In “The Remember Balloons,” the grandfather of a young boy named James has Alzheimer’s disease, and his memories are represented as bouquets of balloons. Both the children’s book and its stage adaption explain a tough subject in a way kids can understand. Photo: Phil Masturzo, Akron Beacon Journal
Writer: Andrea Love
During a trip to the library a few years ago with his wife and young kids, choreographer and artistic producer Dominic Moore-Dunson noticed a shelf labeled “Children’s Books About Difficult Topics.” He picked up a book with a colorful bouquet of balloons on its cover and began reading. By the end, he was in tears.
“The Remember Balloons,” written by Jessie Oliveros and illustrated by Dana Wulfekotte, tells the story of a young boy named James who finds himself navigating difficult emotions. His beloved grandfather loves to tell James stories of his life, which are held in “remember balloons” that hover just above his head. Progressively, James notices that his grandfather has trouble reaching his stories, including some that contain special memories of their time together. James’ grandfather has Alzheimer’s disease.
Oliveros wrote the story as a way to explain her own grandfather’s memory loss to her young children.
“What I love about the book is that it takes this really difficult conversation and makes it really simple,” said Moore-Dunson, who lives in Akron, Ohio. It also presents a deeper message of how Alzheimer’s and dementia affect not only the person afflicted with memory loss but also their family members. The book shows how storytelling can bring families together during difficult times and carry forward the special memories of loved ones.
Moore-Dunson passed the book to his wife, Ashley, who was also moved by it. They took it home to discuss it as a family.
Unable to sleep that night, Moore-Dunson found Oliveros’ website and emailed her a note to thank her and to ask if she’d ever considered taking this story to the stage.
By morning, her agent replied: “Let’s talk.”
FROM PAGE TO STAGE
In March 2025, Moore-Dunson’s stage adaptation of “The Remember Balloons” ended its first multi-state tour with three performances at the Des Moines Civic Center. Through its Applause Series, the Des Moines Performing Arts (DMPA) flagship arts education program sold out two shows to more than 3,700 metro elementary students. The final show was open to the public as part of the Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield Family Series.
The show mixes dance, narration, illustrations from the book and an original blues and jazz score to depict the special relationships between three main characters — James, his mother and his grandfather. Through classical, contemporary and improvisational choreography, Moore-Dunson brings the story to life, exploring how stories and memory loss ripple across generations.
“We chose to add some of the human complexity back to the story,” Moore-Dunson explained. Through expressive dance, he hopes to generate a deeper emotional connection between audiences and the performers on stage. “It allows these characters to come to life in a way that feels very rich and very thick and very deep.”
The show mixes dance and illustrations from the book with a blues and jazz score to help depict the struggles of James’ grandfather, portrayed by Matthew Roberts. Photo: Shane Wynn
CREATING ART WITH THE COMMUNITY
DMPA Director of Education Karoline Myers says the organization’s financial and technical support of “The Remember Balloons” is rooted in its commitment to spark important community conversations through performing arts experiences.
“There’s tremendous power in coming to experience a work of art that’s reflective of [the audience’s] own lived experience,” Myers said. “It’s validating and affirming, and it provides a sense of community, a reminder they’re not alone. It also opens up a window of empathy, understanding and dialogue for those who don’t have direct experience with it.”
Moore-Dunson said one of his favorite parts of the show wasn’t in the original book but was instead based on accounts he heard from family members — caregivers — who take care of loved ones with Alzheimer’s. In the new subplot, James’ mother becomes “The Invisible Mom” who cares for both her ailing father and her young son. The audience follows her through a bittersweet journey that reflects the myriad emotions of tending to older and younger generations at the same time. Her dance cycles through a whirlwind of movement, sometimes graceful and intentional, other times frantic and chaotic to the point of exhaustion.
“Performances that deal with difficult topics just open the door for so much more of our shared humanity and the unique experiences of others,” Myers said. “It can deepen the connections we have with one another.”
Moore-Dunson’s passion for incorporating community engagement into his production development process stems from his childhood dance teacher who required students to talk with audience members for whom they performed, like nursing home residents or parade crowds. He’s carried the lesson forward through the years to apply it to his art productions.
As Moore-Dunson and the cast traveled between “The Remember Balloons” commissioning organizations, they visited schools, retirement homes and libraries. Cast members led movement exercises with kids and adults and prompted them to discuss how they felt. Often, participants shared their own family stories, and Moore-Dunson carefully observed how their movements and facial expressions revealed their emotions.
“As a choreographer, I study body language for a living,” Moore-Dunson said. After the workshops, he helped the show’s performers incorporate what they had observed into their own movements on stage in ways that might resonate with audiences.
Choreographer and artistic producer Dominic Moore-Dunson, left, helped lead dozens of interactive workshops with the cast at schools, retirement homes and libraries during the show’s tour across the country. Photo: Des Moines Performing Arts
THE POWER OF COLLECTIVE MEMORY
While the show has moments of profound sadness, Moore-Dunson made sure to incorporate a few moments of compassion and resilience.
“Hope is always on the horizon in the show,” he said. “Even when you get to the darkest parts, we’re taking you through that valley to get back to a sense of hope by the end.”
Ultimately, “The Remember Balloons” celebrates storytelling as a way to carry family stories forward. Each generation holds a part of the whole.
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