December 31, 2015 at 3:33 p.m.
World-class ballerina gives back to Minocqua
Micheline Bardin-Levin donates nearly $500,000 to local organizations
World-class ballerina gives back to Minocqua
By Michael Strasburg-
To take a break from her fame, Bardin frequently vacationed in Minocqua, where she owned a summer home. After passing away in 2014, Bardin left a lasting mark on the community by donating nearly $500,000 to two local nonprofits.
Bardin was a multi-talented artist who lived a long life, much of it in the public eye. Her career spanned several decades and multiple continents, as she dazzled people across the world with her dancing, singing and artistic abilities.
Bardin's passion for the arts, specifically ballet, was paramount in her life. Her innate talent was exceptional. Her interpretation and articulation in movement was brilliant. For this reason, she was nominated as one of the world's 10 best ballerinas in 1957.
Bardin was born in Paris, where, at the age of 8, she was selected to join the ballet school at the Paris Opera Ballet - the oldest national ballet company in the world. By age 14, she secured the primary role in "Swan Lake" at the prestigious venue.
In 1948, Bardin was named a Première Danseur ...toile - the most elite, highly esteemed honor for a ballerina. She retired from ballet in 1957 but soon became host of the popular Canadian television show, "Micheline."
In the 1970s, while touring the United States, Bardin met Sherman Levin, who was raised in Wausau. While vacationing near Levin's home, Bardin was struck by the natural beauty of the Northwoods and how much it reminded her of Normandy.
The couple married in 1980 and built a summer home in Minocqua. After Levin's death in 1993, Bardin decided to settle in Minocqua year-round for the remainder of her life.
After Bardin passed away in February 2014, her personal friend Pam Tyska was named executor of her will. Bardin had no heirs, so it was Tyska's duty to carry out Bardin's wishes in donating her fortune.
Tyska took Bardin's two greatest interests-the arts and wildlife-into great consideration when searching for worthy nonprofits. Eventually, Tyska found two organizations in Minocqua she felt Micheline would have been proud to contribute to: The Campanile Center for the Arts and Northwoods Wildlife Center.
Campanile Center
The Campanile Center for the Arts, located in downtown Minocqua, was a natural fit for Bardin's donation. Tyska first came into contact with the Campanile last year to see what a donation could go toward.
"Pam was responsible for meeting the expectations that were set in Micheline's will, and some of that was to give locally for the purpose of dance education," said Theresa Smith, executive director of the Campanile Center for the Arts. "She said she had a donation that needed to be given to the community, and she thought of the Campanile because she knew that our mission was supporting and educating the arts in the Lakeland area and thought that this would be a good place to give to."
Tyska held several conversations with the Campanile board of directors to see what could be accomplished with a donation. One day, while touring the facility with interim director Laurie Timm, Tyska happened upon the facility's basement, which is largely unused.
"In looking at the space, they thought it would make a good place for a dance studio because there is so much open area," Smith said.
In October, Tyska decided to donate $310,000 from Bardin's estate to the Campanile Center for renovating the basement and implementing dance programs.
"It's huge, we're so thankful for it," Smith said.
The Campanile Center is in the process of receiving state and county permits. Once permission is granted, the construction process will begin, presumably sometime this winter. In addition to creating a dance studio, construction projects will include the installation of an elevator on the east end of the building and renovations to the basement restrooms.
"We need to do that because now it's going to be a public space, so we need to be compliant with ADA codes," Smith said.
The dance studio will occupy approximately 1,400 square feet of the 4,772-square-foot basement. There will also be a memorial display for Bardin in the basement, including photos, collectables and dance memorabilia.
While waiting for state and county permits, the Campanile Center has established a committee to determine how the new dance studio will be utilized.
"The gift is given from Micheline so that we can further dance education, so we need to recognize that," Smith said. "Part of our thoughts are that perhaps we could bring in some dance instructors from outside of the area that would offer two, three, or four-day workshops in forms of dance that aren't necessarily offered by businesses around the area. We don't want to compete with what they're offering. We want to expand what is offered in the Lakeland area."
Smith thinks the space could potentially be rented out to individual instructors for activities such as square dancing and line dancing, exercise instruction and yoga. It could also be used for the center's children's theatre workshop and Lakeland Community Band rehearsals, Smith said.
"It can be used as a public space for receptions, too - 4,000 square feet, that's huge and there's not a lot of facilities that can house that here," Smith said.
Overall, the Campanile is committed to ensuring that the donation fits Bardin's wishes.
"Her donation expands the offerings that we currently have here for the Lakeland area and enriches people's lives through the arts," Smith said. "Everybody has a different interest in the arts, whether it's through drawing or using their voice with singing, and dance is just another way to express themselves - we want people to be able to do that in any way they can."
Northwoods Wildlife Center
Whereas the donation to the Campanile satisfied Bardin's passion for the arts, a $186,000 donation to Northwoods Wildlife Center was an indication of her lifelong love for wildlife.
Truth be told, the donation couldn't have come to the center at a better time. State regulations recently dictated that the center would have to build a new flight conditioning cage.
"It was great, it was overwhelming for us because it's a big project and was going to run into the $180,000-$190,000 range - [the donation] will pretty much cover the whole thing," said Northwoods Wildlife Center executive director Laura Fuhrman.
"When the executor for Micheline's estate came by, she was looking for some way to benefit animals," Fuhrman said. "Micheline loved wildlife. Pam came in for a tour one day and liked the idea for the flight cage and being able to help us on a large project."
Flight conditioning tests are a critical part of the center's mission to rehabilitate wounded animals.
"There are several tests the birds have to pass to be let go," Fuhrman said. "One of the tests is flight - obviously - and they have to be able to catch their prey, so we do live prey testing with them."
The Department of Natural Resources and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service require that rehabilitated birds fly a minimum of 100 feet before release.
"As it is right now, we can't flight condition eagles, so we have to refer them over to another rehab place and we do see a number of eagles - this is eagle country," Fuhrman said.
The new cage will have an L-shape so that birds have a 150-foot flight lane to complete.
"In a small square, if you let a bird fly, once it gets going it's already at a wall," Amanda Walsh, director of rehabilitation, said. "By having it in a long hallway, the birds are able to really get going and exercise those muscles, and by having an L-shape they can bank without stopping and it will help us make sure that these birds can really fly efficiently and sustain long flights."
The building will include three enclosures to house large birds. There will be sliding doors to partition the flight cage so the staff can test smaller birds as well.
"The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the DNR have specific requirements for pen sizes for each species, so we wanted to go for the biggest that we needed, but some birds don't need that much room," Fuhrman said.
The steel building will be constructed behind the center, on the footprint of the previous flight cage. Wood slat walls at the end of the cage will help reacquaint birds with nature.
"The reason for the wood slats is to give them a sense for the outdoors," Fuhrman said. "We want them to be exposed to the weather and know what it's like to be outside again."
The primary birds admitted to the wildlife center are bald eagles. The most common cause of injuries among eagles is being struck by cars. Lead poisoning has also been a concern lately.
"If they're eating on a carcass or a gut pile that's been shot, then lead is a huge issue," Fuhrman said. "We see a lot of eagles that have some degree of lead poisoning - whether it be from fishing tackle or lead ammunition or whatever."
The center is hoping to take advantage of the mild winter by prepping the site before heavy snowfall. The construction is expected to be completed during the summer.
Fuhrman, who had the pleasure of meeting Bardin, believes the new building - in addition to the multitude of nature, ecology and animal-based programs the center provides for local area schools - is a fitting way to commemorate Bardin's love for nature.
"I think what Micheline saw here was an opportunity for people to learn about their environment," Fuhrman said. "I think a lot of the people who live here care deeply about wildlife and nature, otherwise they wouldn't live here. You see a lot of people who want to help animals. I think Pam is one of those people, and she thought it fit what Micheline was about as well. I know Micheline loved to have the deer in her yard. I met her years ago and she was a wonderful, warmhearted person."
Michael Strasburg may be reached at mstrasburg@lakeland times.com.
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