Kansas City Ballet’s Bolender Center for Dance and Creativity
Begins Construction
Scheduled to Open Summer 2011

KANSAS CITY, MO (October 6, 2009) – Siobhan McLaughlin Lesley, president of the board of directors of Kansas City Ballet, one of the nation’s most respected ballet companies, announced today that renovations have begun on the historic Union Station Power House building located on the west edge of the Union Station campus at Pershing and West Penn.  The building will be the permanent home for the professional ballet company, its large and nationally respected school and will serve as a unique resource for the not for profit performing arts community in the Kansas City region. The building is named in honor of Todd Bolender, who served as Artistic Director from 1981 to 1995.

When completed, the ballet center will include 7 studios, a physical therapy suite, a community conference room, and a 700-800 foot lobby area, dressing/locker room facilities for the professional company members and efficient space for support staff in marketing, development, finance and general and school administration. Located next to the recently opened National Archives Records Administration, the property will also provide 180 secure and free parking spaces adjacent to the building.

The Downtown Council played a significant role in the formation of the  partnership structure that will utilize the essential state and federal historic preservation tax credits which will supply a significant portion of the needed funding for construction. 

The building itself was built in 1914, operating first as a coal-based power plant and later reengineered to replace coal with oil.  The architect was the renowned Jarvis Hunt who designed Union Station and the Kansas City Star building on Grand Street.

In addition to the $31 million for the cost of construction, the campaign includes a $7 million facility operating endowment intended to insure that the maintenance, utility and overhead costs will not burden the ballet company’s operating budget in the future.  The capital campaign was initiated with a generous gift from Board of Directors Chairman Julia Irene Kauffman.

Kansas City Ballet Executive Director Jeffrey Bentley spoke recently of the importance of this project to the ballet and to the community.  “After 52 years of artistic excellence and the broad philanthropic support that attends such a level of excellence, our company has arrived at a place where a permanent home, designed to support our mission, must be a priority.  Generations of dancers have excelled in spite of rather than helped by our physical environment.  The increase in the number of studios and in their dimensions will better serve our company and will certainly have an immediate and positive impact on the already high quality of teaching throughout our school.”

Bentley continued, “We are one of the nation’s most respected ballet companies and have a very healthy financial profile. The Bolender building will allow for the inevitable growth of our company that will be necessary as we prepare for residency in the new Kauffman Performing Arts Center when it comes online in fall 2011.  We must insure we have the tools for growth and continued excellence that the future will surely demand.”

Kansas City Ballet Artistic Director William Whitener commented, “The Kansas City Ballet has arrived at a seminal point in its development. The dual openings of the Kauffman Performing Arts Center and the Bolender Center for Dance and Creativity will enable the company and school to further their goals in artistic achievement and education.” He continued, “We are at the crossroads of a cultural and educational renaissance, unique in the history of American dance.  In combination, the state of the art Kauffman Center and the Bolender Center- a home of our own- will support our goals to provide excellence in student and professional training, outreach to the community, and a splendid theatre for performance.”

“This building is a testament to the hard-work and dedication of business and community leaders, board members, company members, parents, students, faculty and countless others,” said McLaughlin Lesley. “This building would not have been possible were it not for their tireless efforts. I am excited to share their stories as we work to complete the campaign.”

A virtual tour of the renovations is available online at the Kansas City Ballet website: www.kcballet.org.

About 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 offer our community, region and dance profession, dance experiences of the highest quality. The Kansas City Ballet is home to Kansas City Ballet School for nearly 600 children and adults, 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.

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