Performance

Richard Nixon was president when the Kansas City Ballet premiered its production of The Nutcracker, set to the music of Tchaikovsky. For thirty-six years running, audiences have been so swept up in the music and the movement that other crucial elements of the piece tend to get overlooked, and what would The Nutcracker be without its extravagant costumes?

By Steve Walker

For the late dancer and choreographer Alvin Ailey, dance was a way to celebrate and honor the African-American experience. The company Ailey founded, the world-renowned Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, marks its fiftieth anniversary this year.

By Laura Spencer

Ailey Camp is one of the legacies of the Kansas City Friends of Alvin Ailey. It's more than a summer camp for kids who want to dance. Alvin Ailey started the camp with the idea that dance could be a vehicle for growth and personal development among the community's youth.

By Laura Ziegler

Kansas City artists who've been recognized by the Charlotte Street Foundation over the last 10 years will tell you that it helps their reputations and their bank accounts.

By Steve Walker

Kansas City, MO – This year, the organization expanded its definition of "artist" to include an actor and playwright, a dancer/choreographer, and a musician. KCUR's Steve Walker gathered the honorees together and found them to be equally flattered, humbled, and appreciative.

Architect Moshe Safdie visited Kansas City on October 16, 2008 to walk through his Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts, currently under construction. KCUR tagged along for the hard-hat tour.

So what's behind the walls surrounding Broadway and 16th Street? To the public it might just look like a big hunk of concrete. But inside the fence sit the foundations of two state-of-the art performance halls.

By Up to Date

The new Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts is now slated to open for the 2011-2012 season. Here, Kansas City Symphony Music Director Michael Stern reflects on acoustics and expectations.

By Laura Spencer

Kansas City, MO – The Kansas City Symphony's Music Director Michael Stern says when the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts opens "it will change...the way Kansas City experiences art."