Kansas City Youth Ballet Presents Celebrate!!!
MoKan Gospel Choir, Guest Artist Christopher Barksdale, and more!

KANSAS CITY, MO (February 23, 2009) – Ballet dancing and gospel music are rarely spoken in the same sentence, but on Saturday, April 4 they share the same stage for Kansas City Youth Ballet audiences.

During this unique event, the MoKan Gospel Choir, a group of teenagers and young adults from Salvation Army programs across the states of Kansas and Western Missouri, performs with the Kansas City Youth Ballet (KCYB) as part of their spring performance called Celebrate!!!, Saturday, April 4 at 2 and 7 p.m. at the Polsky Theatre of Johnson County Community College.

The performances open with Allegro Assai, a new work created for KCYB by renowned local choreographer Paula Weber and set to Mozart’s Symphony No. 33 in B-flat Major. Following that, KCYB performs excerpts from Celebration, a work choreographed by KCB School Founder and former KCB Artistic Director Todd Bolender, and restaged by KCYB Director Alecia Good and KCB Ballet Master James Jordan. This vivacious piece also showcases 20-year KCB Company dancer and KCYB guest artist Christopher Barksdale. The first act concludes with Follia, choreographed by Patrick Corbin to music by Antonio Vivaldi.

After intermission, KCYB will “harmonize” with MoKan on the all-new collaboration Celebrate!!!. The melding of gospel voices and graceful choreography creates a joyful synergy as the dancers move and the voices are raised—audiences may want to jump up and join in.

“A collaboration such as this has been a vision of mine for the Youth Ballet for some time now, and I believe it will not only challenge each group to grow as performers but also will be inspiring and educational,” says Alecia Good, director of the Youth Ballet. “We are so excited to have such a wonderful partnership with MoKan.”

“We were very intrigued by this unique opportunity to celebrate with KCYB,” says John Stewart, choir director of MoKan.

Reserved tickets are $15 and can be purchased by phone or online. Groups of 10 or more are $10 and are only available by calling the Kansas City Ballet Box Office at 816-931-2232 or the Johnson County Community College Box Office at 913-469-4445.  For more information or to buy $15 tickets, visit http://www.kcballet.org/kcbschool and select KC Youth Ballet, Schedule.

KCYB’s engagement is funded in part by the Muriel McBrien Kauffman Foundation and the Kansas Arts Commission.

About Kansas City Youth Ballet
Kansas City Youth Ballet, formerly known as the MidWest Youth Ballet, was founded in the spring of 1997 as a non-profit ballet company comprised of dancers ranging in age from 13-18, who study under the tutelage of Alecia Good— a former KCB dancer for 13 years, and the faculty of the Kansas City Ballet School. The Company’s focus is on excellence in training and developing a professional performance atmosphere for the dancers. In 2008, KCYB became the performing ensemble of Kansas City Ballet School—Peter Pawlyshyn, school director. In the summers of 2005 and 2008, the company traveled to Europe for two weeks to perform with the “Young Tanzsommer” festival in Austria.

About MoKan Gospel Choir
The MoKan Gospel Choir (MGC) is a group of teenagers and young adults from Salvation Army programs across the states of Kansas and Western Missouri.  This choir takes the concept of contemporary praise and worship, combined with black gospel voicing and sound to provide a truly energetic performance.  Formed in 1996, MGC released its first recording, “It’s Our Turn Now,” in 1997 and sold out its first pressing in a two-week period.  In 2002, MGC released the CD, “Total Praise,” which was well received by audiences across the nation.  Under the direction of John Stewart and Envoy Dale Simmons, the group also provides a small group discipleship program designed to establish core beliefs and spiritual discipline in the young people who participate.  As they mature, members are given added responsibilities and leadership positions within the program; the spiritual grounding and standards they set for themselves are very high within the group.  In the summer of 2002, the choir took an exciting tour of the Eastern and Midwestern United States, including an emotional visit to Ground Zero in New York City, and touched many lives with their enthusiastic love of Christ, which shows in every performance, from New York to Branson, Missouri.

Kansas City Youth Ballet
2009 Spring Performance at a Glance

Saturday, April 4, 2009; 2:00 and 7:00 pm
Polsky Theatre, Johnson County Community College
12345 College Blvd., Overland Park, Kansas

Allegro Assai
Choreography:  Paula Weber
Music:  W. A. Mozart

Celebration (excerpts)
Choreography:  Todd Bolender
Restaged by:  Alecia Good and James Jordan
Guest Artist (*): Christopher Barksdale
Costumes:  Jean Quick Neidt
Music selections include: Fascinatin’ Rhythm, ’S Wonderful*, Bidin’ My Time, The Man I Love, Finale

Follia
Choreography:  Patrick Corbin
Music: Antonio Vivaldi
Costumes:  Patrick Corbin and Alecia Good

Celebrate!!!
Choreography: Alecia Good, Christopher Barksdale*, Chris Peacock & Peter Pawlyshyn
Music selections include: Higher, Higher, Amazing Grace, A New Halleluiah, Better Than Life, You Are Good

Reserved tickets are $15 and can be purchased by phone or online. Groups of 10 or more are $10 and are only available by calling the Kansas City Ballet Box Office at 816-931-2232 or the Johnson County Community College Box Office at 913-469-4445.  For more information or to buy $15 tickets, visit http://www.kcballet.org/kcbschool and select KC Youth Ballet, Schedule.

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