Fall Season Lookahead: Dance

Critic’s Picks

The dance community starts out strong this season with five straight weekends of stunning contemporary dance.

New Dance Partners at Johnson County Community College’s Carlsen Center, which has facilitated some thrilling performances during its tenure, once again brings together the Kansas City Ballet, Owen/Cox Dance Company, Störling Dance Theater and Wylliams/Henry Contemporary Dance Company with national-level choreographers (Sept. 27 and 28).

Wylliams/Henry restages Mary Pat Henry’s 2010 “Southern Exposure” multimedia dance theater piece, reconstructing powerful memories from the South before and after integration, at UMKC’s White Hall (Oct. 4 and 5).

Kansas City Ballet presents the world premiere of Adam Hougland’s “Carmina Burana” to the music of Carl Orff, following a powerful performance of Hougland’s “Rite of Spring” a few years ago. The triple bill includes the return of Annabelle Lopez Ochoa’s amusing “Tulips & Lobster” and Helen Pickett’s gorgeous-hued, light-infused “Petal” (Oct. 11 – 13 and 18 – 20).

Owen/Cox brings KC-native singer/songwriter Krystle Warren back from her home in Paris to collaborate on a world premiere performance based on her album “Love Songs” at JCCC’s Polsky Theatre (Oct. 19 and 20).

Harriman-Jewell Series presents Aspen Santa Fe Ballet, performing Nicolo Fonte’s highly acclaimed “Where We Left Off,” set to the music of Philip Glass and performed live by pianist Han Chen in the Muriel Kauffman Theatre (Oct. 25).

Dance Calendar