Mahalia Zellmer

Mahalia Zellmer, an Iowa native, received her training at Ballet Quad Cities School of Dance studying ballet, modern, jazz, tap, contemporary, African, and Indian dance. As a young student, she performed in Artistic Director Courtney Lyon's The Nutcracker, eventually earning corps de ballet roles with Ballet Quad Cities in Alice in Wonderland, Peter and the Wolf, and Paris en Pointe while still in high school. After graduating, she joined BQC as a company trainee for two seasons. She has received additional training in improvisation, choreography and performance at the Glenda Brown Choreography Project in Kansas City, MO. Notable performances with BQC include The Red Queen and March Hare in Lyon’s Alice in Wonderland, Meghan Phillips’ solo Reverie at the Figge Art Museum, Emily Kate Long’s Four Square, Lyon's Benny's Gig and Rite of Spring, The Cowardly Lion in Long's Dorothy Goes to Oz, Long’s solo Letters, and Napoli. For Ballet Quad Cities, her choreographic debut, "Me, Myself and I," inspired by Eleanor Ambler's poetry, premiered at Ballet on the Lawn 2023. The 2023-2024 season also featured her in a role in Lyon's Billy the Kid, the premiere of Long's The Headless Horseman, her return as the Cowardly Lion, and a performance in the premiere of Lyon's Snow White. During the 2024-2025 season, she explored her choreographic voice with "Midnight Vixens," a jazz quartet inspired by Bix Beiderbecke's timeless melody, "There'll Come A Time." This season marked her debut performance in a principal role as the formidable Rat Queen in The Nutcracker. Additionally, she had the privilege of performing in Donald Laney's thought-provoking modern piece for Love Stories. Entering her fifth season as a professional company dancer, she eagerly anticipates the exciting possibilities and artistic growth this year will bring!