Ballet Quad Cities is a
ballet company located in
Rock Island, Illinois
Rock Island is a city in and the county seat of Rock Island County, Illinois, Rock Island County, Illinois, United States. The original Rock Island, from which the city name is derived, is now called Rock Island Arsenal, Arsenal Island. The popul ...
. It was founded in 1996 by Joedy Cook. The company performs both classical and contemporary dance at various venues in the greater
Quad Cities region of
Illinois and
Iowa.
History
Before its insemination, Ballet Quad Cities was known as “Cassandra Manning Ballet Theatre,” under the direction of Susan Snider. Snider grew the arts in the Quad Cities before moving with her family to Des Moines, IA. At the time of its founding the company had one paid dancer. By 2010, the number of dancers who form the company grew to twelve dancers. The original artistic director was Johanne Jakhelln, who left the company in 2006 to return to her native
Norway.
In April 2010 the company performed for the first time in
New York City at the Alvin Ailey Citigroup Theatre. The ballet’s
choreographer
Choreography is the art or practice of designing sequences of movements of physical bodies (or their depictions) in which motion or form or both are specified. ''Choreography'' may also refer to the design itself. A choreographer is one who cr ...
, Deanna Carter, had been one of five choreographers to present their work at the annual Ballet Builders.
Ballet Quad Cities began a collaboration with
Orchestra Iowa
Orchestra Iowa is an American symphony orchestra based in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The current music director and conductor is Timothy Hankewich. Established in 1923 as the Cedar Rapids Symphony Orchestra, the orchestra has a full season, performing ...
starting in the 2012-2013 season.
Two performances featuring the two artistic groups are held in both the
Paramount Theatre Paramount Theater or Paramount Theatre may refer to:
Canada
* Scotiabank Theatre or Paramount Theatre, a chain of theatres owned by Cineplex Entertainment
** Scotiabank Theatre Toronto or Paramount Theatre Toronto
China
* Paramount (Shanghai) o ...
in
Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Cedar Rapids () is the second-largest city in Iowa, United States and is the county seat of Linn County, Iowa, Linn County. The city lies on both banks of the Cedar River (Iowa River), Cedar River, north of Iowa City, Iowa, Iowa City and north ...
, where Orchestra Iowa is based, and the
Adler Theatre
The Mississippi Lofts and Adler Theatre is an apartment building and theater complex located in downtown Davenport, Iowa, United States. It is individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places by its original name, the Hotel Mississip ...
in
Davenport, Iowa
Davenport is a city in and the county seat of Scott County, Iowa, United States. Located along the Mississippi River on the eastern border of the state, it is the largest of the Quad Cities, a metropolitan area with a population of 384,324 and a ...
. The Adler is one of the ballet's primary venues. In 2021, BQC employs 1 male and 5 female dancers.
Dancers
The dancers of Ballet Quad Cities as of February, 2020:
*Nicholas Bartolotti
*Claire Cordano
*Maya de Leon
*Rachel Martens
*Meghan Phillips
*Elayne Podolske
*Madeleine Rhode
*Domingo Rubio* part time
*Malachi Squires
*Mahalia Zellmer
Ballet Quad Cities School of Dance
Ballet Quad Cities supports its own school of dance, which is also located in Rock Island. The schools philosophy is based on the principles of the
Vaganova method from
Russia. Beside classical ballet, the school also teaches creative movement, pointe, character, repertoire, modern, jazz, hip-hop, conditioning, yoga, tap, rhythm tap and adult ballet.
See also
*
Quad City Symphony Orchestra
References
External links
*
Information about the Artistic StaffInformation about the dancers
Dance schools in the United States
Quad Cities
Tourist attractions in Rock Island, Illinois
Davenport, Iowa
Culture of the Quad Cities
1996 establishments in Illinois
Performing groups established in 1996
Dance in Illinois
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