Ballet Des Moines leadership
ERIN ARNDORFER
Company Manager & Nutcracker Rehearsal Director
erin@balletdesmoines.org
Erin began her dance training in the Chicago suburbs where she trained in all genres in dance. While dancing at the Chicago Academy for the Arts, she performed the Grand Pas Classique pas de deux at the Youth American Grand Prix Finals in New York City and the principal role in the academy’s production of Paquita. From 2014 to 2016, Erin continued her training at the Houston Ballet Academy, where she performed roles such as Waltz and Russian Girl in the first movement of George Balanchine’s Serenade, Paquita pas de trois variation, and corps de ballet in Coppélia, Nutcracker, and Stanton Welch’s The Ladies. During this time, Erin also attended summer programs at the Houston Ballet, School of American Ballet, and Pacific Northwest Ballet. Upon graduation from Houston Ballet, Erin joined the Trainee Program at the Dutch National Ballet in Amsterdam. While there, she performed the principal variation from Pierre Lacotte’s Pharaoh’s Daughter and works by Christopher Wheeldon and Nils Christe.
Erin joined the Colorado Ballet Studio Company in 2017, where she performed in the corps de ballet of Nutcracker, Romeo and Juliet, Sleeping Beauty, Carmina Burana, and Serenade. In 2018, Erin performed the principal role of Cinderella as a guest artist for Baton Rouge Ballet Theatre. Erin danced with Ballet Des Moines for the 2019-2020 season, where she was given the opportunity to perform multiple leading roles. Erin is on staff as a judge with Starpower and Believe National Talent Competitions through Star Dance Alliance.
JOSH BODDEN
Rehearsal Director
josh@balletdesmoines.org
Joshua Bodden began his ballet training at the age of 10 at the Miami City Ballet School under the direction of Edward and Linda Villella, he also attended The Harid Conservatory and Pittsburgh Ballet Theater’s year-round program on a full scholarship. He spent his summers training at the School of American Ballet, Pacific Northwest Ballet, and North Carolina School of the Arts. At the conclusion of his training, Mr. Bodden was invited to dance for Miami City Ballet, Dance Theatre Of Harlem, and Cincinnati Ballet.
Mr. Bodden joined Kansas City Ballet in 2014, dancing in works by Jiří Kylián, Edwaard Liang, Amy Seiwert, George Balanchine, Val Caniparoli, Mark Morris, and Jennifer Archibald. Career highlights include appearing as “The Tin Man” in Septime Webre’s The Wizard of Oz, “Hilarion” in Giselle, “Melancholic” in Balanchine’s The Four Temperaments, “Puck” in Bruce Well’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, “Gaston” in Val Caniparoli’s Lady of the Camellias, and “Quincy” in Michael Pink’s Dracula. Bodden is also a member of Mobballet, led by Theresa Ruth Howard, which continues to strive for diversity, equity and inclusion in the dance community.
Josh assumes the role of Rehearsal Director beginning August 2024 at Ballet Des Moines.
FELIX CAMPBELL
Production Manager
Felix Campbell has been a part of the Ballet Des Moines family since its inception in 2002. During his time as Production Manager, Felix has overseen hundreds of productions, ensuring every backdrop, prop, and flying monkey finds its place. As hardworking as he is creative, we’re grateful for the role he plays at Ballet Des Moines.
SARAH DORNINK
Wardrobe Director
sarahdornink@balletdesmoines.org
Sarah grew up surrounded by her mother Faythe Dornink’s custom dress business and could often be found picking up pins in Faythe’s work room or taking apart seams for alterations. Despite such a strong influence for a career in the apparel business, Sarah attended University of Iowa where she majored in mathematics and intended to go into medicine. During her senior year, when she found herself sketching clothing designs rather than writing math formulas, Sarah realized she needed to follow her true passion into the world of fashion. In May 2001, having received a degree in Mathematics, with Honors, Sarah packed a car full of clothes, fabric, and two sewing machines, and headed for New York.
Sarah worked for designers Jill Anderson and Elizabeth Gillett in 2001-2002 before attending the Fashion Institute of Technology. While at FIT, Sarah specialized in Eveningwear and graduated with the One-Year Medal Award in May 2003.
After moving back to the midwest, Sarah co-launched Dornink Couture and opened a retail location in the East Village of Downtown Des Moines in 2008. Since then, Sarah has been designing and producing custom apparel ranging from bridal, evening, and cocktail gowns to show choir and ballet costumes for various productions around the country, including costumes for FIFA World Cup Beach Soccer dancers and organizing 70+ designers for ChildServe’s charity gala Bubble Ball.
BEAU KENYON
Director of Education & Outreach
beau@balletdesmoines.org
In addition to his role at Ballet Des Moines, Beau serves as Principal at Oakley Collective, an arts consulting group, and as faculty at Northeastern College of Arts, Media + Design, where he teaches graduate coursework in arts leadership, audience engagement, and strategic planning. His collaborative approach to strategic initiatives makes interdisciplinary dialogue, curiosity, and mindfulness central to his work.. Throughout his career, Kenyon has supported creative communities and learning institutions throughout the country, creating system-wide Social Emotional Learning initiatives in schools and public libraries, producing STEAM curricula for students age 5 - 15, and facilitating professional development workshops for education leaders and career artists. His research has been published with PLoS ONE, MIT Press, and Harvard Graduate School of Education. Beau is also an award-winning composer and public art creator, and his recent partners include Mainframe Studios, Iowa State University, Boston Art Review, and Boston Public Library.
BLAIRE MASSA
Chief Executive Officer
blaire@balletdesmoines.org
Blaire Massa came to the area via Washington, D.C., and brings a wealth of experience in nonprofit and arts administration to her role at Ballet Des Moines. Blaire studied at the London School of Economics and has a uniquely blended background which allows her to connect the priorities of business management and artistic vision. Before moving to Iowa, she held leadership roles in independent schools in D.C. and Maryland, leading fundraising, communications, and marketing efforts as well as serving on various nonprofit boards.
Blaire previously worked at the Washington Ballet, overseeing a $3 million fundraising budget and managing donor relationships in the dynamic D.C. arts community. In addition to being a classically trained ballet dancer and teacher, having worked all over the globe, Massa co-founded a nonprofit community summer musical theater company for children and is deeply committed to ensuring access to high-quality arts education for at-risk youth.
TOM MATTINGLY
Artistic Director
tom@balletdesmoines.org
Born in Sidney, MT, Tom Mattingly began his dance training in California's Mojave Desert. Following full scholarships to the summer intensives of San Francisco Ballet School, Boston Ballet School, American Ballet Theatre, and the Rock School for Dance Education, Tom completed his studies at Virginia School of the Arts and is the 2005 recipient of the Dame Margot Fonteyn Award for Artistic Excellence.
Tom’s professional career included Richmond Ballet, Chautauqua Ballet, and Cincinnati Ballet before joining Ballet West in 2008. There he tackled many leading roles under the watchful eye of industry experts such as Cynthia Gregory, Anna Marie Holmes, and Sir Anthony Dowell. Proving to be a versatile and dynamic performer, Tom quickly rose through the company ranks and by 2013 was promoted to principal dancer.
In 2014, Tom relocated to Chicago to join the newly formed contemporary ensemble Visceral Dance Chicago. After two years, he was hand picked to join the first national tour of “An American in Paris”, the four time Tony Award winning musical directed & choreographed by Christopher Wheeldon. In 2019, Tom joined Madison Ballet as Ballet Master.
Now retired from the stage, Tom is a passionate teacher, choreographer, and coach. To date he has created world premieres for National Choreographers Initiative, Ballet West, Ballet West II, Ballet West Academy, Dance in the Parks, Richmond Ballet, Madison Ballet, Utah Arts Festival, Ballet Arkansas, Charlottesville Ballet, Elite Choreographic Initiative, Arova Contemporary Ballet.
JAMI MILNE
Creative Director
jami@balletdesmoines.org
Jami Milne joined the staff of Ballet Des Moines during the 2019-2020 season, having been involved with the professional company since 2015, through various board roles and creative projects including the development of the artist-in-residence program.
Jami’s background is in creative strategy, spending over fifteen years in the advertising world before focusing on independent efforts as a visual artist. In addition to her work with Ballet Des Moines, Jami has partnered on artistic collaborations with Des Moines Public Schools, dsm Magazine, Dwolla, One Iowa, Tech Journey, the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, Movement515, Vice Media for Levi’s, and others. Her work has been shown in galleries nationwide and can be found in many private residences.
MICHAEL TOMLINSON
Manager of Artistic Operations
michael@balletdesmoines.org
Michael Tomlinson hails from Kansas City, where his love for musical theatre and dance fueled an illustrious career in the arts. His professional dance career has spanned three continents, four countries, and 40 states across the US, including multiple dance companies and musical touring productions. Since his arrival in Des Moines in 2022, Michael has had the pleasure of teaching musical theatre, jazz, ballet, and Muller Technique for Drake University, DMACC, and DanzArts, as well as choreographing numerous musical productions for the Des Moines Playhouse and DMACC Ankeny Theatre. You may recall his appearance on the Hoyt Sherman Place stage as a Betta Current in Ballet Des Moines' 2022 production of The Nutcracker, or have met him backstage in his role as assistant rehearsal director for the 2023's production. Michael is excited to use his energy and experience in this next step in his career, managing Ballet Des Moines' new campus and community class schedule.
ANGELA LOSE
Digital Media & Event Specialist
angela@balletdesmoines.org
Angela Lose joins Ballet Des Moines part-time to flex her digital media and event management prowess (part-time hours, full-time energy). Born and raised in Des Moines, Iowa, Angela danced from the age two to eighteen, shifting from student to teacher for just shy of a decade. A Grand View University graduate, Angela’s career took her to KCCI 8 News and the Iowa Secretary of State Office before settling into her current role within the hospitality industry. At Orchestrate Hospitality, she coordinates guest engagement for 9 restaurant brands, developing social media content, fielding customer feedback and initiating a number of marketing campaigns.
Angela currently serves on the Iowa Restaurant Association’s Education Foundation Board and as Chair Person of Grand View’s Young Alumni Council. She was recently named one of the 40 Women to Watch in Hospitality, and received the 10 under 10 Alumni Award at Grand View.