Kansas City Ballet Kicks Off 51st Season with Ballet in the Park
Four FREE Performances September 2-6 Throughout Greater Kansas City

KANSAS CITY, MO (July 28, 2008) – Pack your picnic basket and lawn blanket and join Kansas City Ballet for a festival of fun—featuring the Kansas City Ballet’s four FREE outdoor Ballet in the Park performances held Tuesday thru Saturday, September 2-6, 2008, throughout greater Kansas City. The Ballet is pleased to announce the schedule is sponsored in part by Bank of America, Midwest Airlines, The Kansas City Star, KUDL, NBC Action News KSHB TV-41 and the Missouri Arts Council.

The Kansas City Ballet dancers present an exposure to ballet and modern dance techniques with selections from a variety of past and present repertory programs designed for audiences of all ages. 

“Ballet in the Park is an exciting launch for our annual season of dance,” says William Whitener, artistic director of the Kansas City Ballet. “It is an informal way for vast audiences to enjoy a sampling of our repertory including Paul Taylor’s Company B set to the musical recordings of The Andrews Sisters—one of our most popular recent pieces.”

Ballet in the Park has many enjoyable features including booths which, along with showcasing costumes and props, provide opportunities to learn more about Kansas City Ballet. Attendees may register to win door prizes. Dancers will be available following the performance to chat with the audience and sign autographs on complimentary Kansas City Ballet posters.

Ballet in the Park locations include: Loose Park, Ironwoods Park in Leawood, Oak Grove Park in Gladstone, and Powell Gardens. Families are encouraged to arrive early. (No cameras or camcorders allowed.) Each performance is scheduled to last approximately one hour. For further information, please call the Kansas City Ballet box office at 816. 931.2232 or visit our website at www.kcballet.org.

Ballet in the Park Schedule

Tues., Sept. 2, 6:00 p.m.
Loose Park Rose Garden
Kansas City, MO
(rain date Sept. 3)

Thurs., Sept. 4, 6:00 p.m.
Ironwoods Park
147th and Mission Road
Leawood, KS

Sat., Sept. 6, Noon
Oak Grove Park
76th & Troost
Gladstone, MO

Sat., Sept. 6, 6:00 p.m.
Powell Gardens
(No charge for park entry after 5:30 p.m.)
Kingsville, MO
35 miles east of KC on Hwy. 50

Kansas City Ballet
Founded in 1957, Kansas City Ballet is a 25-member professional ballet company under the direction of Artistic Director William Whitener and Executive Director Jeffrey J. Bentley. The company’s mission is to establish Kansas City Ballet as an indispensable asset of the Kansas City community through performance, training and education. The Kansas City Ballet is home to Kansas City Ballet School enrolling more than 600 children and adults and offering professional training for the career-minded student as well as for those seeking a healthy lifestyle. Through our professional company, school and community outreach programs such as ROAD, Project X, and Dance INFORMances, we seek to nurture and develop our artists, audiences and students in the creativity, diversity and joy of dance.

Kansas City Ballet 2008-2009 Season

FALL PERFORMANCE
October 9-12, 2008 | Lyric Theatre

The Concert
Choreography:  Jerome Robbins
Music:  Frédéric Chopin

The Naughty Boy
Choreography:  Trey McIntyre
Music:  Wolfgang A. Mozart

Rodeo
Choreography:  Agnes de Mille
Music:  Aaron Copland

THE NUTCRACKER
December 6-28, 2008 | Music Hall

Sat., Dec. 6 – 2:00 p.m.
Sun, Dec. 7 – 1:00 p.m.
Sat, Dec. 13 – 2:00 p.m. & 7:30 p.m.
Sun, Dec. 14 – 1:00 p.m.
Fri, Dec. 19 – 7:30 p.m.
Sat, Dec. 20 – 2:00 p.m. & 7:30 p.m.
Sun, Dec. 21 – 1:00 p.m. & 5:00 p.m.
Tues, Dec. 23 – 7:30 p.m.
Wed, Dec. 24 – 1:00 p.m.
Fri,  Dec. 26 – 7:30 p.m.
Sat, Dec. 27 – 2:00 p.m. & 7:30 p.m.
Sun, Dec. 28 – 1:00 p.m.

WINTER PERFORMANCE
February 19-22, 2009 | Lyric Theatre

Apollo
Choreography:  George Balanchine
Music: Igor Stravinsky  

As Time Goes By
Choreography:  Twyla Tharp
Music:  Franz Joseph Haydn

End of Time
Choreography: Ben Stevenson
Music: Sergei Rachmaninov

Firebird
Choreography:  Yuri Possokhov
Music:  Igor Stravinsky

SPRING PERFORMANCE
May 7-10, 2009 | Lyric Theatre

Nine Sinatra Songs
Choreography: Twyla Tharp
Music: Frank Sinatra

World Premiere
Choreography: Karole Armitage
Music: Einojuhani Rautavaara

World Premiere
Choreography: William Whitener
Music: TBA

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