Ballet Des Moines is a ballet company based in

Des Moines, Iowa Des Moines () is the capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small part of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines, ...

History

The company was founded in 2002 as the Ballet Theatre of Iowa. Previously, the city had been served for by Ballet Iowa for three decades; however, that company had gone defunct in 1997 following financial mismanagement Ballet Des Moines staged its first show, ''

The Nutcracker ''The Nutcracker'' ( rus, Щелкунчик, Shchelkunchik, links=no ) is an 1892 two-act ballet (""; russian: балет-феерия, link=no, ), originally choreographed by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov with a score by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaiko ...

'', that winter and its first spring show, ''Swan Lake and Divertimento'', the following spring. In 2005, Serkan Usta, a longtime star of

Tulsa Ballet Tulsa Ballet is a professional American ballet company located in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The artistic mission of Tulsa Ballet is "To preserve the tradition of classical ballet, promote the appreciation of contemporary dance, create works of superior and ...

, was named artistic director. In 2006, the company renamed itself Ballet Des Moines. In 2012, the company hired its own professional resident dancers for the first time. In November, 2021, Tom Mattingly was named Artistic Director of Ballet Des Moines.

Performances

Ballet Des Moines perform at various locations in Des Moines, most often at

Hoyt Sherman Place Hoyt Sherman Place, the home of Hoyt Sherman, was built in 1877 and is located in Des Moines, Iowa. History In 1850, Hoyt purchased five acres of land in Des Moines for $105. In 1877, Hoyt Sherman Place, the family home, was completed with the ...

and the

Civic Center of Greater Des Moines The Des Moines Civic Center is a 2,744-seat performing arts center belonging to Des Moines Performing Arts located in Des Moines, Iowa. It has been Iowa's largest theater since it opened on June 10, 1979, and is used for concerts, Broadway shows, ...

Education and development

Ballet Des Moines II, formed in 2009, is a corps of pre-professional dancers who represent the organization through community outreach events and public performances. In addition, Ballet Des Moines offers classes for students ages 13–18. The annual production of ''The Nutcracker'' uses more than 350 local young dancers.

Dancers

As of 2021, the company has eight professional dancers: *Amelia Grubb Hillman *Logan Hillman *Chiyo Nishida *Cameron Miller *Kate Anderson *Rune Houchin *Savannah Cox *Noah Klarck

References

External links