Press Quotes

"Kansas City Ballet impressed as a youthfully rigorous, robust ensemble....a pleasing display of eager American energy and unaffected committed performing." Susan Reiter, Dance View Times

"I'm passing on information, actually, through my work. We are the sum of our memories." Artistic Director William Whitener

"What I learned in those weeks went beyond the inner workings of the holiday favorite. I saw the sweat and the inner turmoil that these dancers young and old go through. It left me astounded at their skill and artistry. And it gave me an even deeper appreciation of their achievements." Paul Horsley, The Kansas City Star, referring to his guest appearence in the party scene of The Nutcracker

"People used to joke with me about Kansas City. Why would you want to go there? We're a bigger organization now, and we have more to offer a dancer: a wide variety of repertoire and an inexpensive city to live in." Kansas City Ballet Dancer Kimberly Cowen

"The Kansas City Ballet dancers are splendid." Deborah Jowitt, The Village Voice

"The Kansas City Ballet continues to be a company of fine veterans flanked by an influx each year of exuberant youngsters from the best ballet schools." Paul Horsley, The Kansas City Star

"There will always be a need for visionaries such as Whitener to maintain the link between the dances of yesterday, today and tomorrow." Lili Cockerille Livingston, Dance Magazine

"The State Ballet dancers gave a riveting performance." Scott Cantrell, The Kansas City Star

Tatiana Dokoudovska:  “Dance has been like oxygen to my life,” she said in an interview.  “I breathe it.  It exhilarates me.” 

“These kids work very hard,” Todd Bolender said in a 1981 interview with The Kansas City Star.  “Of course, they’re young, and some are inexperienced stage-wise, but I don’t mind a bit, because we’re in the business of developing new dancers.  That’s what excited me about this whole venture.”

A St. Louis Post-Dispatch review of Bolender’s Nutcracker noted, “The musicality of the dancers in general is impressive.  Indeed, collective musicality is probably the main thing that gives this company an edge over most of the Midwest’s other professional troupes.”

“This is one of the most dynamic companies in the Midwest,” declared the St. Louis Post-Dispatch

“The State Ballet of Missouri proved without a doubt last weekend why it is one of the brightest gems in the state’s crown jewels and is fast becoming a topic on the national scene,” raved an editorial in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

"The State Ballet is one of the finest classical ballet companies in the country right now,” said The Kansas City Star.

The radio station of The New York Times, WQXR, had this to say:  “Ballet from Kansas City had New York cheering last weekend.... The State Ballet of Missouri dances rings around most of the imports we have from Europe, and makes it clearer than ever that ballet in America is the best in the world....the Missouri dancers were graced with superb inner rhythm and abundant but controlled energy....ballet at its best.  This company is smart, handsome, and right on the mark.”

"The best way I can describe what we have with Bill is that when you come to a performance of Bill's, you'll see a fine ballet," Tony Feiock, Kansas City Ballet Board President, said of Whitener. "And expect to be surprised and entertained. You won't necessarily know what you are going to get, but you can expect to see great dancing."

"In ballet, most of the great dramatic works were created in previous generations. There hasn't been much emphasis in the 80s and 90s on story ballets. But they played an important part of the development of American dance in general. So, we restore them, revive them, add them to the repertory because they are examples of classic American dance." Artistic Director William Whitener

"Todd comes to visit the studio frequently, and if his ballets are being rehearsed, he helps with them." Whitener said. "We're friends and we've been friends a long time. I've never felt any looking over the shoulder from him, except in the most generous and supportive manner. And we have wonderful discussions about where dance was, where it is and how we can, as a community, enlarge its scope and create a bigger presence. So much of what all directors have to do is educating the audience, the community, the board, the artists. It's about passing along knowledge."

"There's hardly a local performing arts organization that can boast such interesting shows, not to mention artistic coups on a national level." Paul Horsley, The Kansas City Star

"The dance capital of the world has just been given notice that the Kansas City Ballet is a force to be reckoned with." Paul Horsley, The Kansas City Star