Dance St. Louis and the Edison Theatre OVATIONS! Series are co-presenting three performances by the renowned Kansas City Ballet.
The shows will begin at 8 p.m. Nov. 12-13 and at 2 p.m. Nov. 14 at Edison Theatre.
The centerpiece of the program is Six Solos, a suite of rarely seen 20th-century masterpieces restored by William Whitener, artistic director of the Kansas City Ballet. Since joining the company in 1996, Whitener has made a special project of preserving significant dances that are at risk of extinction, and it is from such works that he has selected a collection that Dance Magazine described as “a stunning kaleidoscope of solo.”
The suite begins with Lotte Goslar’s cheerful “It Starts With a Step” (1968), followed by Anna Sokolow’s “Kaddish” (1945), Merce Cunningham’s “Totem Ancestor” (1942), Agnes de Mille’s “Debut at the Opera” (1928) and Daniel Nagrin’s “Strange Hero” (1948). It concludes with Michel Fokine’s poignant “The Dying Swan” (1907).
The concert will also feature Nine Sinatra Songs, Twyla Tharp’s clever and romantic foray into glamour, romance and ballroom dance. Rounding out the program will be Alan Hineline’s Link, which received its world premiere at the Kansas City Ballet in 2001; and Vicente Nebrada’s Lento a Tempo e Appassionato.
Founded in 1957, Kansas City Ballet was renamed the State Ballet of Missouri from 1986-1996 for a dual-home relationship with St. Louis under the auspices of Dance St. Louis. This is the company’s first time in St. Louis as the Kansas City Ballet.
Dance St. Louis has been bringing great dance of the world to St. Louis audiences since 1966. A funded member of the Arts and Education Council of Greater St. Louis, the organization receives support from the Heartland Arts Fund, the Regional Arts Commission, the Missouri Arts Council, Mid-America Arts Alliance, the National Endowment for the Arts and other sources.
Edison Theatre events are supported by the Missouri Arts Council and Regional Arts Commission.
Tickets are $28 for adults; $24 for students, seniors and WUSTL faculty and staff; and $18 for WUSTL students.
Tickets are available at the Edison Theatre Box Office, 935-6543; the Dance St. Louis box office (634 N. Grand Blvd.), 534-6622; the Dance St. Louis Web site, dancestlouis.org; and through MetroTix, 534-1111.
For more information, call 935-6543.