The company will travel from Nebraska to New York City—through 14 states—in six sleeper buses and three production trucks.

In a first-of-its-kind collaboration, Ballet Des Moines and Hancher Auditorium at the University of Iowa have come together to create Dance Into Spring, a state-crossing collaboration featuring outdoor performances in Des Moines, Iowa City, and Muscatine.

In a performance recorded specifically for Hancher Auditorium, violinist and composer Layale Chaker and her quintet performed last night from her album ‘Inner Rhyme’ and upcoming project ‘Bards’ with clarinet player Kinan Azmeh.

Ballet Des Moines and Hancher Auditorium have come together to bring a live dance performance for audiences to enjoy safely outdoors.

Hancher is pirouetting back into live performances — outdoors, masked and socially distanced — in its first collaboration with Ballet Des Moines.

Muscatine will be one of three stops on the “Dance into Spring” tour, bringing together Ballet Des Moines and Hancher Auditorium.

One collaboration is hoping to capture the feeling of renewal that comes with the season of spring through an outdoor performance.

If there is one thing everyone has missed over the last year, it is coming together with friends and family.


Hancher Auditorium has helped the UI during the pandemic by turning its stages into classrooms for the Department of Dance and the School of Music. The building has hosted up to 12 classes per day, five days a week during the fall and spring semesters.