BWW Special Coverage: The Kansas City Ballet Announces Their 2015-2016 Season

The Kansas City Ballet today announced the 2015-2016 season. The 58th season will commence with the Kansas City Premiere of The Three Musketeers, choreography by André Prokovsky and music by Guiseppe Verdi, to be followed by the unveiling of Kansas City Ballet Artistic Director Devon Carney's all new production of The Nutcracker. Following the holiday classic, the winter program will feature the Kansas City Premiere of Swan Lake, choreography by Devon Carney, after Marius Petipa with the beloved music of Tchaikovsky. The 2015-16 season will finish with a joyful Spring Program featuring Kansas City Premieres of Adam Hougland's The Rite of Spring as well as new works by choreographers Helen Pickett, Viktor Plotnikov, and Yuri Possokhov. The Kansas City Symphony, conducted by renowned Kansas City Music Director Ramona Pansegrau, will accompany the 2015-2016 season.

In discussing the significance of this season, his second, Kansas City Ballet Artistic Director Devon Carney is at once reflective and invigorated. "This current year, the first to bear my signature with regard to repertory selection, has been very satisfying. As I began considering the 2015-2016 season, I was thrilled to realize that some of the ballets I was choosing I had initially thought would take another year or more before the company was ready to take them on. Now I see that it makes perfect sense to include these works for the coming year. That is a testament to how much these artists have achieved and how committed they are to excellence and artistic growth.

"Each of these productions, Carney continues, "has been carefully chosen with both audience appeal and artist challenge in mind. The season as a whole, I believe, will provide any observer with the realization that the artists of Kansas City Ballet are equally adept with the challenges of contemporary work and the technical complexities of the classical full-length story ballets. And for a company of modest size, as this one currently is, that is no small feat."

The Three Musketeers, with choreography by André Prokovsky and music of Giuseppe Verdi, has charmed and delighted audiences since its premiere by the Australian Ballet, in 1980. This decidedly rollicking comedy of swashbuckling and swordplay in the French court of Louis XIII features Athos, King Louis VIII's royal guards, the three musketeers, who are joined by the fourth musketeer, D'Artagnan. They are challenged to save the reputation of the Queen Consort of France, Anne of Austria from an evil plot by Cardinal Richelieu and Milady de Winter. The Three Musketeers runs from October 9 through October 18 at the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts.

The Nutcracker, choreography by Devon Carney, promises a traditional, boisterous, adventurous, and reimagined new production premiering December 5 through December 24, 2015. "In my wildest dreams I could never have imagined that I could assemble some of the greatest talent ballet has to offer to create this amazing new production. Each is truly known for being one of, if not THE, best in the industry. The joy of seeing the holidays through a child's eye will permeate throughout. I promise audiences a new and joyous holiday classic." The design team includes Alain Vaës (set), Holly Hynes (costume), and Trad A Burns (lighting).

Swan Lake, A Kansas City Ballet Premiere, is perhaps the most iconic and beloved ballet of all time. The choreography by Artistic Director Devon Carney is after famed 19th century choreographer Marius Petipa. Peter I. Tchaikovsky wrote the familiar and mesmerizing score. Based on Russian folktales, this classic tour de force is a story of true love turned upside down by deception and dissembling. Swan Lake tells the story of good versus evil, the power of love and the fate of innocence. With Tchaikovsky's magnificent melodies and its kaleidoscopic flock of moonlit dancers all in white, Swan Lake embodies the best of late 19th century story ballets.

This version of Swan Lake traces its origins back to 1895. In Swan Lake, the lead role of Odette is the queen of a flock of swans, represented by numerous female corps de ballet dancers. A signature of famed choreographer Marius Petipa was lavish corps de ballet scenes. There will be 24 swans onstage instead of the 12, more typically seen in regional single-company productions. Swan Lake runs from February 19, 2016 to February 28, 2016.

New Moves is a unique performance event designed to search out, develop, and showcase new emerging choreographers both from within Kansas City Ballet and from the national dance scene. New Moves runs from April 1 to April 9, 2016 at the Todd Bolender Center for Dance & Creativity.

Rite of Spring begins with a Kansas City premiere, Petal, by noted, and extremely sought after choreographer, Helen Pickett. Petal is known for its gorgeous vivid primary colors and extremely challenging choreography. After dancing with William Forsythe's Ballett Frankfurt for more than a decade, Pickett embarked on an amazing and varied career path that not only includes choreography, but also acting and teaching. Commissioners include: Royal Ballet of Flanders, Ballet West, Boston Ballet, Aspen Santa Fe Ballet and more. Since 2012, Pickett has been Resident Choreographer for Atlanta Ballet. In 2014, for her ballet, The Exiled, she was named Best Choreographer in Atlanta. In addition, in 2015, Pickett premieres her first full-length ballet, Camino Real, based on the play by Tennessee Williams.

Diving into the Lilacs, with choreography by Yuri Possokhov and music of Boris Tchaikovsky (no relation to Peter), is from his Sinfonietta for String Orchestra, This Kansas City premiere provides a sweeping showcase of lush dancing for three enchanting couples and a corps of eight. Possokhov joined the Artistic Staff at San Francisco Ballet as a Choreographer in Residence after retiring from a highly successful dance career that spanned the globe. His work has been performed both nationally and internationally. Kansas City Ballet performed Possokhov's vibrant Firebird in 2009.

The Spring Program concludes with another Kansas City premiere, Rite of Spring, choreography by Adam Hougland and featuring the music of Igor Stravinsky. Rite of Spring holds an iconic place in the world of ballet, famously inciting riots when it first appeared in 1913 with the Ballet Russes. Angry patrons, bewildered by Stravinsky's strange music and maybe more so by Vaslav Nijinsky's primitive choreography, famously rose up in rebellion several minutes into the performance. Punches were thrown and the police were called in. Artist Valentine Gross Hugo, recalling, "It was as if the theater had been shaken by an earthquake."

Purchase tickets by calling the ticket office at 816.931.2232 or visit the Kansas City Ballet website. Single tickets for all performances, including The Nutcracker, will go on sale in late August. Photo courtesy of the Kansas City Ballet.