Kansas City Ballet Announces New Dancers for 2009-10 Season
Gabriel Davidsson, Michael Davis, and Adam Rogers to join Company

KANSAS CITY, MO (September 15, 2009) – Kansas City Ballet Artistic Director William Whitener today announced the addition of three new dancers: Gabriel Davidsson, Michael Davis, and Adam Rogers.

“I am pleased to welcome three new male dancers to the Kansas City Ballet,” says Whitener. “Each one has exceptional training and commendable professional experience. We are looking forward to their performance debuts during the Fall 2009 season.”

Born in Sweden, Gabriel Davidsson began dancing at the Royal Swedish Ballet School at age 10. In 2001, his family moved to the United States, where he enrolled at the Draper Center for Dance Education on full scholarship. He performed in various productions with the Rochester City Ballet, such as The Nutcracker and original pieces by Artistic Director Jamey Leverett. In 2007, Mr. Davidsson was invited to attend the Kirov Academy of Ballet on full scholarship where he studied under the tutelage of Anatoli Kucheruk for two years.

Michael Davis began his ballet training at the Marya Kennett Dance Centre in Goshen, NY, at the age of 10. After attending summer courses at The Rock School for Dance Education in Pennsylvania, he was accepted into their year-round residency program on a merit scholarship. Upon graduating from The Rock School, he joined Oregon Ballet Theatre in 2007 and danced as an apprentice for two years under the direction of Christopher Stowell and Damara Bennett in such ballets as Christopher Stowell’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Rite of Spring, and Swan Lake. He has also performed in George Balanchine’s Valse Fantasie, Slaughter on 10th Avenue, Serenade, Allegro Brillante and Symphony in C, as well as Val Caniparoli’s Lambarena.

Born in New Jersey, Adam Rogers began his ballet training at the Garden State Ballet School. He later trained at the American Ballet Theatre Studio Company Associate program. He joined Pennsylvania Ballet II in 2005 and performed with the main company in ballets such as Balanchine’s The Nutcracker, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Jerome Robbins’ The Concert, The Sleeping Beauty, and Christopher Wheldon’s Swan Lake. As a member of Sarasota Ballet in 2007, he performed in Sir Frederick Ashton’s Two Pigeons, Balanchine’s Allegro Brillante, Matthew Bourne’s Infernal Galop, and André Prokovsky’s Vespri.

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.

Kansas City Ballet
2009-2010 Calendar of Events

Fall Program
October 15–18, 2009 | Lyric Theatre
Featuring the Kansas City Symphony

Frescoes (from The Little Humpbacked Horse)
Choreography: Arthur Saint-Léon
Music: Cesare Pugni

Splendid Isolation III
Choreography: Jessica Lang
Music: Gustav Mahler

Le Corsaire Pas de Deux
Choreography: Lev Ivanov
Music: Riccardo Drigo

Carmen
Choreography: William Whitener
Music: Rodion Shchedrin after Georges Bizet

The Nutcracker
December 16–27, 2009 | Music Hall
Featuring the Kansas City Symphony

Choreography: Todd Bolender
Music: Peter I. Tchaikovsky

Winter Program
February 25–28, 2010 | Lyric Theatre

Piano Concerto #2
Choreography: Robert Hill
Music: Lowell Liebermann

The Moor’s Pavane
Choreography: José Limón
Music: Henry Purcell

Lambarena
Choreography: Val Caniparoli
Music: Johann Sebastian Bach and Traditional African Rhythms

Spring Program
May 6–9, 2010 | Lyric Theatre
Featuring the Kansas City Symphony

World Premiere
Choreography: Toni Pimble
Music: Ernest Bloch

Donizetti Pas de Deux
Choreography: Todd Bolender
Music: Gaetano Donizetti

World Premiere
Choreography: Jessica Lang
Music: TBA

Who Cares?
Choreography: George Balanchine
Music: George Gershwin 

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