Complexions Contemporary Ballet graced the stage this past week for the stunning conclusion to Des Moines Performing Arts’ 2025-2026 Dance Series. The program was a celebration of artistry and skill, featuring dancers of varying heights, ethnicities and cultures as well as music of differing eras and genres.
Central Iowa Arts & Entertainment
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Des Moines screenwriter Joshua Johnson on how a Hitchcock spoof he penned 10 years ago became Jason Biggs’ directorial debut
As a kid, it’s easy to see Iowa as lacking in spectacle. But I’d wager we Iowa kids have the best imaginations because of it. With fewer shiny distractions, creatives are able to devote themselves to a craft. Joshua Johnson, raised in West Des Moines, is one of those former kids. His childhood love for […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
With 10 years of electric shows under their utility belts, Jinnouchi Power is making music in ‘dialogue’ with their Des Moines fans
Patrick MacCready was a music-curious kid, but he didn’t take well to traditional music education. “I grew up in Pella and got guitar lessons from a local shop. I found it too scary, and I actually had a falling out with an instructor in the school band because the instruction part was too scary for […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Review: Ballet Des Moines’ ‘Nothing Holds Still’ featured veiled dancers, intricate partner work, the Belin Quartet and a painting danced onto the canvas
Ballet Des Moines offered an evening of world premieres with their latest performance, Nothing Holds Still. The program featured works by three choreographers, each exploring themes of time, transformation and stillness through their own unique perspective. In all, music and movement communicate diverse emotions without any need for words. The program opened with a depiction […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Review: From passionate to jazzy to epic, the Des Moines Symphony shined with ‘Love–Romeo & Juliet’
The Des Moines Symphony offered classical music enthusiasts an ideal date night on Valentine’s weekend with Love–Romeo & Juliet, the aptly titled fourth installment of their Masterworks Series. The baton was wielded by guest conductor, Miguel Harth-Bedoya, who led a nuanced program of European masterpieces. Harth-Bedoya’s rapport with the ensemble was remarkable considering this is […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Review: Ballet Des Moines passes the ‘Nutcracker’ litmus test with flying colors
Ballet Des Moines was blessed with a snowy opening night for The Nutcracker last Thursday at Hoyt Sherman Place. For ballet companies across the world, the production of The Nutcracker is both the close to the fall season and a company’s most attended performance, thanks to its ties to holiday tradition and nostalgia. With the […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Review: Iowa Stage Theatre Company, no stranger to ‘A Christmas Carol,’ incorporates songs, humor and a message from the Present
A Christmas Carol is a familiar tale. Familiar not just to the average English speaker, it is a tale that should be especially familiar to audiences of the Iowa Stage Theater Company (ISTC). Over the years, ISTC has made an annual production of A Christmas Carol a tradition, often repeating actors and crew year to […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Review: From the lobby to stage, New York Voices (with an assist from a local youth choir) brought Christmas spirit to the Staplin Center
Civic Music Association’s centennial season invites a wide array of musicians to Des Moines, and this past weekend they ushered in the holiday season at Staplin Performing Arts Center with a festive performance of The Sounds of the Season by New York Voices.
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Dubbed the ‘gadget guy’ of jazz, Herbie Hancock used tech to change music forever. He honed his skills in Grinnell
In his last performance in Iowa City, jazz great Herbie Hancock mentioned how he felt “at home in Iowa” because of his years at Grinnell College. For most artists, a nod to their alma mater might sound like simple gratitude. In Hancock’s case, it was an understatement. His time at Grinnell did not just influence […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Fully Booked at DMPL: Books to read when you need to feel something
Reading is a daily ritual for me. I’m a mood reader, gravitating towards genre fiction when I need an escape from reality, but my favorite books tend to be emotionally devastating literary fiction. I love to be moved to tears. To be left gasping at the beauty and heartbreak that humans create with words, reflecting […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Lefty’s Live Music is closing after 10 years in Des Moines
After a decade as a pillar of the music scene in Des Moines, Lefty’s Live Music is closing. “As our tenth year draws to a close and after much consideration, we’ve made the challenging decision to say goodbye before the new year,” co-owners Anne Mathey and Erik Brown said in a social media post on […]
Posted inAlbum Reviews
Album Review: DIEZELEATER — ‘Couthless Aggression’
With a band name styled in ALL CAPS and “kvlt and tru” spelling, you know you’re going to have some sort of preconceived notion of the Des Moines-based metallers DIEZELEATER (Should it technically be DIEZELDRINKER?) and I won’t tell you mine.
