Dance finds audience embrace in Iowa City, tougher sell in Cedar Rapids

CEDAR RAPIDS — Dance has had a toehold in Iowa City for more than four decades, thanks to a groundbreaking Hancher/Joffrey Ballet pas de deux through the University of Iowa.

Just 25 miles away, though, in Cedar Rapids, building an audience for dance has always and continues to require a leap of faith by those wanting to sell not just seats, but an appreciation for the art.

While a 'Ballroom With a Twist' show in February nearly filled the 1,700-seat Paramount Theatre, classical dance has been a tougher sell.

Hancher's presentation of the world-class Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater only drew 1,000 to the Paramount in 2014.

Despite 'flat' sales for everything but holiday 'The Nutcracker' shows, Orchestra Iowa Maestro Timothy Hankewich is firmly entrenched in the Ballet Quad Cities partnership, which began in 2012 with the goal of bringing a season of classical dance infused with contemporary stylings to Cedar Rapids.

Orchestra + Ballet

Building an audience takes time, says Joedy Cook, executive director of Ballet Quad Cities. She faced plenty of skepticism in 1996 when she launched her company in her hometown of Rock Island, Ill.

'I did not want to live in a community without high-caliber dance,' Cook says. She had one paid dancer, a young artistic director, $25,000 and talented dancers from the community. Today, the troupe has 13 paid professional dancers, a seasoned artistic director and a half-million-dollar budget.

Collaborating with Orchestra Iowa makes sense for both organizations, as they strive to broaden their reach.

Bringing professional ballet to Cedar Rapids 'filled a niche that wasn't here, that we were uniquely qualified to do,' Hankewich says. 'It also fit in with our mission of Orchestra Iowa to be able to extend performances throughout the state, which is crucial to our identity and business model.'

Dance taps into a new audience for the orchestra in its Paramount Theatre home, too.

'We have some overlap, but I can tell you we have some symphonic patrons who aren't fans of dance, and we have fans of dance that aren't fans of symphonic music — and this is pooling them together into an artistic and financially responsible manner,' Hankewich says.

'It's a new audience, different faces,' he says, which should raise the orchestra's profile and profits. 'At the end of the day, there's only so much population in the state of Iowa to sustain all this. So how do you find that sweet spot?'

Cutting Edge

At CSPS in southeast Cedar Rapids' historic New Bohemia district, that sweet spot is in commissioning new works and exploring new audience and student opportunities.

'Dance is a cutting edge of performing arts these days,' Executive Director F. John Herbert says.

Legion Arts has been presenting dance at its CSPS venue at least once a year for close to 25 years. When asked if dance is an audience draw, he quickly says no. But that hasn't stopped Legion Arts from seeking out solo dancers and small troupes to perform there and new works to debut there.

'In the past two years we've been trying to identify a dance focus for Legion Arts,' he says. 'It's not a new thing for us, but it's a kind of heightened involvement. This is in line with the way we see our general mission as doing things other people aren't doing or supporting artists and art forms that are underrepresented in the community.

'Fifteen or 20 years ago, it was singer/songwriters,' he says. 'Now, especially with the growth of New Bohemia and new music venues opening all the time, there's lots of opportunity for artists to have their work presented. It became clear to us a couple of years ago that dance was really underrepresented.'

So Legion Arts has been making a concerted effort to connect with performers, choreographers and dance companies in the vibrant dance scenes in the Twin Cities and Chicago, 'to bring that energy to Eastern Iowa,' Herbert says.

And when those dancers do come to town, they often stay several days to do workshops, performances and master classes with students in area elementaries, high schools and colleges, or to engage with special interest groups if the dance concerts reflect a certain theme, like ecological issues.

'We very much see ourselves as trying to build a long-term audience for contemporary dance, in a program that accommodates dancers and figures out how to connect them most effectively and authentically with the community,' Herbert says.

Making Connections

Outreach is a key component not only for presenters, but for educators and dance companies across Eastern Iowa.

Dancers in Company, the touring facet of the University of Iowa's Department of Dance, has been crisscrossing the state and beyond since 1984 as performing and educating ambassadors for dance. The troupe's recently completed tour stopped in Ottumwa, Des Moines, Dennison, Marshalltown, Davenport, Cedar Rapids, Coralville and Iowa City. Audiences saw a variety of styles, from ballet and contemporary to urban funk.

'That gives audiences a look at the various ways dance is presented and created,' program director Charlotte Adams says. 'When these events are offered to people, they're interested.'

Student workshops and lecture demonstrations further participants' understanding of this athletic art form.

'Dance, itself, has come forward in the national presence, due to a lot of these dance shows on television, and musicals are popular. Contemporary dance and ballet have a different kind of audience, but people are caught up by this physical human art form. The dancers do amazing things,' Adams says.

'The thing that I really like about what we do is that when we go, we do don't just do the dancing. We also talk about what we're doing and how to look at dance, so that (viewers) can feel more comfortable with interpreting dance in ways that work for them — so it doesn't seem foreign, like they have to guess. Their point of view is important.'

At a time when people are turning to the Internet for information and entertainment, community outreach becomes even more important in developing audiences for live productions, Adams notes.

'Presenters and companies are becoming more creative in how to engage and find new audiences,' she says.

Forging New Paths

Cook is anxious to bring Ballet Quad Cities' successful outreach model to Cedar Rapids and expand its reach.

'I build an audience in unique ways — maybe ways that other people wouldn't think about,' she says.

'It's not just about selling tickets. Certainly, I want to sell tickets to generate an income, but I want to get people in those seats because I want my dancers to have an audience,' she says. 'They're athletes, but they're non-traditional athletes. ... They work on a ballet for six weeks and they only get to perform it four or five times. It's very important for them to have that audience so they can be fulfilled as artists.'

To that end, Cook's company is engaging audiences through performances airing on Iowa Public Television; school matinees; a Ballet 101 lecture and demonstration series; a Young At Heart movement class for active seniors; and Dance Me a Story, which explores literature through ballet. She would love to bring the latter program to Cedar Rapids and Marion libraries.

'The sky's the limit,' she says, 'having people thinking about and reading about the wonderful people who create dance.'

She continues to think outside the toebox, recently sending two dancers to Davenport's Figge Art Museum to model for sketches. She was thrilled to hear that a teacher from Muscatine was bringing her entire art class to draw the dancers. Cook also is collaborating with Quad City Arts to invite artists to submit dance-inspired works for a juried show at the Quad Cities Airport gallery in November and December.

'I'm just having the time of my life doing all of this,' she says.

Nurturing Dance

Another way to create a lifelong love affair with dance is with instruction through the Corridor's many studios and recreational programs.

Charlie and Stephanie Vogl met in dance class, went on to study dance and business at the University of Iowa and open the Dancer's Edge along Center Point Road in Hiawatha in June 2008. In 2012, moved to expanded quarters nearby at 1550 Hawkeye Dr., where they now serve 730 students from ages 18 months through high school.

Charlie Vogl says he realizes not all of his students will become professional dancers, but points out that youths with dance backgrounds do well in show choirs and school dance teams — and just do better in and out of the classroom.

'If I can instill small life-lessons into my class, too, hopefully at the end result, students will think of their dance classes as so much more than just going and having 45 minutes of aerobic exercise each week,' he says.

'Dance is greatly important for teamwork and coordination, just like any other sports. Unless you're doing a solo, you're not onstage alone — you're in that environment with everybody else.'

Students learn 'great discipline,' he says, as well as ways to conquer fears by performing in front of an audience. 'Their confidence starts to build,' which translates to the classroom, where they become more willing to raise their hand and ask a question, as well as participate in more activities.

'It's great to see how those go hand in hand,' he says.

Vogl also encourages his students to attend dance presentation at Corridor venues and around the Midwest, especially exploring the lively Minneapolis and Chicago dance scenes. Those who attend professional performances in their youth are more likely to attend shows as adults.

Whether their families patronize dance shows after years of attending dance recitals is another matter.

'We see that in music lessons, as well — the disconnect between the training of one's children and the attendance at concerts,' Orchestra Iowa's Hankewich says. 'That culture is declining, and I don't know why. We throw all our efforts at that question every day. And yet, the whole purpose of the lesson is the ability to perform.

'There's no shortage of people who want to be onstage. There is a shortage of people who want to watch you onstage,' Hankewich says with a laugh.

Turning serious, he says: 'Today, there still is so much effort being put into the arts education of people's children, what is often lost is that there is a purpose and a potential profession in store for them, that if not nurtured, could easily go away. ... A lot of people's engagement with the arts ends with the family connection. That's sad in this day and age, because it used to be a real cultural connection.'

So what keeps people from making that leap to seeing the pros in action?

'I don't know,' Hankewich says. 'Sometimes it's price, sometimes it's personal tastes, sometimes it's the weather — you just never know. And everyone's motivation for going to a concert is different. Sometimes they just want to see their friend onstage, sometimes they go there for the particular program, because it's special and rare, sometimes they have nothing better to do, sometimes they went out with their friends for a social occasion, all of which are valid.

'There are a lot more forces today keeping people at home than there ever were before. After a hard day at work, it's very difficult to turn around and go back downtown again. Restaurants and theaters have the same problem.

'Quality is part of the equation, but not the end-all and be-all, as well. It's a very complicated soup,' Hankewich says.

What Sells

When the Paramount is the presenter, not simply the venue, General Manager Jason Anderson seeks out the mainstream shows that are touring and selling well, like the recent 'Ballroom With a Twist' infusion of ballroom and hip-hop, as well as several other TV-to-stage shows going on the road.

Choosing shows is 'really about our market and whether it will support' the show,' Anderson says. Part of that comes with title recognition or association, noting that lots of patrons asked for tickets to 'Dancing With the Stars,' because several of those cast members were featured in 'Ballroom With a Twist.'

The Silhouettes sold well in 2012, with two factors in its favor. The show came less than a year after the Denver-area troupe placed second on 'America's Got Talent' and it's the brainchild of Cedar Rapids native Lynne Waggoner-Patton.

'I applaud what Orchestra Iowa has done with their partnerships with Ballet Quad Cities and the Cedar Rapids Opera — great partnerships that they came up with while Paramount was down (because of the Floods of 2008),' Anderson says. 'That's absolutely how you educate the consumer: Show them a great piece, a great production and that builds from there. ...

Once they are in the building exposed to a very good product, they'll come back.'

Hancher Tradition

Hancher Executive Director Chuck Swanson credits the Joffrey Ballet with igniting a passion for dance in Iowa City with the troupe's first performance there in 1974. The relationship has grown by leaps since then, and has been a driving force between the success of both programs, paving the way for audiences to embrace performances by the world's major dance troupes and dancers at the University of Iowa, including Mikhail Baryshnikov in 1997.

Hancher has been the site of many Joffrey residencies and landmark premieres, from the Prince/Joffrey rock ballet, 'Billboards' in 1993 and the remounting of Nijinsky's 'Le Sacre du Printemps' (The Rite of Spring) in 1987 to and Robert Joffrey's signature setting of 'The Nutcracker' in 1987, which over the years has featured more than 350 area children onstage.

'I think you would find it a very rare partnership anywhere,' says Ashley Wheater, the Joffrey's artistic director. 'It's been so instrumental in lots of ways. Iowa City and Hancher have influenced the Joffrey as much as the Joffrey has influenced dance in Iowa City.'