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.

Just as spring brings a mix of sunshine and showers, area arts presenters are bringing a mix of in-person and online events to usher in the season. Here are some of the upcoming ways they're continuing to connect with viewers at home and afar.

Despite having had to operate in the red over the past year, Hancher executive director Chuck Swanson is still dedicated to the venue's mission.

This weekend, Third Coast Percussion will bring online fun to Hancher Auditorium with their Saturday performance of “Think Outside the Drum,” and their Sunday family event, “The Hancher Youth and Family Talent Show.”