Kansas City Ballet’s ROAD (Reach Out And Dance)
Celebrates 10th Anniversary 

KANSAS CITY, MO (March 22, 2010) – Ten years ago, Kansas City Ballet began an innovative and successful arts education program, ROAD (Reach Out And Dance), with 180 children and two schools. This year, ROAD is serving 1,200 students in 17 schools throughout Greater Kansas City by bringing dance into elementary schools and introducing dance fundamentals. By sharing movement and live piano music with an emphasis on energy, precision, discipline and teamwork, Reach Out And Dance empowers 4th graders throughout the metro area by building their confidence and sense of self-worth. As one student simply put it, “It made me more comfortable and believe in myself.” (Blue-Jacket Flint Elementary School)

Ciara Brown is one of countless students who has been influenced by Reach Out And Dance. She first met Kansas City Ballet when she was in 4th grade and the ROAD program came to her school. ROAD, plus a visit to Kansas City Ballet’s costume shop through KCB’s Project X (EXposure to the Arts) for high school students inspired Ciara to explore a career in fashion design.  Now, a senior at Cristo Rey High School, she is following her dream. 

Ten years later, ROAD is still inspiring children, through developing healthy self-esteem, to follow their dreams.  Linda Martin, KCB’s Director of Community Programs says, “The goals for ROAD and other KCB outreach programs is to awaken the students’ awareness of their potential and to help them discover the arts in our community and beyond.”

Kansas City Ballet’s mission includes being “…an indispensable asset…through exceptional performances, excellence in dance training and community education programs for all ages.”  Since 2000, the Reach Out And Dance (ROAD) program has fulfilled a significant part of Kansas City Ballet’s goal to educate and inspire children, and has reached 7,500 students through year-long weekly classes with specially trained dance educators and highly-skilled pianists. Students of all abilities participate in ROAD; there are no auditions or qualifications for participation. Each year, ROAD programs culminate in a ROAD Rally demonstration performance for parents, students, and the public. These energetic rallies build excitement for next year’s participants while allowing the current ROAD participants to showcase what they’ve learned throughout the year.

Key ROAD partners are the Kansas City Missouri School District, USD 500 School District, and the Shawnee Mission School District. The ROAD program is tailored to meet the needs of each school. For some schools, ROAD can be part of the physical education class; for others, it can partner with music classes. Yet another school carves out time specifically for ROAD in their curriculum. Reach Out And Dance instructors are selected based on their ability to relate to children and serve as strong role models. The ROAD program is designed to comply with National and State Education Standards in language arts, fine and performing arts, math, science and social studies curriculum. Evaluation studies have shown that students have marked improvement in their concentration, listening skills, teamwork and grades. The focus is on helping children, through music and dance, to learn life lessons that will help them transition from 3rd and 4th grades to upper level educational environments.

In some instances where instructors identified students with natural dance talent, those students were invited to attend a transitional summer program at Kansas City Ballet School called ROAD Bridge. Last year 13 students attended this summer class and were subsequently invited to take a year-long ROAD Extension class to learn traditional ballet techniques.

Reach Out And Dance (ROAD) and Kansas City Ballet will continue its focus, through dance, movement, and education, on reaching out and connecting with Kansas City’s children.

Reach Out And Dance began with support from the National Endowment for the Arts (Arts for Learning) and the Greater Kansas City Community Foundation. Funders have included the Hearst Foundation, JE Dunn, Sprint Foundation, and others.

Celebrate with the Kansas City Ballet as it honors the tenth anniversary of Reach Out And Dance. For more information about ROAD, contact Linda Martin, Director of Community Programs, Kansas City Ballet, lmartin@kcballet.org; www.kcballet.org, 816.931.2232, ext. 1315.

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. 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. Our new home, Kansas City Ballet’s Bolender Center for Dance and Creativity, opening in Spring 2011 at Union Station, in conjunction with our new stage at the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts, is poised to make Kansas City AND Kansas City Ballet a true destination for dance.

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