We♥KC! Spotlight on The Kansas City Ballet and “Bliss Point” (performances May 12-21, 2023)

The Kansas City Ballet is a 30-member professional ballet company under the direction of Artistic Director Devon Carney whose mission is to inspire and engage through the beauty, power, and passion of Dance. The company dances in the fall, winter, and spring of each year (plus The Nutcracker in December)

Their Community Engagement and Education Department reaches over 20,000 students and adults each year enriching all ages in the community with dance-related programs, and the KC Ballet School provides training to over 2,000 students each year, at two metro locations.

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The Ballet was founded in 1957 by Tatiana Dokoudovska with the goal of establishing a regular presence for ballet in the city. In 1980, Todd Bolender—a former New York City Ballet dancer an international opera and ballet choreographer was chosen to lead.

In 1995 with Bolender’s appointment to artistic director emeritus, William Whitener was appointed artistic director, serving until 2013, creating programs filled with both contemporary work and traditional hallmarks. Now, the Ballet turns another new chapter with David Gray (no, not the singer) taking the reins as Executive Director on July 1^st.

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For their final performance of the 2022-2023 season, “Bliss Point” will undoubtedly end things with an exclamation, as the very phrase means “optimized sweetness or sensory satisfaction”. It is a unique combination of not one, not two, but three contemporary dance pieces, each by renowned choreographers with their own distinctive style and message.

Sandpaper Ballet by Mark Morris explores the relationship between movement and music, as the dancers gracefully move across the stage to a percussive score, creating a memorable sensory experience. Created for the San Francisco Ballet in 1999, expect an upbeat start to the evening with this showcase of interpretive wit and dazzling movement (and a slight touch of the holiday season).

Petite Mort by Czech-born Jiří Kylián (which the company performed in 2017) has a title that literally translates to “little death”, but the meaning of the piece itself, is very open to interpretation. Created in 1991 for the Nederlands Dans Theater at the Salzberg Festival, it features twelve dancers performing to the music of Mozart, played live by The Kansas City Symphony conducted by Ramona Pansegrau featuring pianist Samuel Beckett. The theme of the performance explores sexuality, death, and rebirth, channeled via a series of expressive movements.

Cacti by Swedish choreographer Alexander Ekman offers a playful and whimsical take on contemporary dance, as the colorful barefoot dancers hold their own cactus and interact with large cacti on stage. The piece also alludes to the understanding of art and need to often analyze a work. The Opus 76 Quartet will perform featured work by Haydn, Beethoven and Schubert on stage.

WeHeartMusic was allowed rare inside access into the company’s final and full dress rehearsal for the series of shows, and came away impressed, inspired, and enlightened by the experience.

Running now through next Sunday, May 21^st, “Bliss Point” is an immersive exposition of modern movement and art that invites emotion, thought, and celebration, and lives up to its weighty title of “optimized sensory satisfaction”.

(Rehearsal photos below by Brandon Clasen; Click on any image to enlarge and see in full)