Rockford / Illinois / United States
About Rockford Dance Company ( RDC ) is committed to excellence in their mission to promote the art of dance through quality performance, education and outreach programming. Jayne Poor and Chuck Hoenes were the original directors of the company in 1973 when they gathered citywide dancers into a company to explore a concentration on dance. Rockford was in the midst of its own cultural synergy with organizations such as Charlottes Web and New American Theater making it easy to imagine a citywide company of dancers. The first call for dancers resulted in 86 dancers becoming the charter members of the company. Through the years the focus of the company has become more defined but our mission continues to include the support of a company of dancers from the Rockford community. Regular weekly company classes started in 1976. The boards of directors became a driving force of growth. In 1982 board members traveled to New York to learn how a school of dance is established and run properly. The school was established that year with quality standards. In 1991 a capital campaign allowed us to move into our new facilities at the Riverfront Museum Park with five state of the art dance studios. The first full-time School Director was hired in 1996 and a detailed curriculum was developed and established the quality that has attracted our 250+-student base. The school also established its own performance group, DanceReach, a program offered free to any student 8 years or older. RDCs focus is ballet with a well defined curriculum establish for all age levels and expertise. Over 45 classes are offered in a variety of dance genres. In the meantime the company has continued to improve on the quality of dance and its presentation. In 1985 the annual Nutcracker performance was established. In 1991 the company toured in China to perform at the Shanghai Festival Dance. Margaret Faust, our current Artistic Director since 1995, is responsible for establishing a company of dancers that are required to take five classes per week. This has allowed the company to grow stronger and reach a higher caliber of performance. RDC has encouraged the highest aspiration of its dancers with high quality performance values that include the Rockford Symphony Orchestra and creating renowned performances of Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty and the award winning A Midsummer Nights Dream in 2004. Company members have found an easy transition from our pre-professional program into colleges and professional programs. Our Outreach programming became a major focus with the hiring of an Outreach Coordinator in 2000. The program has grown to include programs such as Terrific Tuesdays, Fantastic Fridays, Camp Collage, Girl Scouts on the Move, Arts Revival and after school programming. The Company and DanceReach members, visit schools, retirement homes and festivals to introduce the art of dance through their latest works. Rockford Dance Company is partially funded by grants from the Rockford Area Arts Council the
