Because it's called Love Stories, you'd rightfully expect Ballet Quad Cities' latest presentation to be chockablock with stirring physicality and sensual pas de deux. And indeed, this Valentine's Day-inspired outing - given the same title as last February's Ballet Quad Cities production, but boasting new vignettes by a quintet of choreographers - will find the company's professional dancers expressing, in thrillingly nonverbal fashion, what Executive Director Joedy Cook describes as "the many angles to love."
Yet for her contribution to Love Stories, 29-year-old choreographer and Ballet Quad Cities veteran Lynn Andrews appears to have been inspired less by romantic love than her sheer love of dance. That, and perhaps her love of a challenge.
"We did it in five days," said Andrews of the clever, exuberant piece that I watched, in rehearsal, during our early-January conversation. "And it was crazy. It was like, 'Eleven dancers! Five days! Seventeen minutes of music! Go!'
On December 12 and 13, area audiences will have the opportunity to attend two separate productions of composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker: one performed by the professional dancers of Ballet Quad Cities (plus a few local performers), one performed by the student performers of RiverPointBallet (plus a professional dancer). And Ballet Quad Cities' Executive Director Joedy Cook is up-front about a large part of the holiday favorite's appeal: "For all ballet companies, Nutcracker is what really helps pay their bills. Nutcracker is the one ballet that you can count on to get an audience."
Domingo Rubio, the Mexico City-based dancer currently performing with Ballet Quad Cities, is discussing his American breakthrough in 1999.
