Des Moines Performing Arts Uplifts New Artistic Work for Young Audiences

Des Moines Performing Arts (DMPA) continues to invest in the future of live performance by supporting the creation of new work for young people and families through the TYA Tour Development Collective (TYA TDC).

As a founding member of the Collective, DMPA collaborates with presenting organizations across the country to bring fresh, imaginative storytelling to life and ensure these works reach audiences nationwide. Since its launch in 2025, the Collective has grown significantly, reflecting a shared commitment among arts organizations to prioritize programming designed specifically for younger audiences.

This year, the TYA Tour Development Collective awarded funding to six artists and companies, selected through a competitive process and representing a wide range of artistic perspectives and disciplines.

“Being part of the TYA Tour Development Collective allows us to do more than support a single performance – we’re helping shape the future of the field,” said Karoline Myers, director of education with Des Moines Performing Arts. “By working alongside peer organizations to invest in projects at an early stage, we’re able to expand what’s possible for young audiences and ensure these important stories reach communities across the country.”

TYA Tour Development Collective’s 2026 Commissioned Artists and Companies:

• All My Relations Collective – Brooklyn, NY
• Dominic Moore-Dunson – Akron, OH
• Honolulu Theatre for Youth – Honolulu, HI
• Joy Play Heart Productions – Washington, D.C.
• Manual Cinema – Chicago, IL
• Sandglass Theater – Putney, VT

Through its involvement in TYA TDC, DMPA helps champion new artistic voices while strengthening opportunities for high-quality touring productions that resonate with young audiences and families. DMPA has previously partnered with Dominic Moore-Dunson to commission his adaptation of The Remember Balloons. The organization is proud to support his continued creative work, Float.

Inspired by Daniel Miyares’ wordless picture book Float, this 45-minute movement-driven work follows a child on a rainy-day adventure with a paper boat, exploring imagination, curiosity and resilience. Translated into a world of dance and original music, the story unfolds through four performers using abstract, movement-based storytelling to express the emotional arc of play in a child's life.

This year, DMPA also invested in Joy Play Heart Productions’ Fishing for Stars, an interactive performance that welcomes children ages 2-6 and their caregivers into a world of wonder and play. In this visually exquisite, non-verbal performance, two traveling companions – Moore and Enuf – dance between the sea and sky, collecting unexpected treasures. They play with water, laugh with the stars and lasso the moon. But when their buckets are full of light, and the sky begins to dim, they have to re-imagine the meaning of “more” and “enough.”

Read the full announcement from the TYA Tour Development Collective on the organization’s website.