RSS 2.0 FeedFebruary 2009, Dance Around the City
Dance Column for January 26 - February 8
National Acrobats of China, KC Ballet's Winter Performance, City in Motion
Carlsen Center at JCCC
National Acrobats of China
"The China Blossom"
Friday, January 30 at 8 p.m.
Saturday, January 31 at 8 p.m.
Carlsen Center at JCCC,
12345 College Blvd, Overland Park, KS
The National Acrobats of China are a breath-taking, colorful troupe of artists that combine ancient traditions with the technology of a Las Vegas show. Graduates of the highly-esteemed Fu Hsing Academy, their artistic folk art skills range from music, martial arts, dancers, contortionists, athletes, and magicians. The 35 members of the troupe are considered the foremost acrobatic troupe in China and present their traditional arts in a fresh, exciting, and colorful way. The show is a thrilling spectacular suitable for the entire family.
For tickets call 913-469-4445
or online at www.jccc.net/home/depts.php/001440/site/Chronological_Listing/
City in Motion
Modern Night at the Folly
Saturday, February 7 at 8 p.m.
Folly Theater, 300 W. 12th Street, KCMO
To see the latest in original, contemporary works of regional choreographers in full theatrical production, this is the concert to attend for those interested in the contemporary dance scene. The annual event is produced by City in Motion, but features new works performed by several talented KC area dance companies. The works represent a wide variety of genres and styles of Modern Dance, but are always colorful, innovative, and entertaining.
For tickets call 816-474-4444 or online at www.follytheater.com
For information about the company, call 816-561-2882 or online at www.CityInMotion.org
Photo Credit: Mike Strong, KCDance.com
Kansas City Ballet
Winter Performance
"The Firebird"
Thursday, February 19 at 7:30 p.m.
Friday, February 20 at 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, February 21 at 2 and 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, February 22 at 2 p.m.
Lyric Theatre
11th and Central Streets, Downtown Kansas City, MO
The Kansas City Ballet continues its 51st season with its Winter Performance. This performance features Igor Stravinsky's haunting piece, the Firebird, as well as a premiere of Ben Stevenson's End of Time, and George Balanchine's Apollo. All three of these works will be new to most Kansas City audiences, and well worth the price of admission. The performance will also include an encore production of Twyla Tharp's very popular piece, As Time Goes By.
The tentative program will open with Balanchine's Apollo. Choreographed in 1928 to Stravinsky's "Apollon Musagete", this work is based on Greek mythology and is choreographed in "neo-classical" style. The story revolves around Apollo, the god of music, who is visited by three muses. The choreography initiated a reinvention of tradition, became Balanchine's first public success, and eventually, a seminal Balanchine work.
Next on the program is Twyla Tharp's As Time Goes By, set to the music of Haydn, which was orginally created for the Joffery Ballet in 1973 (performed 1979). It was the first time that Tharp had created work for a company other than her own, and was her first piece created for dancers en pointe. William Whitner, artistic director for the Kansas City Ballet, is intimately familiar with the choreopgraphy of Tharp, since he was a member of her dance company and one of her star performers. Tharp's choreography is know for its innovative, quirky, improvisational style that is a mixture of classical ballet, barefoot Modern and American vernacular dance set to popular music.
Continuing the temporal motif is End of Time, a passionate pas de deux created by British choreographer, Ben Stevenson, set to Rachmaninoff. Created in 1984, this piece portrays a couple at the end of our existence on earth.
Last on the program is the immortal Firebird, created by a relatively young Russian choreographer, Yuri Possokhov, and set to Stravinsky's powerful score (the reduced 1945 Firebird Suite version).
Based on a Russian folk tale, this version of the ballet was created in 2004, but like its 1910 Diaghilev original production, the designer, Yuri Zhukov, and Possokhov worked closely together to create a look remniscent of the Russian folk tale illustrations from the early 1900s. It is a charming tale of a handsome prince hunting a beautiful glittering, golden bird. He succeeds in capturing her, but decides to set her free. Enamored of the prince, she gives him a magic feather, with which to summon her.
The tale evolves into a classic love triangle between the prince, his princess, and the Firebird, portrayed in an imaginative, colorful, contemporary ballet style. This particular piece is creating some excitement in the Kansas City dance community and will prove to be one of the "must-see" events of the season.
For tickets call 816-931-2232 or online at www.kcballet.org
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