Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater (photo by Dario Calmese)
The Harriman‑Jewell Series closes its season with two events that reflect its artistic legacy and its deep relationship with Kansas City audiences. Artistic Director Clark Morris describes these spring finales — Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater on March 13 at the Muriel Kauffman Theatre, Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts, and a May 28 piano‑trio performance by Evgeny Kissin, Joshua Bell and Steven Isserlis at the Folly Theater, 300 W. 12th St.
Richard Harriman, the Series’ founder, first presented the Ailey company in 1968 at William Jewell College’s Gano Chapel during its inaugural national tour. That performance helped establish a relationship that later contributed to the founding of Kansas City Friends of Alvin Ailey. Today, the Series and KCFAA co‑present the troupe, with Harriman‑Jewell hosting opening night before KCFAA continues the weekend engagements.
While the program is still to be announced, Morris notes that Revelations — the company’s iconic work set to African American spirituals — typically concludes the evening. He calls it “incredibly powerful,” a piece he has seen “probably twenty times” and would gladly see many more. For many audience members, he adds, the ballet becomes “a spiritual experience.”
If Ailey represents a cherished tradition, the May 28 concert is something far rarer. Morris describes Kissin, Bell, and Isserlis as a “once‑in‑a‑lifetime trio,” a collaboration heard only briefly in Europe last fall in Prague, Vienna, and Paris, where it drew exceptional acclaim. Their U.S. appearances this season are limited to Carnegie Hall and Kansas City, underscoring the singular nature of the event.
The program features three trios: Solomon Rosowsky’s Fantastic Dance on Hebrew Themes, Tchaikovsky’s Piano Trio in A Minor and Shostakovich’s Piano Trio No. 2, whose searing finale reflects the composer’s response to rising antisemitism.
Bell is a familiar presence with the Series but never in this combination; Kissin last appeared with the Series in 2000; and Isserlis, despite his stature, is making his Harriman-Jewell Series debut.
Morris calls the concert “one of those rare things” Kansas City is fortunate to experience.
“My advice is getting your ticket soon, because you don’t want to miss an opportunity that I don’t think we’ll ever be able to repeat.”
