inspire (a) movement.

Deos Contemporary Ballet uplifts artists through a culture focused on diversity, wellness, and empathy. We inspire a broader audience through innovation in education, film and live performances. We make contemporary ballet accessible to all through profound and relatable works of art.

our history

Tess Sinke (Artistic Director) envisioned a professional ballet company named “Deos” in the early 2000’s. After meeting Andrew Hoekstra (Executive Director) in 2016, they formed Deos Contemporary Ballet in 2018.

Deos Ballet began with the first-ever COLLIDE Summer Series, bringing dancers from across the country together for a short-term contract during their summer layoff from year-round commitments. Since 2018, Deos has continued to host dancers for our annual Summer Series. COLLIDE continues to be Deos Ballet’s largest program of the season, bringing together 12 professional dancers, a handful of collegiate interns, and other guest artists for a fast-paced, short-term rehearsal and performance season.

Since 2018, Deos has expanded to provide our core dancers (those local to Grand Rapids, or those who have relocated to Grand Rapids) performance opportunities and Dance for Film recording contracts throughout the year, with the goal of curating a full season in Grand Rapids and further cementing our footprint in the Michigan dance scene. This goal was achieved in the fall of 2022 when we announced our first full season of year-round performances: EPILOGUE (fall series), EMBER (winter series), AWAKEN (spring series), and COLLIDE (summer series). During the 2023-2024 performance season, our annual offerings grew to include an instant hit, Cracked Nuts: Not Your Mother’s Nutcracker. The premiere weekend of Cracked Nuts entirely sold out, even when adding an additional performance evening. Deos Ballet continues to grow and participate in outreach performances in partnerships with the Grand Rapids Art Museum, local and touring orchestras/choirs, churches, and other arts organizations throughout the city.

be a good partner.

We center the business around the professional dancer, period. We are built on movement — our dancers are our most important partners. We thank the organizations that partner with us for their sustained support.