Kansas City Dance Festival Grows by Leaps and Bounds
This story originally appeared in the June/July 2016 issue of
Pointe.
The Kansas City Dance Festival, which mixes Kansas City Ballet members with performers from other companies, has significantly increased its programming since its 2013 debut. Now the festival is presenting its biggest season yet, bringing fresh choreography to Kansas City and new opportunities to the participating dancers.
This year features KCDF’s first world premiere, choreographed by Garrett Smith. The lineup also includes ballets by Matthew Neenan and Vincente Nebrada. Festival dancers hail from KCB, Pennsylvania Ballet and Richmond Ballet, among other companies. The eclectic program gives KC audiences a chance to see new dancers and choreography, mixed with their hometown favorites.
In an effort to offer more to both dancers and audience members, KCDF has expanded its outreach and education efforts. “With ‘festival’ in our name we wanted to grow from two shows to a weeklong event,” says festival general manager and former KCB dancer Jill Marlow Krutzkamp. Now, attendees can look forward to multiple performances, master classes (taught by festival dancers) and an artist talk, June 18–25.
