Todd Bolender News

Discover the upcoming 2024-2025 season of the Kansas City Ballet, featuring a diverse range of performances that blend classic and contemporary styles.

Learn about the departure of Grace Holmes, the director of Kansas City Ballet School, and the impact it will have on the ballet community in Kansas City.

Kansas City Ballet's 2023-2024 season opens with the highly anticipated North American premiere of Jekyll & Hyde, choreographed by Val Caniparoli, and accompanied by Kansas City Symphony performing the haunting original score conducted and arranged by Kansas City Ballet Music Director Ramona Pansegrau.

Kansas City Ballet's 2022-2023 season opens with the tragic love story, Giselle, with choreography by Kansas City Ballet Artistic Director Devon Carney, choreographed after Jean Coralli and Jules Perrot and Marius Petipa to the enchanting music of Adolphe Adam. This haunting production runs October 14 through 23 at the Muriel Kauffman Theatre in the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts and will be accompanied by the Kansas City Symphony conducted by Kansas City Ballet Music Director Ramona Pansegrau.

Kansas City Ballet will kick-off the 2022-2023 season with the 12th Annual KC Dance Day at the Todd Bolender Center for Dance & Creativity (500 W. Pershing, Kansas City, MO 64108) on Saturday, Aug. 27 from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Kansas City Ballet Artistic Director Devon Carney today announced that Kansas City Ballet Company Dancer Joshua Kiesel has been selected to compete in the Helsinki International Ballet Competition. 

Kansas City Ballet Artistic Director Devon Carney today announced the company’s 2022-2023 season, which opens with the return of a beloved romantic classic, Giselle, continues with the world’s most adored fairy tale, Cinderella, and concludes with Bliss Point.

Kansas City Ballet Artistic Director Devon Carney today announced the company’s 2021-2022 season, which opens with a mixed repertoire featuring Lila York’s Celts celebrating movement and music, continues with Michael Pink’s mesmerizing Dracula, and concludes with Septime Webre’s return of The Wizard of Oz.

Kansas City Ballet's Artistic Director Devon Carney today announced the launch of a new seven-week online series of free world premiere ballet episodes, New Moves: The Broadcast Series.

Kansas City Ballet will present The Holiday Show from December 4 – 20 at the Todd Bolender Center for Dance & Creativity

Kansas City Ballet will kick-off its 63rd season with the 10th Annual KC Dance Day - Virtual.

To address building occupancy restrictions and social distancing guidelines, the Kansas City Ballet, Kansas City Symphony, Lyric Opera of Kansas City, and Harriman-Jewell Series conclude it is not possible to perform and today announce postponement or cancellation of their on-stage programming at the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts through December 31, 2020.

To address building occupancy restrictions and social distancing guidelines, the Kansas City Ballet, Kansas City Symphony, Lyric Opera of Kansas City, and Harriman-Jewell Series conclude it is not possible to perform and today announce postponement or cancellation of their on-stage programming at the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts.

Kansas City Ballet Artistic Director Devon Carney today announced the launch of KCBallet@Home, a compilation of on demand performances, public online dance work outs, classes, podcasts, and more. Details can be found at KCBallet@Home.

Kansas City Ballet has announced cancellations and postponements due to Covid-19:

Artistic Director Devon Carney today announced the choreographers chosen for New Moves, a unique performance event designed to search out, develop and showcase emerging choreographers, both from the national dance scene as well as locally within Kansas City Ballet. New provides time and space for choreographers to create world premiere works with accomplished professional dancers. New Moves features the works of choreographers Melissa Gelfin, Rasta Thomas, Melody Mennite, KCB Company Ballet Master Parrish Maynard and Dancers Christopher Costantini, Emily Mistretta, Courtney Nitting and James Kirby Rogers.

Kansas City Ballet Artistic Director Devon Carney today announced the company's 2020-2021 season, which opens with Michael Pink's mesmerizing Dracula, continues with Devon Carney's world premiere choreography for the romantic and comedic Cinderella, and closes with George Balanchine's three-part masterpiece, Jewels. The season also includes the annual and always highly anticipated return of The Nutcracker and the intimately intense dance experience known as New Moves.

Oakland University, one of Michigan's leading educational institutions, has announced that JOANNE DANTO is the recipient of an Honorary Doctor of Arts for her contributions to the dance community as an internationally celebrated ballet dancer and educator, and her commitment to philanthropy in raising funds to support non-profit organizations in Michigan, and other parts of the United States.

Devon Carney, Artistic Director of Kansas City Ballet, today announced the Company's continued intention to commit to more culturally appropriate representations of Asians in presentations of The Nutcracker. Most notably, the artistic representations as seen through the Chinese Tea variation will continue to evolve away from stereotypes and outdated caricatures.

Kansas City Ballet will kick-off its 62nd season with the 9th Annual KC Dance Day at the Todd Bolender Center for Dance & Creativity (500 W. Pershing, Kansas City, MO 64108) on Saturday, Aug. 24th from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. The entire day will feature FREE dance performances, classes, demonstrations and FUN for the whole family. In addition, attendees may relax under a tent with food and beverages on sale from Two Guys and a Grill.