EDUCATION & OUTREACH

HOME »

EDUCATION & OUTREACH

Ballet Quad Cities is an amazing arts organization that provides outstanding entertainment plus innovative and imaginative programs for people of all ages, shapes, sizes, and abilities. For us, joy in this work is seeing young people discover an entirely new vocabulary for expressing themselves through movement and take pride in trying out something unfamiliar. It is witnessing the twinkle in the eye of an older Quad Citizen moving in time with their peers to songs they remember from decades ago. It’s reading the countless thank-you letters and drawings from elementary school students after seeing their first full-length, live ballet performance. It’s dancing alongside an individual with a disability who is so excited to dance to music they simply cannot resist coming to the front of the room. It is seeing often-quiet professional ballet dancers find their voices as teaching artists and be able to connect face-to-face with members of their Quad Cities community. Most of all, joy is knowing that the work Ballet Quad Cities does in the studio, on the stage, and in the community makes the Quad Cities a happier, more creative place to live, work, and thrive!


We bring the joy of dance to children and adults throughout our region with the following programs:

Dance Me a Story: Exploring Literature through Ballet—all ages


Dance Me a Story is a fun interactive dance program for people of all ages encouraging reading through the vehicle of ballet. Dance Me a Story gives the participant a physical and imaginative way of interpreting a piece of literature by taking specific passages from a book and translating the words into creative movement. In the process, participants are exposed to the fine arts and how choreographers use literature to inspire the creation of their ballets. Developed for second-graders, this program has been adapted for participants of all ages and abilities—over 25,000 since it began in 2014!


Register for DMAS

Grades 1-6: Bullying prevention (live performance and classroom visit)

“The dancers’ precision and the alignment of the ballet performance with the book’s message made this a quality experience for our kids.”

Tony Hyatt, Pleasant Valley Director of Elementary Education


Each year, Ballet Quad Cities presents an original 30-minute ballet focused on an aspect of bullying prevention. These have included
The Ugly Duckling: A Message of Acceptance told through Dance, Dorothy Goes to Oz: A Story of Friendship and Teamwork, Giraffes Can’t Dance: A Story of Encouragement and Tolerance, and The Green Eyed-Monster: A Story of Feelings and Inclusion. Educators across the region praise BQC’s bullying prevention programming for its engaging and important message. 


Live Performance Experience: The Nutcracker—3rd Grade

The Nutcracker school visits and student matinee performance provide third-graders with opportunities to experience a professional ballet production while gaining behind-the-scenes insight into how music, choreography, costumes, lighting, and scenery can be used to understand a story told without words. During the Classroom Visit, students learn choreography of the ballet from BQC’s professional dancers, see props and costumes, and discuss how music is used to set the mood and tell the story in The Nutcracker. They then travel to the Adler Theatre to experience a live ballet performance in a formal setting—a first for many. 

LEAP! Dance as Conversation—4th Grade

Ballet Quad Cities’ newest program gives students an opportunity to learn the craft of choreography while developing Leadership, Expression, Attention, and Participation. Students practice interpersonal skills necessary for successful group work, a critical life skill that will serve them throughout their education and into adulthood. The irreplaceable “soft skills” students acquire through LEAP! are the types of tools that help students learn better by giving them many possible ways of sharing and processing information. 


For more information about our educational outreach programs please contact us at 309-786-3779 or [email protected]

Share by: