Ballet Quad Cities Thrives in Second Decade

Photo: Paul Colletti
Ruth Lee, Marty Kurtz, Courtney Lyon, Joedy Cook and Paul Van Duyne are helping grow Ballet Quad Cities. Ms. Cook is the organization's executive director; Mr. Van Duyne, Ms. Lee and Mr. Kurtz are board members and Ms. Lyon is associate director.


After a thrilling and well-attended run of "The Nutcracker" this past holiday season, the folks at Ballet Quad Cities (BQC) have a right to sing and dance. Even as the economy has sputtered, the 12-year-old ballet company is thriving.

"Joedy doesn't let us rest on our laurels," board member Ruth Lee said of longtime executive director Joedy Cook. "She's our best sales person. It's hard to sit down with Joedy and leave without making a commitment."

Ms. Cook said the highest compliment she heard recently was from a regular patron of the Joffrey Ballet "Nutcracker" in Chicago who said that the Q-C holiday classic was on par with the Joffrey. More than 5,000 people saw it at the Adler Theatre in Davenport in mid-December (including 750 schoolchildren).

"It's certainly unusual for a community this size to support a professional ballet company," Ms. Lee said, noting BQC is the only such company between Chicago and Omaha, Neb.

"When business tries to recruit people, they say, 'Quad-Cities where? '" she said. Having a professional ballet "changes their perception," Ms. Lee said.

"As a cultural amenity, I find that's huge in attracting professionals to the Quad-Cities," BQC board president Paul VanDuyne said. "They're looking at quality of life."

Ms. Cook founded the ballet company in 1996 with just one paid dancer, a young artistic director, Johanne Jakhelin, and a $25,000 budget. Today, BQC has 10 professional dancers, a staff of four, and a $500,000 budget.

The ballet has "excellent" grant support in the area, Ms. Cook said – including a recent $25,000 grant from the Muscatine-based Roy J. Carver Charitable Trust – and is working on boosting its corporate support, Ms. Lee said.

"A lot of companies misunderstand and don't think we are a professional ballet," she said. "I don't know people realize that."

The professional dancers live here; they don't just come in and "take our money and go somewhere else," Ms. Lee said. "They buy a house here and become part of the fabric of the community."

Mr. VanDuyne, CEO of Rock Island-based KJWW Engineering Consultants, puts his money where his mouth is. He and his wife are in the BQC "Allegro Circle," donating more than $10,000 this past year.

"It's certainly artistic, but it's also very athletic, too," he said of the ballet dancers. "It's just amazing the talent that goes into that."

"It's so much different than what you thought the stereotype was," he said. "It's something for all ages. Because of the artistic value, you realize it's fun – the skill of the dancers, the choreography they put together, it's exciting."

"If you go to it with an open mind, you realize how interesting it really is and how accessible an art form it is," Mr. VanDuyne said.

"People now, particularly younger people, like to have visuals to go along with the music," said Ms. Lee, a former board president who owns a health benefits consulting firm in Moline. "You're used to the multimedia effect – the beautiful visuals up there with the gorgeous music."

BQC does six productions a year and holds auditions in Chicago and Iowa City, attracting dancers nationwide, Ms. Cook said. Only one dancer in the current troupe of 10 is from the Quad-Cities originally, and that is Heidi Dunn.

Ballet mistress Courtney Lyon, 30, recently retired after dancing professionally for nine years. The St. Louis native joined BQC in 2007 and divides her time between the Rock Island office and helping to choreograph works and teach in the independent Ballet Quad Cities School of Dance.

"The overall quality of our product has gotten richer, fuller," Ms. Lyon said. "Dancers have gotten stronger. We just have matured."

"It's wonderful that we are growing this company from within," Ms. Cook said of Ms. Lyon. "It's a wonderful team we have." The school offers a variety of classes and provides opportunities to dance in the BQC productions.

BQC also puts a major emphasis on outreach. It has visited 60,000 K-12 students in the last decade, and 12,000 students this past year alone. School children have the chance to see a live performance at an Adler matinée for just $3 a ticket.

Dancers visit schools before each production to present "Behind the Ballet," which gets kids "up close and personal" with the dancers. Students learn choreography and can try on costumes.

Outreach also occurs at area churches, libraries, YMCAs and day-care centers, Ms. Lee said. Of the positive moves on and off stage, she said: "I'm hoping we can keep the momentum going."