New KC Ballet Season Premieres with ALICE (in wonderland) Tonight

The 57th season of Kansas City Ballet will commence with the Kansas City Premiere of Alice (in wonderland), choreography by Septime Webre and music by Matthew Pierce. The production runs today, Oct. 10-19 at the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts and will be accompanied by Kansas City Symphony conducted by Kansas City Ballet Music Director Ramona Pansegrau.

Artistic Director Devon Carney said, "I programmed the upcoming season to represent the broadest range of dance possible, one that both included current, exciting full-length ballets, as well as an ever-popular classical work, among others. Our dancers have shown me they are ready for more challenging work and I am thrilled to show Kansas City audiences what our Company is capable of."

"I wanted to get wild, pretty wild." - Septime Webre, Artistic Director, Washington Ballet

Premiered in 2012 by Washington Ballet, Alice (in wonderland) is a smorgasbord for the senses. Critics call it "big and glossy" and "crackling with energy and innovative movement." Propelled by Washington Ballet's Artistic Director Septime Webre's revolutionary choreography, Cirque du Soleil designer Liz Vandal's colorful costumes, and an all-new score by Matthew Pierce and played by Kansas City Symphony, this full-length ballet is a charming interpretation of Lewis Carroll's classic tale, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, with additional characters from Alice Through the Looking Glass.

The ballet is based on the real Alice, Alice Liddell, at home with her chaotic family and friend of the family, Lewis Carroll, an amateur photographer and storyteller. Real characters from Alice's life become characters in Carroll's marvelous story about a little girl's adventures in Wonderland. Alice's magical journey begins, of course, with her unforgettable journey down the rabbit hole. Alice's overbearing mother becomes the Queen of Hearts, her sisters become Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum, and Lewis Carroll himself becomes the Mad Hatter. Carroll's wit and love of puns are present with snap dragon flies, rocking horse flies and bread and butter flies. Alice is a polite well-mannered child who finds herself in a crazy world where the rules of social etiquette don't matter and time is irrelevant. She quickly learns how to adapt to this "curiouser and curiouser" world and eventually becomes the heroine who brings down the Queen of Hearts and her house of cards.

As part of Carney's commitment to be as inclusive as possible with the rich pool of Kansas City- based artists, Paul Mesner, of Paul Mesner Puppets, will be working with Carney to restage the puppet work in the production, which includes a Jabberwocky with a 25-foot wing span operated by seven puppeteers.

Visit www.kcballet.org for more information about Kansas City Ballet's 2014-2015 season andwww.kauffmancenter.org for a downloadable media kit about the Kauffman Center. High resolution photos of the 2014-2015 season can be found at http://www.flickr.com/photos/67555847@N06/sets/

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