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 […]
dance reviews
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Review: Ballet Des Moines kicks off the season with athleticism, Enya and a pianist that’s part of the performance
Ballet Des Moines opened their 2025-2026 season this past weekend with Forward, an evening of new and returning performances at Hoyt Sherman Place. The company aims to make dance more inclusive and accessible this season through a diverse repertoire and community initiatives, including a podcast, sensory friendly matinees, audio transcriptions and adaptive dance classes. The […]
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Review: Twyla Tharp brings 1999’s ‘Diabelli’ back to Hancher as the legendary choreographer celebrates her ‘Diamond Jubilee’
Despite two decades of dance training, most of my context for Twyla Tharp’s Diamond Jubilee at Hancher last Wednesday night was via an undergraduate dance history class on the choreographer and her eponymous company. That she was part of my dance curriculum speaks to how Tharp is one of the most well known names in American modern dance…
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Four lessons learned from Ailey II
I decided to see Ailey II on Nov. 4 at the Englert Theatre more to fulfill my drive to explore the unknown in the arts than from a desire to see it. The opportunity to interview Ailey II Artistic Director Troy Powell for Englert’s Stages magazine was the tipping point — he’d been insistent on the point that dance is an art that anyone can appreciate and understand. And so I went.
