Ballet Quad Cities Leaps Into 29th Season, Seeks $1M More for New Moline Home
For 29 years, Ballet Quad Cities has been a dazzling jewel in the cultural crown of the region.
For its new season, it has four new precious stones that enhance its luster. Emerald Pease is among four new dancers who are members of the world-class professional company, preparing its next program — “More Twisted Tales of Poe” – coming October 17th and 18th at 7 p.m., The Spotlight Theatre, 1800 7th Ave., Moline. Ballet QC also is working hard to raise $1 million to complete renovations for a long-planned move to 1611 5th Ave., Moline.
BQC is comprised of 13 professional dancers and four full-time staff. Compared to last season, one dancer left and four new ones were hired, including 18-year-old Emerald Pease (out of 300 who submitted video auditions).
Ballet Quad Cities dancers rehearsing in the current studio, 613 17th St., Rock Island (photo by Joseph Maciejko).
The native of a rural Wisconsin farming community (her family farm grows produce) 31 miles north of Madison, Pease has danced since she was three (her mother was a ballet dancer), including the last two years in the pre-professional program at Milwaukee Ballet School & Academy. Her training included classical ballet, contemporary, jazz, character, musical theater, hip hop, and flamenco. Throughout her training at MBSA, Pease performed in “Swan Lake,” “Paquita,” and “Don Quixote.”
She expanded her training through multiple summer programs at Houston Ballet, Bossov Ballet Theater, Ballet Royale Minnesota, and the Conservatório Internacional de Ballet e Dança Annarella Sanchez in Portugal. She went to high school in Portage, Wis., and finished classes online after she moved to Milwaukee at 16.
Pease is finishing courses online for her associate’s degree through Milwaukee Area Technical College. She had met BQC veteran Maddie Rhode (who also danced in Milwaukee), who recommended the QC company. Rhode is in her seventh season here.
“My director was her former director,” Pease said. “She was in the building and my director was talking to her.”
“We look for dancers that are smart, intelligent, musical, confident and look like they would blend with the existing company,” BQC artistic director Courtney Lyon said. “I thought Emerald fit all those. I believe I had some company members in class when she was here, at open audition.”
Ballet QC artistic director Courtney Lyon
Lyon watched Pease interact with the other veteran dancers, and was pleased with their collaboration in the Rock Island studio.
The new dancers started in early August, in preparation for the new season’s premiere, “Ballet Off the Lawn” three weeks later, at Spotlight Theatre.
“It’s also what kind of person they are,” Lyon said of hiring new dancers. “I remember clearly speaking with Emerald and even though this would be her first professional experience, she knew what she was looking for, she was confident. She had experience not living at home. I knew she would fit in with the company and be able to learn quickly. I knew I could communicate with her.”
“I love it so far,” Pease said. “It’s very different from Milwaukee and I like it. I was looking for a new experience. The company environment is great; I love the people here.”
18-year-old Wisconsin native Emerald Pease is among four new BQC dancers in the 13-member professional company this season.
“I got to train a lot in Milwaukee,” she said, noting she didn’t get to dance much beyond the studio. “I wanted a chance to dance for an audience and I felt this would be a good place to do it.”
Pease most loves classical ballet, as well as contemporary dance. “I love them all,” she said. “It’s mostly the moments for me. I love dancing in the studio, the challenge it gives me. I love to work; it’s something I enjoy, to constantly get better. But I also love performing – for me, it’s not a performance, it’s more an experience. I’m kind of in my own world up there, on stage. It’s freeing.”
BQC did a half-hour program Thursday, Oct. 9 at the Figge Art Museum, with four pieces inspired by the museum collection, including one that will be in the Poe program. The new Spotlight program includes some pieces that are the same as last year.
“It’s the opportunity to take something and make it better,” Lyon said.
BQC has a long history in the 1931 Scottish Rite Cathedral, for about five years before Spotlight Theatre became the main group there in 2018.
“We were really the first organization that the Scottish Rite organization let in,” BQC executive director Joedy Cook said. “We had to win them over and they ended up loving us.”
A scene from the 2024 “Twisted Tales of Poe” by Ballet Quad Cities (photo by Joseph Maciejko).
Pease was impressed performing in the cathedral for the first time. “It was super pretty,” she said Wednesday. “I don’t think I had performed in a building like that since I was overseas in Portugal.”
Other new BQC members are:
- Dagny Ingle – A native of Macon, Georgia, Ingle began her professional career with Bossov Ballet Theatre in Maine, later joining Louisville Ballet’s Studio Company, and most recently Alabama Ballet as an apprentice.
- Corbin Phillips – A native of Champaign, Ill., Phillips graduated from The University of Iowa with a BFA in dance and a focus on choreography. He has trained with schools such as Ballet Chicago, Tampa Ballet, Next Generation Ballet, Joffrey Chicago, and Dance Theater of Harlem, and is resident choreographer for Dance Theater of Illinois.
- Sarah Pfeiffer – A native of Orlando, Fla., Pfeiffer has trained with Orlando Ballet, and Pacific Northwest Ballet’s Professional Division. She earned her bachelor’s degree in ballet and arts management at Indiana University, and then joined Alabama Ballet as an apprentice company dancer.
First-year dancer Emerald Pease and BQC executive director Joedy Cook on the second floor of the downtown Moline building Oct. 8, 2025 (photo by Jonathan Turner).
The move to larger space Moline will not mean a bigger company, since Lyon said: “The number we’re at is a really good number for us.”
“Number of dancers don’t equal success to us,” she said. Cook wants to better take care of the people they have.
“We don’t hire someone just to hire them – they have to be the right person, the right dancer for the company,” Lyon said, “We found four great fits this year.”
A $2 million expansion to Moline
Based nearly three decades at cramped one-floor space at 613 17th St., Rock Island, Ballet QC four years ago purchased a historic two-story building at 1611 5th Ave., Moline, just down the street from The Black Box Theatre, and a few blocks from the Spotlight.
The downtown Moline building (once home to the Illini movie theater in the 1940s) was last a gym. “It’s the perfect building for us because there are no pillars, so when it went up for sale, we very quickly purchased it,” Cook said. BQC has raised about $1 million, including for the 2021 purchase, and aims to raise $1 million more for the renovations, including taking out walls.
The first floor will include a main 2,077-square-foot dance studio, lobby, restrooms, offices, a lounge, music listening room and kitchen. The second floor will include a large 1,462-square-foot studio, next to two smaller studios, office, storage room and lobby, with large windows looking out onto 5th Avenue.
A rendering of the modified exterior for the new Moline home of Ballet Quad Cities.
The total square footage will increase from 5,000 (three studios) in Rock Island, to 12,000 (not including the basement) in Moline. And importantly, the building has 90 parking spaces in back, compared to six in Rock Island. They’ll knock down all the walls on the second floor for the new studios, and create new walls; new windows have been installed.
“This was the only building on 5th Avenue that had no windows,” Cook said. Phase two of renovations will include putting images of dancers on the second-floor exterior windows, to be lit at night.
A rendering of the planned main Ballet QC first-floor studio space in Moline.
The fundraising campaign’s biggest donors (up to $149,000 each) are from Hubbell-Waterman Foundation, Regional Development Authority, Roy J. Carver Charitable Trust, Scott County Regional Authority, and an anonymous donor. “We’re so fortunate,” she said. “There is one million dollars in this community.”
“It’s a very difficult time to be raising money,” Cook said. “But it doesn’t really matter, because once you start a project and you commit to it, you’re gonna figure it out.”
The current exterior of the planned new BQC home at 1611 5th Ave., Moline (photo by Jonathan Turner).
There’s no timetable for completion of fundraising and construction, she noted. The BQC board is in negotiation with Estes Construction (the general contractor) to determine cost estimates. “We are going to add to the landscape of downtown Moline like no other,” Cook said.
“Old buildings, there are always things you didn’t know about before,” she said.
It’s important to have enough space for the BQC School of Dance, which has 75 students, and places for multiple rehearsals to be able to happen simultaneously. They offer three ballet classes for adults, Cook said.
More Poe coming to Moline
In honor of spooky season, Ballet QC is bringing “More Twisted Tales of Poe” to the Spotlight – a night shrouded in even more mystery when Courtney Lyon brings author Edgar Allan Poe’s legendary tales to life. This production is everything you’ve come to expect from BQC’s exceptional talents: visually arresting choreography, athletically impressive performers, and outstanding entertainment. You can choose between traditional theater seating or a main floor table and prepare to get spooked.
A scene from the 2024 “Twisted Tales of Poe” by Ballet Quad Cities (photo by Joseph Maciejko).
The Oct. 17-18 program includes favorites from last year’s Poe ballet, and new dances. This year’s collection features:
- “Annabel Lee” with Annabel Lee: Madeleine Rhode, and Angels: Sierra DeYoung, Emerald Pease, Caitlin Sendlenski, Jillian Van Cura
- “The Oval Portrait” with Edgar Allan Poe and The Artist: Corbin Phillips, and The Artist’s Wife: Eleanor Ambler
- “The Raven” with Narrator: Marcus Pei, Alter Ego: Corbin Phillips, and Ravens: Eleanor Ambler, Dagny Ingle, Madeline Kreszenz, Sarah Pfeiffer, Kira Roberts, Mahalia Zellmer
- “Dream Within a Dream” with Dancers: Eleanor Ambler, Sierra DeYoung, Dagny Ingle, Emerald Pease, Sarah Pfeiffer, Caitlin Sendlenski, Jillian Van Cura, Mahalia Zellmer
- “The Telltale Heart” with The Murderer: Corbin Phillips, The Telltale Heart: Jillian Van Cura, Police Officers: Sierra DeYoung, Emerald Pease, Mahalia Zellmer, and Blood: Madeline Kreszenz, Sarah Pfeiffer, Marcus Pei, Madeleine Rhode, Kira Roberts, Caitlin Sendlenski
- “The Masque of the Red Death” with full company
- “The Cask of Amontillado” with Montresor: Corbin Phillips, Fortunato: Marcus Pei, and Italian Carnival Revelers: Eleanor Ambler Dagny Ingle, Madeleine Kreszenz, Caitlin Sendlenski Kira Roberts, Jillian Van Cura, Mahalia Zeller
Dancing as outreach to community
Community outreach is also crucial to BQC, as it has four programs to reach 1st through 6th graders in six school districts in Iowa and Illinois (including Pleasant Valley, Davenport, Rock Island, Moline, East Moline and Mercer County). Each program targets a specific academic discipline, and all support social-emotional learning. Programs are developed in close collaboration with school personnel and presented by the staff and dancers of Ballet Quad Cities.
Last year, the company reached 12,000 students, including the “Nutcracker” matinee at the Adler Theatre – this year they are adding a second matinee, and are allowing students a sneak preview of “Poe.”
“More Twisted Tales of Poe” will be presented at 7 p.m. Oct. 17 and 18 at The Spotlight Theatre, Moline.
All programs are interactive and multidisciplinary, combining movement, music, visuals, and critical thinking skills. In addition to classrooms, BQC presents many of these programs–at no cost to participants–in area libraries, community centers, senior centers, and organizations serving individuals with disabilities. No other arts organization offers such an intentionally designed, comprehensive suite of programs for youth and adults., according to the company.
Pease also enjoyed doing a “Wizard of Oz” themed school program recently, to emphasize teamwork, at six schools.
A scene from the 2024 “Twisted Tales of Poe” by Ballet Quad Cities (photo by Joseph Maciejko).
“We do about a 30-minute program for them, teaching them about trust, working together,” she said. “It’s a really good experience. It gave a lot of team-building within the company too, spending days going school to school with each other, doing something a little different. I know it’s a big part of the company as well; they like to do programs for the community, to reach out to people. It was really good to get a taste of what that would be.”
“It’s a big part of our mission,” Lyon said. “It connects us to the community. When we interview dancers, we’re very clear on how important outreach is for us, and we hope that person, if they accept the contract, that that’s something they really value as well. That’s usually the case – it’s usually someone who really wants to give back to the kids, any particular community, or share their love of dance. They also find connection to the community is important, so it kind of goes both ways for us.”
For tickets and more information on BQC, click HERE.
A scene from the 2024 “Twisted Tales of Poe” by Ballet Quad Cities (photo by Joseph Maciejko).
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