Not Flyover Country: How Midwestern Ballet Companies are Shaping the Communities they Serve
Abstract:
This presentation explores the reciprocal relationships between small Midwestern ballet companies and the communities they inhabit. Countering the popular narrative that the plains states are “flyover” regions in the arts, we will contextualize our careers as professional ballet dancers in multiple Midwestern cities, articulating how regional ballet companies enrich local cultural landscapes by offering accessible performances and educational outreach, and foster a unique sense of identity and pride within their communities. Engaging research methodologies that include archival excavation of local news and social media output, interviews with company directors and board members, and our personal histories, we highlight how local traditions, demographics, and socio-economic factors shape the artistic direction and repertory choices of regional companies, and identify practical strategies which have allowed small ballet companies to survive and thrive through multiple recessions and the Covid pandemic.The presenters celebrate the decades-long presence of these regional companies as indicative of ballet’s pervasiveness within Midwestern American culture, and underscore the importance of dismantling the prevailing geographical hierarchies in ballet. By unpacking the strategies small ballet companies use to foster cultural appreciation, economic development, and social cohesion, our research illustrates a dynamic interdependence between the arts and community life. We emphasize the importance of Midwestern ballet companies as both cultural catalysts and reflections of the communities they serve.