Name Ballet Des Moines Founding Artistic Director Julie Grooters Principal venue Hoyt Sherman Place | Year founded 2002 Location Des Moines, Iowa | |
Previous names Ballet Theatre of Des Moines | ||
Ballet Des Moines is a ballet dance company based in Des Moines, Iowa.
Contents
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, that winter and its first spring show, Swan Lake and Divertimento, the following spring.
In 2005, Serkan Usta, a longtime star of Tulsa Ballet, 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.
Performances
In addition to community performances, Ballet Des Moines primarily performs its repertoire at Hoyt Sherman Place in the city's Sherman Hill neighborhood near downtown Des Moines. However, the company stages one performance per year the Civic Center of Greater Des Moines.
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 studenbts ages 13–18. The annual production of The Nutcracker uses more than 250 young dancers.
Dancers
As of 2013, the company has seven professional dancers: