After more than a year away, the Milwaukee Ballet is ready to return to the main stage.

The renowned Milwaukee Ballet today revealed its upcoming 2021-2022 season, which will return to the Marcus Performing Arts Center for the first time since "Ballet Russe Reimagined" in February last year, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States. Over the past year, the company kept working, inspiring fans and telling wonderful stories during the pandemic by adjusting to streamed performances as well as smaller productions hosted at the Baumgartner Center for Dance – but now it is ready to return to its typical center stage spotlight.

“The generosity of our donors, ticket buyers, and the community at large kept us on our feet through the unprecedented challenges of the pandemic, and we couldn’t be more grateful,” said artistic director Michael Pink, in a release. “It is my hope to thank them with the inspiring world-class performances of the upcoming season.”

Fittingly themed "season of inspiration," the Milwaukee Ballet will kick off its return to the Marcus with "Connect," a contemporary dance showcase, on Oct. 28-31. The season will also feature the return of Michael Pink's popular rendition of "Beauty and the Beast" as well as the iconic holiday classic "The Nutcracker." 

Here's the full lineup for the Milwaukee Ballet's upcoming season:

• "Connect" – Oct. 28-31 at the Marcus Performing Arts Center
• "The Nutcracker" – Dec. 4-26 at the Marcus Performing Arts Center
• "Genesis" (three new works presented in competition) – Feb. 3-13 at the Baumgartner Center for Dance
• "PUSH" – March 31 - April 3 at the Marcus Performing Arts Center
• "Beauty and the Beast" –  May 19-22 at the Marcus Performing Arts Center

Season packages for the Ballet's upcoming slate go on sale beginning Aug. 2, while individual performance tickets go on sale starting Sept. 1 – both at the Milwaukee Ballet's website. For more information on the Ballet's plans for the upcoming season, visit their website.