Ballet Quad Cities' "Ballet on the Lawn" at Davenport's Outing Club -- September 13.
Our area's professional dance company Ballet Quad Cities has a lot to celebrate at the start of its 30th anniversary, beginning with the September 13 performances of Ballet on the Lawn at Davenport's Outing Club. But in addition to the season ahead that will boast six exciting vignettes in the outdoor program and an upcoming world premiere in Courtney Lyon's October 23 and 24 The Scarlet Letter, the organization is thrilled to announce its CEO and founder Joedy Cook as the recipient of Royal Neighbors' annual Nation of Neighbors Empowerment Grant, awarded for Cook's continuous efforts in providing outreach and opportunities for women and girls throughout the Quad Cities.
Regarding this year's Ballet on the Lawn, the company's artistic director and longtime choreographer Lyon says that “for the kickoff to our 30th season, we wanted to pick things that were really meaningful, and really showed the identity of Ballet Quad Cities.” Because community outreach, particularly in terms of its anti-bullying messaging, is key to the organization's mission, it only made sense to start the September 13 program with “Giraffes Can't Dance,” which Lyon calls “one of our most notable and most popular pieces.”
“Giraffes Can't Dance” is among four original Ballet Quad Cities works focused on themes of bullying prevention and character building that reach more than 4,500 elementary students each year. The dance piece, as its description states, “engages young audience members with the story of Gerald the Giraffe and his dancing animal friends as they discover the importance of embracing and encouraging individuality. Gerald can’t dance in the ways his friends expect him to, but he finds inspiration in the sounds of nature one lonely evening. With the help of a kind cricket, Gerald and the other animals repair their friendship and dance to Gerald’s beat in the moonlight.” Ballet Quad Cities Artistic Associate Emily Kate Long serves as choreographer, with the vignette performed by company members Eleanor Ambler, Brock Duhachek, Madeline Kreszenz, Corbin Phillips, Caitlin Sendlenski, and Jillian Van Cura.
Boasting choreography by D4Dance Academy founder/director Deepali Phanse and danced by company members Sierra DeYoung, Emerald Pease, and Marcus Pei, second segment "Naach" was created, says Lyon, to "celebrate the diversity and connections within our community," This Ballet on the Lawn vignette is a vibrant Bollywood dance, and as Phanse stated, "Bollywood dance is a fusion of different Indian and international dance styles, including bhangra, semi-classical, hip-hop, jazz, salsa, and many others featured in Indian films.” The piece's dancing trio, Phanse added, delivers “a fun, energetic, and playful scene in which the two female dancers have a crush on the male dancer and try to win him over with their charm."
A world premiere serves as the third offering in the Ballet on the Lawn repertoire: choreographer Marcus Pei's “Swell,” a vignette incorporating romantic music that features a dancing trio of its own in DeYoung, Pease, and Phillips.
“Marcus is one of our professional dancers,” says Lyon. “This is his fourth season with us, and he's a very talented performer. There's a lot of integrity in his artistic work, and we're always looking for that – emerging talent. Joedy really had her eye on me in that way. So she spoke with him this summer and asked if he wanted the opportunity, and so he's now an emerging choreographer with Ballet Quad Cities.”
Lyon herself choreographed the presentation's fourth piece, “Paganini’s Caprice No 24 in A Minor,” which involves the full Ballet Quad Cities company. (In addition to the aforementioned dancers, the vignette showcases the talents of Gabrielle Mock, Madeline Rhode, and Kira Roberts.) Inspired by Iowa artist Gary Kelley's haunting illustrations for Dark Fiddler, the vignette was created exclusively for a 2016 performance collaboration between the Figge Art Museum, Ballet Quad Cities, and the Quad City Symphony Orchestra.
“It was only seen one time by a very small group of people in a gallery of the Figge.” says Lyon. “Maybe 200 people were there. And I said to Joedy, 'You know what? That piece was really great. Why was this never on stage?' So now it is. And it's a really important piece for us, because it was the first collaboration we did with the Figge in that way – where we would take artwork that they have and create original dance pieces for it. We've been doing that, now, for the past 10 years with several exhibits and artists who have come in and out. But this was the first one,
“It's like German expressionism,” says Lyon of the dance's style. “Very dark, very visceral … . Gary Kelley's work has great structure, and Paginini is one of the world's most virtuosic violin players who really created a lot of new methods for playing the violin. Once you hear the music, you'll know you've heard it before.”
Lyon also choreographed fifth Ballet on the Lawn segment "Sugar Rum Fairy," an excerpt from Ballet Quad Cities’ production of Nutcracker in the Round in 2020. Included, I posit, to remind us all of the pandemic.
"To remind us all of the pandemic,” says Lyon. “Exactly."
After a laugh, she continues, "I feel that the company made it through [2020] because Joedy Cook is just unstoppable, and knew that we had to keep going – that we just needed to figure it out. That's how we ended up at the Outing Club in the first place. That's also how I ended up condensing The Nutcracker and coming up with different versions that would be possible to perform with the Adler Theatre closed.
“So 'The Sugar Rum Fairy' is an example of what came out of that," she adds, the piece's featured dancers at Ballet on the Lawn being Roberts at 2 p.m. and Ambler at 6 p.m. "But also, it reminds people, especially people who aren't familiar with our company or ballet in general, that we're not just prissy with tutus and pointe shoes. I mean, we can do that. But we work with all different styles, and 'The Sugar Rum Fairy' is like a really jazzy version of 'The Sugar Plum Fairy.'"
With company members DeYoung, Pease, Pei, Rhode, Roberts, Sendlenski, and Van Cura closing the production, this year's Ballet on the Lawn climaxes with Lyon's "Roses and Snow," its broad concept, as Lyon says, being "about universal peace.."
More specifically, she continues, "I was inspired by the idea of the exhibit that's coming to the Putnam Museum in late winter/early spring of 2027. It involves the Japanese friendship dolls. In 1927, American kids sent all these dolls to Japanese kids – kind of like a pen-pal thing. And then the Japanese sent dolls back. Every state was gifted a doll, and the Putnam Museum was chosen as one of the places to have a friendship doll in 1927. We still have that doll, 100 years later.
"I had no idea about any of this.,” says Lyon. “But the program was started by a reverend here in America. Because there were rising political tensions between the U.S. and Japan, the idea was that if American kids and Japanese kids could learn about each other and make friendships, maybe there wouldn't have to be a world war."
Obviously, after 1927, those high hopes didn't come to fruition. But for her "Roses and Snow" piece, so named for composer Robbie Basho's accompanying composition (the music blending Eastern and Western influences), Lyon says, "It's about teaching the next generation of kids, and hoping that if you can help them understand about other cultures and learn about other people, they can learn tolerance from a really young age. That's what the friendship dolls were about."
There will be performances of Ballet on the Lawn held at 2 and 6 p.m. at Davenport's Outing Club, and attendees of the 2 p.m. production will also be witness to another special event: Joedy Cook's official acceptance of the Royal Neighbors' Nation of Neighbors Empowerment Grant.
As the Royal Neighbors press release states: "What began 30 years ago with $25,000, one paid dancer, a dedicated board of directors, and a dream, has grown into a professional ballet company attracting hundreds of dancers from across the country and bringing the arts to thousands throughout the Quad Cities. Now, a $20,000 Nation of Neighbor Empowerment Grant from Royal Neighbors of America will help Ballet Quad Cities expand its community reach and create new opportunities for women and girls through the arts.
"Led by Joedy Cook, Ballet Quad Cities is powered by an all-female staff and provides professional dancers with opportunities to grow as artists, mentors and educators. More than 300 professional dancers applied to join the company last year alone. The Nation of Neighbors from Royal Neighbors grant will allow Ballet Quad Cities to expand partnerships with organizations serving women, girls and families.
“New programs are already taking shape, including a collaboration with a Rock Island library presenting Giraffes Can’t Dance, where families can enjoy this 30-minute performance for free. The company is also developing new programming with the YWCA and a local childcare organization. Funding will also support instructors, program development, space, and transportation, helping remove barriers that can prevent community organizations and families from accessing professional arts experiences."
"I'm so honored," says Cook of the acknowledgment only given locally once per year. "It comes at a wonderful time – 30 years of building Quad Cities.
"I had dinner with the CEO of Royal Neighbors and the entire national board on a Sunday evening," she continues. "It was quite nice: just a wonderful night of fellowship and laughter and support. But instead of getting my award that evening in front of them, I'm going to get my award at Ballet on the Lawn, and I'm going to bring up all the women who have helped along the way over the years and share it with them. Especially Courtney Lyon.
“I'm sharing this award with many, many women, because I could not have received it without their dedication, perseverance, and grit. I wouldn't be here without all the women who have supported me, through thick and thin, throughout the years."
And how, you may wonder, did Cook first hear of her honor?
"My secretary, Maura Warner, actually nominated me for this award, and she called me and said, 'I've got the best news!' So I said to her, 'You're pregnant!' And she said 'No! You won an award!'
Ballet Quad Cities' Ballet on the Lawn will be performed at Davenport's Outing Club on Sunday, September 13, at 2 and 6 p.m. Lunch and dinner baskets of a burger, tenderloin, or hot dog with chips will be available to purchase for $10, with beverages available at the bar (cash only), and no outside food or beverages are permitted.
General admission is $22.13-$37.89, and more information and tickets are available by calling (309)786-3779 and visiting BalletQuadCities.com.
