, Ja’Malik hopes people will experience the full, diverse expression of ballet that is represented by the 2025-2026 season.
“The Nutcracker is just absolutely amazing and beautiful and should be seen,” Ja’Malik emphasized. “But there are four other programs throughout the season that really showcase what these dancers can really do: their athleticism, their artistry, their beauty, their humanity and their ability to story tell through their bodies. There is an array of different music and choreography with different points of view and different ideas. That really reflects the entire community that we serve. We have people from major different backgrounds. No one is the same. Everyone is different. Meredith is from Philadelphia. Yury was born in Spain. Those are two just totally different ideas and that is what you are going to see on stage. Richard is from Upstate New York. I’m from New York City. It’s different vibes and different feelings. So come on out.”
In a time of division, Madison Ballet can help you experience the beauty of humanity.
For more information about the choreographers, music, the performances and ticket information, visit www.madisonballet.org.
