Ballet Quad Cities is launching its 30th-anniversary season this Sunday with a special “Ballet on the Lawn” at the Davenport Outing Club, 2109 N. Brady St., with performances at 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. Sept. 13.
“We're showing a little bit of what makes Ballet Quad Cities Ballet Quad Cities,” artistic director Courtney Lyon -- who started in 2000 as a company dancer, and has been choreographing and in her current job since 2009 – said Wednesday, Sept. 9. “So we're pulling from some things we've done in the past that really show the connections we have with the community and collaborators and shows the artistic growth and the impact that we've had.”
“Ballet on the Lawn is the kickoff for our 30th season, and we chose these pieces to really showcase the versatility of the art form of dance and the versatility of Ballet Quad Cities,” Lyon said. “We speak to the mission of the company, which is high-caliber art for our community, outreach programs, collaborations within the community with different artists, different organizations, and different foundations.”
BOTL is very family-friendly and a great introduction to ballet (outside food and drinks are not allowed), she noted.
“People can bring their lawn chairs, picnic blanket. There's food for purchase there by the chef of the Outing Club. So it's like picnic style, hamburgers, hot dogs, a bar is set up,” she said.
“It’s very welcoming. All of these pieces are very colorful and engaging and a lot of different styles to it. So I think it's a good first experience for a lot of people if they haven't been to a ballet before, or if the only thing they've come to is Nutcracker, which is a full-length formal narrative. This is another way to, I guess, dip your toe in the water. It's an hour-long program. There's going to be something for everyone on it. The music is fantastic.”
The varied program Sunday will feature:
* “Giraffes Can’t Dance,” choreography by BQC artistic associate Emily Kate Long.
Community engagement is a key pillar of Ballet Quad Cities’ mission, and this ballet is one of four original works focused on themes of bullying prevention and character building that reach over 4,500 elementary students each year. “Giraffes Can’t Dance” engages young audience members with the story of Gerald the Giraffe and his dancing animal friends as they discover the importance of embracing and encouraging individuality.
Gerald can’t dance in the ways his friends expect him to, but he finds inspiration in the sounds of nature one lonely evening. With the help of a kind cricket, Gerald and the other animals repair their friendship and dance to Gerald’s beat in the moonlight.
* “Naach,” choreography by Deepali Phanse.
Collaboration and cultural exchange are central to Ballet QC’s values, reflecting the company’s commitment to celebrating diverse voices and building meaningful connections within the community. This vibrant Bollywood dance was created specifically for the dancers of BQC by D4Dance director Deepali Phanse.
Bollywood dance is a fusion of different Indian and international dance styles, including bhangra, semi-classical, hip-hop, jazz, salsa, and many others featured in Indian films. This trio is a fun, energetic, and playful scene in which the two female dancers have a crush on the male dancer and try to win him over with their charm. This lively work celebrates the joyful spirit, theatricality, and infectious energy that have made Bollywood dance beloved by audiences around the world.
* “Swell” (premiere), choreography by emerging choreographer Marcus Pei, BQC dancer.
Pei, a 28-year-old Iowa City native in his fourth season here, said company founder and CEO Joedy Cook asked him to choreograph a piece for the opening program.
“It's been cool. The process and the evolution of it is exciting,” he said Wednesday, noting his work reflects flowing movement of water, danced to romantic piano music of Franz Liszt. “I tend to make my pieces about nature and about the wonders of nature.”
“It is my first time choreographing on a professional company. I’ve choreographed a lot before, but this is special,” Pei said. “I really appreciate the way that Courtney and Joedy and Emily Kate foster creativity in the studio. And so while it feels like kind of a big deal, it also doesn't at the same time because that's just what we do naturally. We just experiment and let loose our inhibitions in the studio.”
“I’m very happy just watching beautiful movement. And so that's what I try to create,” he said, noting he’s learned a lot working with Lyon and Long in his first three seasons.
“They're just always so patient with us; we don't rush things here, which I appreciate,” Pei said. “That's what I tried to do with this piece.”
“I love performing. That's really what I came here to do,” he added. “And I love also the training aspect of it. When I wrote my cover letter when I auditioned here, I specifically listed off all my interests. So my interests are pretty broad. I wanted to eventually teach, eventually choreograph, and I feel like they kind of read my mind, in terms of, I didn't necessarily expect to choreograph at this moment precisely, but it feels right.”
* Paganini’s Caprice No 24 in A Minor, choreography by Courtney Lyon.
This piece, inspired by Gary Kelley’s haunting illustrations for Dark Fiddler, has been seen only once before. Created exclusively for a 2016 performance collaboration between the Figge Art Museum, Ballet Quad Cities and the Quad City Symphony Orchestra, the work was originally performed by the dancers at the Figge, to Niccolò Paganini’s virtuosic Caprice No. 24, performed live, surrounded by Kelley’s artwork.
This Sunday’s version will use pre-recorded music, Lyon said.
* “Sugar Rum Fairy” (excerpt from Ballet Quad Cities’ Nutcracker in the Round, 2020), choreography by Courtney Lyon, and danced by Kira Roberts at 2 and Eleanor Ambler at 6.
December 2020 marked the first—and only—year that Ballet QC’s beloved full-length production of “The Nutcracker” did not grace area stages, because of COVID. Instead, the company reimagined the holiday classic as an intimate Nutcracker in the Round, performed for small audiences in the elegant ballroom of The Outing Club.
Today, more than 8,000 audience members experience the magic of “The Nutcracker” each season at the Adler Theatre, including nearly 2,500 local students who attend each of two special Student Matinee performances. For many children, it is their very first live performance—and a memory that lasts a lifetime.
You can help make that experience possible. A gift of just $15 sponsors one third-grader’s attendance at a Student Matinee on December 11.
“It's not always what you think ballet is,” Lyon said of the “Sugar Rum Fairy,” a play off the “Nutcracker” Sugar Plum Fairy.
“So it's a little jazzy, but it's also a nod to 'Nutcracker,' which is our biggest revenue source of ticket sales,” she said. “And for most people, it's their first introduction to ballet. And we expanded our children's outreach program with the live Nutcracker performance last year by adding another performance at the Adler Theatre.”
They do student matinees for mainly 3rd graders (2,000 each performance), but open to any students. “We have to 8,000 people through the doors to see the ‘Nutcracker’ every year, which is pretty remarkable, I think, for an arts organization,” Lyon said. “For some of these students, it's the first time they've ever been to the Adler for a live ballet performance.
"Some students come from across the river, they've never crossed the river before. So even crossing the river is a big deal. It's an event they don't forget.”
* “Roses and Snow” (premiere), choreography by Lyon, with seven dancers.
“I just really felt like I was chomping at the bit for a new piece of choreography,” she said. “The dancers take a break during the summer, and I take a break from it. I'm not training the dancers during the summer or choreographing because they're gone, but I'm doing work mentally. We're planning the next several seasons, and I'm researching music, and we're doing inventory of what we've done, all that work.”
“It's a lot of mental work in the summer, so I just felt like I had so much artistic output I wanted to do,” Lyon said. “And I really feel like I got the opportunity to find my choreographic voice by working with this company because Joedy Cook really supported me and pushed me into those opportunities. So for me, it's really heartfelt for me to be able to know that I get to continue to create art. I feel it’s my calling.”
Growth over the years
She said the company has really grown over the 17 years she’s been artistic director.
“We’re a very theatrical company. The performers on stage really connect to the audience and the audience really connects to the performers,” Lyon said. “I think there's a confidence with the performers that speaks to the work that we do daily here. I think the outreach programs have grown tremendously. And I think the number of people that we reach every year, I mean, those numbers speak for themselves in terms of how many students receive outreach programs or how many organizations we partner with now. That's really expanded.
“When I first moved here in 2000, I'm from St. Louis, and I moved here to dance for Ballet Quad Cities. And, you know, people would ask why I moved here, and I would tell them and they would say, I don't know what ballet is, or I didn't know we had a ballet company,” she said. “So that I've seen change in the time I've been here.”
A royal award for CEO
On Sunday, Joedy Cook will be honored with a $20,000 Nation of Neighbors Empowerment Grant from Royal Neighbors of America, to help BQC expand its community reach and create new opportunities for women and girls through the arts.
BQC is powered by an all-female staff and provides professional dancers with opportunities to grow as artists, mentors and educators. More than 300 professional dancers applied to join the company last year alone, and two new dancers have joined the performing staff of 12 full-time.
For Cook, developing professional dancers goes far beyond technique. “They have to feel confident. They have to know the power within them,” she said. “They have to be able to go out on that stage and show everybody who they are.”
That same commitment to helping women and girls recognize their potential extends beyond the stage through BQC’s community outreach programs.
The Nation of Neighbors from Royal Neighbors grant will allow BQC to expand partnerships with organizations serving women, girls and families. New programs are already taking shape, including a collaboration with a Rock Island library presenting Giraffes Can’t Dance, where families can enjoy this 30-minute performance for free.
The company is also developing new programming with the YWCA and a local childcare organization. Funding will also support instructors, program development, space and transportation, helping remove barriers that can prevent community organizations and families from accessing professional arts experiences.
BQC already reaches thousands of young people through educational and community programs. Its annual production of “The Nutcracker” gives young dancers ages 8 to 17 the opportunity to perform alongside professional dancers and a live orchestra before nearly 8,000 audience members over two weekends.
“Ballet Quad Cities shows how the arts can open doors and strengthen communities,” said Amy Jones, Senior Director of Social Impact for Royal Neighbors of America. “Joedy has built an organization where women lead, artists mentor the next generation, and the impact extends far beyond the stage.”
“For more than 130 years, Royal Neighbors has believed that when women have the opportunity to discover their strengths, pursue their dreams, and lift others along the way, entire communities become stronger,” Royal Neighbors president/CEO Zarifa Brown Reynolds said in a company release. “That is the power of our Nation of Neighbors program, and it is why we are proud to support Ballet Quad Cities as they expand access to the arts and create more opportunities for women and girls to find their voice, build confidence and see what is possible.”
Cook plans to share the Nation of Neighbors recognition in much the same way she has built Ballet Quad Cities—with the women beside her. When the award is formally recognized at the company’s first performance of the season, Ballet on the Lawn, she plans to invite every woman involved with BQC forward to share the moment.
Looking to the future
Lyon gets an extra thrill behind the scenes, compared to dancing and she’s excited about the plans for a new downtown Moline headquarters.
“I loved performing. I enjoyed it very much, but there's something— as a performer, I really enjoyed the process in the studio with choreographers, and then the time on stage was the icing on the cake,” she said. “That connection you make with the audience, there's nothing that could replace that. However, I feel like I've been able to grow as a human from the opportunities that I've gotten by choreographing and being able to take on really challenging projects that I've had to really work hard for. So I feel a lot of growth in myself.”
Later this season, in October, Lyon is looking forward to presenting her original ballet to the classic story “The Scarlet Letter” (Nathaniel Hawthorne, penned in 1850), at Moline’s Spotlight Theatre.
“It doesn't exist as a ballet, so when people think of ballets they think of The Nutcracker, Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, where there might be a score already created or a version exists or several versions exist,” she said. “I do a lot of my own creations here as a choreographer. You know, I'll take something that is well-known and I'll put my own spin on it. Love doing that.
“But this ballet, there's not a framework for this ballet. It doesn't exist,” Lyon said. “I spent all summer researching, reading, pulling music together. I flew out to Boston, spent some time in Boston. tracing the paths of those Puritans when they set foot in this country. Went up to Salem did some of the witches and the Nathaniel Hawthorne house and all that. So a lot of thought and work has gone into this.”
While the story is set in the 1600s, the music she picked is more contemporary, including Gustav Holst, Bela Bartok and Percy Grainger. The remainder of year includes “The Nutcracker” in December, and “Billy the Kid” and “Alice in Wonderland” ballets in the new year.
The company’s 30th anniversary is a good time to raise awareness for their fundraising to create a new larger studio in downtown Moline.
“I think every season, every performance, we are trying to raise awareness and get more contributions and keep moving forward because this community deserves a ballet company,” Lyon said. “The ballet company deserves a great building to continue to expand our outreach programs and our community projects, all of our performances. It's time to grow.
“It's time to keep going because we're 30 years strong. I think that's really remarkable,” she said. “Ballet companies come and go. They fold all the time. So this company has only been moving forward, which is really exciting. And I think Joedy’s done it in a really intelligent way where it's very methodical.”
Based at cramped one-floor space at 613 17th St., Rock Island, Ballet QC in 2021 purchased a historic two-story building at 1611 5th Ave., Moline, just down the street from The Black Box Theatre, and a few blocks from the Spotlight.
The downtown Moline building (once home to the Illini movie theater in the 1940s) was last a gym. “It’s the perfect building for us because there are no pillars, so when it went up for sale, we very quickly purchased it,” Cook said. BQC has raised about $1 million, including for the purchase, and aims to raise $1 million more for the renovations, including taking out walls.
The first floor will include a main 2,077-square-foot dance studio, lobby, restrooms, offices, a lounge, music listening room and kitchen. The second floorwill include a large 1,462-square-foot studio, next to two smaller studios, office, storage room and lobby, with large windows looking out onto 5th Avenue.
The total square footage will increase from 5,000 (three studios) in Rock Island, to 12,000 (not including the basement) in Moline. And importantly, the building has 90 parking spaces in back, compared to six in Rock Island. They’ll knock down all the walls on the second floor for the new studios, and create new walls; new windows have been installed.
Continuity in company
It’s also important to have continuity in the professional company, where dancers stay for several years, including Maddie Rhode, now in her 8th season.
“We are going to continue to grow. I'm not leaving for a larger market,” Lyon said. “I'm going to continue to raise up everything around me as I want to challenge myself and challenge the ballet company and grow. And Joedy Cook has the same goal. So we always say bloom where you're planted. We're here. 30 years strong, so we're gonna keep going. There’s so much opportunity here.”
She’s proud that BQC has three strong women at the helm – Lyon, Cook and artistic associate Emily Kate Long. Lyon said women are still underrepresented in ballet leadership nationwide.
Of artistic directors at the largest 150 U.S. ballet companies, 61 are women (39.6%), and 92 are men (59.7%), according to the Dance Data Project.
“Female choreographers are still underrepresented, so the fact that it's almost all female choreographers here is pretty notable,” Lyon said. “And we're constantly producing new work, so we're influencing the art world with our voice all the time.”
To learn more about the company and to donate, visit its website HERE. Ballet on the Lawn tickets are $37.89 for adult general admission, and $22.13 for youth 12 and under, available HERE.
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