Performance

Kansas City, MO – The City of Kansas City Missouri has officially designated Tuesday, September 16 as Bob Rohlf Day, in honor of his nearly 3 decades of leadership at Starlight Theatre. KCUR's Laura Spencer reports.

During his tenure at Starlight Theatre, outgoing president and executive producer Bob Rohlf oversaw the construction of a new 10-story stage, and more than $32 million worth of facility and program improvements over the last 15 years.

A passage from a poem by Walt Whitman sparked the inspiration for a new multi-media work, Ritual of the Body Electric. It incorporates a chamber ensemble, dancers, and video.

By Laura Spencer

Kansas City, MO – The 30-minute work is loosely based on a section of Walt Whitman's "I Sing the Body Electric" and expresses the emotion behind the loss of a parent and celebrates relationships.

In previous works, New York-based composer Kristin Kuster has drawn inspiration from architecture, weather and mythology. A new work, called "Ribbon Earth", is inspired by Missouri artist Brent Collins's sculpture, Pax Mundi (World Peace), created with a spiraling bronze ribbon. It's on display at the H&R Block headquarters downtown.

By Laura Spencer

EXTENDED RUN: August 1 - 3, American Heartland Theatre. At performance spaces throughout the city, over 50 events make up this year's KC Fringe Festival, a celebration of the off-beat, nontraditional, and avant-garde.

When people think of stories about mortal men who create life from inanimate objects, Frankenstein and Pinocchio come immediately to mind. Less well-known is the 1870 ballet, Coppelia, about a creator of dolls who come to life.

Crossroads Ballet Festival Artistic Director Matthew Powell started dancing at the age of 6, and he's danced professionally for 10 years, including 7 years with the Kansas City Ballet. But, Powell's a relative newcomer as a choreographer.

By Laura Spencer

Kansas City, MO – Here, Matthew Powell talks about how he first started to learn the skills in a Choreographic Workshop at the Kansas City Ballet.

Summer is usually the off-season for dancers. But this weekend, dancers from across the country will be featured in a new showcase for classical and contemporary works called Crossroads Ballet Festival.

By Laura Spencer

Kansas City, MO – KCUR's Laura Spencer spoke to artistic director and founder Matthew Powell about starting the Crossroads Ballet Festival and his decision to leave the Kansas City Ballet after seven years.

On Mother's Day weekend, StoneLion Puppet Theatre unveiled The Spirit of the Wood. It's a giant interactive puppet spectacle that the community helped build: a 20 foot monster of trash, 9 foot giant butterflies, 20 foot walking trees, and lots and lots of frogs.

By Laura Spencer

Kansas City, MO – Artistic director Heather Nisbett-Loewenstein provided this preview before a recent rehearsal on the lawn of the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art.