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thePeorian.com
The Present
Cornerstone Academy
The Cornerstone Academy
for Performing Arts is still in its
infancy but its small studio on the
second floor of the Cornerstone
Building in Peoria is filled during
its summer classes.
The reputation of its chief in-
structors, long-time ballet teach-
ers Von Ranthonyi and Reiter, is
a good part of the reason.
Within its mission statement
Cornerstone says it will instill “a
quality of thought and action that
enhances the lives of all the stu-
dents regardless of their ultimate
careers. The Cornerstone is com-
mitted to enriching the quality
of life in the central Illinois area
by providing opportunities to all
through community outreach.”
While the organization’s main
focus will be ballet, its website
said instructors will also incor-
porate various dance styles and
genres.
Registration is open year-round
and scholarships are available.
The first performance by Cor-
nerstone Academy will be “Alice
in Wonderland: A Children’s
Ballet.” It is scheduled for 3 p.m.
on Aug. 12 at the Cornerstone
Building.
Von Ranthonyi has danced
professionally and has been
teaching more than a decade, in-
cluding in Peoria since 2002. She
has danced, taught and choreo-
graphed throughout the United
States and in Mexico.
Reiter, the Cornerstone Acad-
emy director, has been danc-
ing since age 6 and earned her
masters degree in dance from the
Tisch School for the Arts in New
York City.
Other instructors are Josh Gul-
lett, Rhea Keller, Taylor Nieman,
Justin Hand, Mary Reiter and
Karie Bencz.
City Dance
Go to the website for City
Dance Peoria, www.citydan-
cepeoria.org, and you are struck
by the site of a young person
doing what appears to be a hand
spring in the middle of railroad
tracks at the intersection of Main
and Water streets.
It is not your typical dance
scene. Then again, it is part of
what they teach at City Dance
Peoria. The photo actually starts a
two-minute video of the kinds of
dance the organization teaches. It
specializes in hip-hop, street jazz
and breakdance.
But there is something else that
sets it apart. City Dance is not just
an arts education center; it also
is a community outreach organi-
zation that offers opportunities
with other outreach programs to
students to pursue their passion
in a safe environment.
City Dance is also in its in-
fancy, owned by instructors Tyler
and Amanda Relph, and its mis-
sion statement is brief but to the
point. “City Dance is a nonprofit
organization committed to chang-
ing lives through dance and cre-
ative arts mentorship programs,”
it says.
The Relphs have both been
trained in Los Angeles and have
danced professionally, as has ar-
tistic director Joshua Dick. Other
instructors are Tabitha and Napo-
leon D’Umo, Chris Jones, Cedric
Gardner and Wade Robson.
TazWood Dance Company
For 23 of its 30 years Illinois
Central College has been the
residence of the TazWood Dance
Company, but that doesn’t mean
it is for ICC students.
Rather, the TazWood Dance
organization opens its dance
and instruction to the public,
choosing its members through
auditions for its various concerts.
While company dancers must be
15 years or older, the company
often will audition children for its
various shows. Through the years
more than 2,400 children have
danced in those shows, according
to the ICC website.
The company dancers are
advanced in their training, with
strong backgrounds in ballet and
either jazz, tap or modern.
The TazWood Dance Com-
pany is a nonprofit organization
founded by Mary Dexter in 1982.
She remains the artistic director
and through Illinois Central Col-
lege, the Company gives classes,
rehearsals, and performance op-
portunities to advanced dancers
from the greater Peoria area.
For more information, call Mary
Dexter, artistic director, at
(309) 367-9754 or (309) 367-4644.
Shown here and on the previous page are dances from “The Nutcracker”
performed in recent years by the Peoria Ballet.