Former Milwaukee Ballet student wide-eyed about return to star in 'Sleeping Beauty'

The truth can now be told: Jennifer Hackbarth wasn't really sick that day she missed school.

Instead, she talked her mother into driving down to Milwaukee Ballet's former home at the Jodi Peck Center on West National Avenue, where she could press her face against the window to watch the dancers in classes and rehearsals.

When she was 4, the Whitefish Bay native knew she wanted to be a dancer. She nurtured that passion through childhood years in Milwaukee Ballet School and Academy classes and related performances. Then she went on to an international ballet career in New York and Germany.

Now, in a full-circle moment, Hackbarth has returned to the place she fell in love with ballet. As a guest artist, she will dance the leading role of Princess Aurora in Milwaukee Ballet's new production of "Sleeping Beauty."

With a cast of more than 50, including students, and a score by Tchaikovsky, this production could be the right next step for someone who has seen only "The Nutcracker."

A joyful character in a challenging dance

"'Sleeping Beauty' is a wonderful ballet," Hackbarth said in a recent interview, praising Tchaikovsky's music and the ballet's display of "pure classical technique." But she also understands why commentators refer to it as one of the most difficult ballets to perform.

"For the ballerina, it's a marathon," Hackbarth said, ticking off her character's many scenes, topped technically by the Rose Adagio, where the teenage princess is dancing with four different suitors, each one trying to win her hand by presenting her with roses.

But true to artistic director Michael Pink's credo that character is the most important thing, Hackbarth has a grasp on who Aurora is while she is executing those tricky steps.

She's "this princess who's loved and adored and has been taken care of by these fairies that blessed her at her christening, and she's very protected," Hackbarth said. By ballet's end, Aurora is more mature but getting married to her true love.

"So I think it's a very joyful character to play."

Spotted at an early age

When she was 3, young Jennifer desperately wanted to be part of her older sister's dance experience.

After Jennifer turned 4, her mother signed her up for Milwaukee Ballet classes. Her first teacher was Tatiana Jouravel-Malinkine, who had been a principal MB dancer for eight seasons.

"She was so kind," Hackbarth said. "I still think she's the greatest thing."

Spotting Jennifer's potential, Jouravel-Malinkine told the girl's mother that if her daughter were in Russia, "they would have found her and put her right away" into a ballet school, Hackbarth remembers.

So what did Jouravel-Malinkine see in a little girl that marked her as special? Young Jennifer had, for her size, relatively long legs that were hyperextended or "super flexible," Hackbarth said. So she started with a natural physical advantage for ballet. But she is quick to point out there are excellent dancers with different physiques, and that a body type guarantees nothing about future success. Hard work and artistry are what really make a dancer, she said.

Ballet is "a very hard profession," Hackbarth said. "You're striving for perfection." She has always felt a sense of responsibility to do her best because "God gave me this gift."

Success in New York and Germany

In an alternative timeline, Hackbarth might have gone from the Milwaukee Ballet Academy to the training company MBII to a position in MB's professional corps of dancers. But her timeline diverged around age 15 when she took the summer course at the School of American Ballet in New York, drawn by her fascination with the choreography of George Balanchine. She was offered a scholarship to continue studying there, and then a contract to join the New York City Ballet.

From there, Hackbarth joined the Dresden Semperoper Ballet in Germany from 2017-'23, where she danced in some of the great classical ballets, including "Swan Lake," "Giselle" and "Sleeping Beauty." In 2023, she joined the Sarasota Ballet, where Hackbarth has danced many principal roles.

She is grateful to be back in Milwaukee, and a bit agog about working with teachers and mentors who guided or inspired her as a girl, including Pink, Mireille Favarel and many others. The day before this interview, she had a "pinch me" moment when Pink was creating steps for her in rehearsal. "That's something I only dreamed of up until now."

Hackbarth is also pleased to be reconnecting with other dancers she knew from student days here, including Parker Brasser Vos, her partner in "Sleeping Beauty." (Hackbarth is dancing Aurora in the April 12 and 13 matinees, with Marie Harrison Collins in that role in the evening performances.)

Being back home, Hackbarth has another secret weapon that's helpful for a professional dancer. Her father, Kurt, is a veteran physical therapist.

"He has nursed me back from many an injury," she said.

If you go

Milwaukee Ballet will perform "Sleeping Beauty" at 7:30 p.m. April 11, 2 and 7:30 p.m. April 12 and 2 p.m. April 13 at Marcus Performing Arts Center, 929 N. Water. Visit milwaukeeballet.org or call (414) 902-2103.

Note: This story was updated to correct a typo.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: 'Sleeping Beauty' a dream come true for former Milwaukee Ballet pupil