By Dave Begel Contributing Writer Published Jan 29, 2017 at 10:03 AM

It didn’t rank up there with the National Football league draft, but the Genesis draft was just as exciting if you are a fan of ballet.

Genesis is the international choreography competition staged every two years by Michael Pink and his Milwaukee Ballet Company. This year Genesis will take place at the Pabst Theater Feb. 16-19.

The competition features three young guest choreographers who are selected from a big field of applicants. The chance to work on a daily basis with a professional company and with the full support of the entire organization is very attractive to choreographers the world over.

Each choreographer gets eight dancers to work with, and they chose them during a draft at the start of the week. Pink held two large flower pots, one with the male dancers and one with the female dancers. Each choreographer drew on an alternating basis until they each had a mini-company of eight dancers.

The actual choreography started the same day and all three are works in progress.

"These three choreographers all have a recognized body of work," Pink said. "They look young but they have a lot of great work behind them. This is going to be something very special for Milwaukee."

Here are the three contestants, their teams, and the music they will be using.

Enrico Morelli
Jonathan Batista, Marize Fumero, Davit Hovhannisyan, Erik Johnson, Alexander Negron, Luz San Miguel, Lizzie Tripp, Lahna Vanderbush.

Morelli  will be using a Piano Concerto by Chopin and a new composition by Adrien Casalis, a young French musician who composes electronic music.

Mariana Oliveira
Parker Brasser-Vos, Itzel Hernandez, Annia Hidalgo, Quinby Kasch – Milwaukee Ballet II, Rachel Malehorn, Timothy O’Donnell, Isaac Sharratt, Ariel Soto.

Oliveira will be using music from Charlie Chaplin’s "The Circus."

George Williamson
Marie Collins, Randy Crespo, Garrett Glassman, Alana Griffith, Patrick Howell, Janel Meindersee, Barry Molina, Nicole Teague-Howell.

Williamson  will be using a Violin Concerto by Jean Sibelius and Rachmaninoff’s Vespers.

Information on tickets and showtimes can be found on the ballet’s brand new website here.

Dave Begel Contributing Writer

With a history in Milwaukee stretching back decades, Dave tries to bring a unique perspective to his writing, whether it's sports, politics, theater or any other issue.

He's seen Milwaukee grow, suffer pangs of growth, strive for success and has been involved in many efforts to both shape and re-shape the city. He's a happy man, now that he's quit playing golf, and enjoys music, his children and grandchildren and the myriad of sports in this state. He loves great food and hates bullies and people who think they are smarter than everyone else.

This whole Internet thing continues to baffle him, but he's willing to play the game as long as OnMilwaukee.com keeps lending him a helping hand. He is constantly amazed that just a few dedicated people can provide so much news and information to a hungry public.

Despite some opinions to the contrary, Dave likes most stuff. But he is a skeptic who constantly wonders about the world around him. So many questions, so few answers.