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Dancing with a Tent-like Skirt Provides Challenges

Choreographer Jessica Lang and the Kansas City Ballet's Ballet Master James Jordan during a rehearsal of Splendid Isolation III.
photo: Laura Spencer/KCUR
Choreographer Jessica Lang and the Kansas City Ballet's Ballet Master James Jordan during a rehearsal of Splendid Isolation III.

Contemporary choreographer Jessica Lang's works have been described as passionate with almost tangible emotions in performance. Lang's pas de deux, or dance for two, called "Splendid Isolation III" is included in the Kansas City Ballet's fall program.

By Laura Spencer

http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/national/local-national-865795.mp3

Kansas City, MO – Some might argue there's a third character: a long white skirt. KCUR's Laura Spencer visited a rehearsal at the Ballet studios recently and provides this preview.

Kansas City Ballet Fall Performance
October 15-18, 2009
Lyric Theatre

"Carmen"
Choreography: William Whitener
Music: Rodion Shchedrin after Georges Bizet
Listen here to a 2007 story about the premiere of "Carmen"

"Frescoes (from The Little Humpbacked Horse)"
Choreography: Arthur Saint-L?on
Music: Cesare Pugni

"Le Corsaire Pas de Deux"
Choreography: Lev Ivanov
Music: Riccardo Drigo

"Splendid Isolation III"
Choreography: Jessica Lang
Music: Gustav Mahler

Choreographer Jessica Lang spent a month in Kansas City, creating a new work for the Kansas City Ballet to premiere in the spring and staging "Splendid Isolation III." Here, Lang describes the challenges of dancing in the tent-like skirt.

Funding for arts coverage on KCUR has been provided by the Missouri Arts Council, a state agency

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Kansas City is known for its style of jazz, influenced by the blues, as the home of Walt Disney’s first animation studio and the headquarters of Hallmark Cards. As one of KCUR’s arts reporters, I want people here to know a wide range of arts and culture stories from across the metropolitan area. I take listeners behind the scenes and introduce them to emerging artists and organizations, as well as keep up with established institutions. Send me an email at lauras@kcur.org or follow me on Twitter @lauraspencer.
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