NOV. 22 – 23, 2025

About the Show

Echoes of Hope is presented by Danceworks Performance MKE in collaboration with Violins of Hope Wisconsin whose mission is to bring the community a once-in-a-lifetime experience – to hear the stories of instruments owned and played by Jewish musicians and others targeted by the Nazis before and during the Holocaust, through educational and cultural programs and exhibits – to foster understanding.  In Echoes Of Hope – Danceworks Performance MKE presents an entire concert of world premiere works which explore the moment when silence becomes complicity, and speaking out carries risk. Each piece reveals the unseen toll of oppression, the truths we bury to feel safe, and the haunting echoes of ignorance. In collaboration with Wisconsin Intergenerational Orchestra and Gute Freynt Klezmer Band, DPMKE incorporates dancers from our professional and intergenerational companies to honor the resilience of Holocaust-era musicians, drawing historical context into contemporary performance. Each performance will be followed by a 20-minute talkback.

Helene Zelazo Center for the Performing Arts
Learn more about the Wisconsin Intergenerational Orchestra

MARCH 6-8, 2026

About the Show

The Magic 8 Ball says concentrate and ask again later…
Featuring the work of The 4 Danceworks Fellows and guest choreographers, Danceworks Performance MKE explores the mysterious significance of the number 8. Inspired by the forces of astrology, tarot, rebirth and transformation.

The 8th House invites audiences into a world where movement becomes a ritual of letting go, a dance with destiny itself. Each phrase, each choice, unfolds like a divination by unraveling stories of power, mystery, and rebirth. Choreography is not dictated but revealed, as the dancers embody the tension and beauty of living in a state of perpetual possibility. Come to get your own tarot reading before the show and discover what the universe has planned for you. 

MAY 29 – 30, 2026

About the Show

A collaboration with Early Music Now, Aperi Animam and Danceworks Performance MKE, the companies resurrect never before heard Baroque repertoire from Brazil. Music direction by Sergio Dias.