Winter Performance Features George Balanchine’s “Apollo”, Twyla Tharp’s “As Time Goes By”, Ben Stevenson’s “End of Time” and Yuri Possokhov’s “Firebird” Feb. 19-22 at Lyric Theatre
KANSAS CITY, MO (January 16, 2009) – The 51st season continues February 19 through 22, 2009, at the Lyric Theatre with the Kansas City Ballet premiere of Ben Stevenson’s End of Time, an encore production of 2009 Kennedy Center Award honoree Twyla Tharp’s As Time Goes By, and two works by composer Igor Stravinsky: George Balanchine’s Apollo and Yuri Possokhov’s Firebird. The Kansas City Symphony, conducted by Music Director Ramona Pansegrau, will accompany these ballets. Music from the 2008-2009 season is available at iMix Tunes link on www.kcballet.org.
Apollo
Apollo is Balanchine’s first great public success and marked the beginning of his significant and enduring collaboration with Igor Stravinsky. He united the traditions of classical Russian ballet and the spare austerity of modernism, which led to the evolution of the new classicism. Balanchine looked upon Apollo as the turning point of his life, “in its sustained oneness of tone and feeling” (NYC Ballet Notes).
Apollo traces the birth of the god of music, poetry and prophecy – and his education through (and flirtation with) the three muses. Apollo, is visited by three muses; Calliope, muse of poetry; Polyhymnia, muse of mime; and Terpsichore, muse of dance and song. In the beginning, the troika of Muses leads Apollo around the stage; by the end of the piece, he’s leading them. When Apollo hears, in Stravinsky’s score, the call from Olympus, the Muses sink lower and lower on each stroke of the music, while Apollo ascends triumphantly.
As Time Goes By
The title for Haydn’s Symphony No. 45 is “Farewell,” during which the orchestra dwindles down during the course of the symphony, going from a full complement of musicians to two violinists. Set to this imaginative piece, Twyla Tharp’s As Time Goes By is especially meaningful to Artistic Director William Whitener, who danced in the original cast. “As Time Goes By altered the way that dancers and audiences perceived ballet as a contemporary art form,” said Whitener. “At its premiere, the audience was fascinated by its pure invention, complexity, wit and serenity.”
In As Time Goes By, Tharp seeks to explore the raw power and kinetic force of movement through deliberate lapses in ballet decorum. Described as gracious, clever and beautifully kinetic, the ballet is casual in manner and delicately complicated. “The Minuet, Ten Makes Six” is a tightly woven composition, often compared to the inner workings of a clock. “The Four Finales” heats things up, as seventeen dancers vigorously and furiously create a ‘cast of thousands’ effect. Finally, “Then,” an extended adagio follows Haydn on his course of diminishing density. Eventually, a male soloist, smoothly wound and unwound, telling of singular intensity and private introspection, holds the stage.
End of Time
End of Time, choreographed by Ben Stevenson, is set to the music of Sergei Rachmaninov’s Cello Sonata in F, 3rd Movement. This pas de deux explores the bond between the last man and woman on earth. As far as dancing goes, “Stevenson continues to raise the barre…” (Fort Worth Scene). Kansas City Symphony Principal Cellist, Mark Gibb, will be the soloist.
Firebird
The Winter Performance series will conclude with Firebird choreographed by Yuri Possokhov to the colorful and evocative score of Igor Stravinsky. Originally premiered in 1910 during the second season of Serge Diaghilev’s Ballet Russe in Paris, the work was an immediate and unqualified success. Audiences and critics alike were delighted with this new ballet and saw it as a significant new direction for the art of dance. In addition it marked the beginning of the collaboration between the influential Diaghilev and the genius of Stravinsky that would also produce Petrushka and the Rite of Spring.
So powerful is the Stravinsky score, it has inspired many choreographers to create new versions. In Possokhov’s Firebird, which uses Stravinsky’s reduced 1945 version of the score, he has gone back to the folk tale at the heart of the narrative. A simple youth with a noble heart, Prince Ivan sets out on a quest through a magical realm and encounters two creatures, a glittering, golden firebird and a beautiful princess. After falling in love with the princess, Ivan must choose between enchantment and reality. Don’t miss what the DanceView Times calls a “…lovely, clearly told and imaginatively fashioned Firebird...”
Sponsors
The Winter Performance has been generously supported in part by Bank of America. Firebird has been partially underwritten by The Todd Bolender Fund for Dance Performance. Kansas City’s 2008-2009 season is supported by the Muriel McBrien Kauffman Foundation, Hallmark Corporate Foundation, the Missouri Arts Council, the National Endowment for the Arts, the ArtsKC Fund, the Kansas City Ballet Guild. Media sponsors include: The Kansas City Star, 98.1 KUDL, and KSHB TV Action News.
About Kansas City Ballet
Founded in 1957, Kansas City Ballet is a 26-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 dance experiences of the highest quality to our community, region and profession. The Kansas City Ballet also is home to the 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.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Valentine Celebration with Kansas City Ballet
Surprise your Valentine with an evening of dance and decadence. For just $169, two can enjoy tickets to see Kansas City Ballet’s enchanting Winter Performance that includes the romantic fairytale, Firebird, plus stay one night at Hotel Phillips. Offer available Feb. 19-22. Skip the traffic. Arrive early to check in, eat at 12 Baltimore, and walk the two blocks to the Lyric Theatre. For reservations, call 800-433-1426. And remember, Firebird ticket holders receive 10% off their food purchase before or after Firebird performances. Call 816-221-7000 for restaurant reservations.
Season Subscription Renewal Information
Be the first to renew for the 2009-10 season at the Winter Performance. Three thrilling programs: a full season of DYNAMIC DANCE! Kansas City Ballet’s 2009-10 season promises to deliver unparalleled performance variety. As a subscriber, spend each of three evenings on exhilarating journeys, without leaving your seat. As a bonus, toffee will be given to those who renew, generously donated by the Tall Grass Toffee Company, a local company based in Lenexa. To make ballet affordable for everyone, the Series Subscription Package includes major savings and benefits for the Fall, Winter, and Spring Repertory Performances including: ticket discounts, savings on single ticket prices, priority seating, free ticket exchange and the chance to purchase discounted tickets for The Nutcracker before they go on sale to the general public. For ticket information for the 2009-2010 season, please call Kansas City Ballet ticket box office at 816.931.2232 or visit our Web site at www.kcballet.org.
Student and Senior Discounts
Students and seniors may arrive at the Lyric box office one to two hours prior to Fall, Winter or Spring Repertory Programs, and get any available seat for just $12 with a valid I.D.
BARRE: Kansas City Ballet’s Young Friends Group
Kansas City Ballet BARRE is a subscription group for ballet enthusiasts, ages 21-40. They invite you to share a dynamic season with other young professionals who support the arts. Kansas City Ballet BARRE members enjoy a Friday night season ticket with pre-show happy hours, discounted Nutcracker tickets, backstage tours, meeting the dancers and mingling with other members at special events – all while supporting Kansas City Ballet. For more information, please contact Karen at 816.931.2232 x1304, email barre@kcballet.org, or visit the Web site at www.kcbbarre.org.
Winter Footnotes & Reverse Happy Hour
(Free for BARRE members)
From choreography and costumes to story lines and music, learn how all of these elements come together as BARRE members enjoy the pre-curtain talk Footnotes at 6:30 p.m., at the Lyric Theatre (11th & Central, KCMO). Stay for the 7:30 p.m. Kansas City Ballet's Winter Performance featuring Firebird. Then cap off the night at BARRE's favorite bar, 12 Baltimore, for a reverse happy hour featuring delicious drinks and appetizers from Hotel Phillips. Free valet parking at Hotel Phillips. Tickets for non-BARRE members are $35 for the happy hour and performance. Call 816.931.2232 to reserve your spot.
, February 19-22, 2009, Lyric Theatre
Apollo
George Balanchine
Igor Stravinsky
As Time Goes By
Twyla Tharp
Joseph Haydn
End of Time
Ben Stevenson
Sergei Rachmaninov
Firebird
Yuri Possokhov
Igor Stravinsky
Footnotes (Pre-Show Talk)
Artistic Director William Whitener will give a pre-show talk one hour prior to each performance. Opening night he will be accompanied by Paul Boos, stager for Apollo.
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Please direct all media inquiries to: Ellen McDonald at 816.444.0052.
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