Unless otherwise noted photos and copyright 2024 Mike Strong KCDance.Com and Mike Strong Photo Gallery and CV Site - Email This Page

UMKC Spring 2011 Concert

Note: All choreography is the copyright of the choreographers or the trust.
"Dark Elegies" Choreography is © Copyright 2010 Antony Tudor Ballet Trust.
All rights reserved.

Gavin Stewart in Magnesium Pieces by Ronn Tice
Gavin Stewart in Magnesium Pieces by Ronn Tice

Asha Singh and Nina Rose Wardanian in Without a Word by DeeAnna Hiett (dress)
Asha Singh and Nina Rose Wardanian in Without a Word by DeeAnna Hiett (dress)

Michael Tomlinson and Brittany Duskin in Blue by Paula Weber
Michael Tomlinson and Brittany Duskin in "Blue" by Paula Weber

Miyesha McGriff (front) in Bittersuite by Sabrina Madison-Cannon. Behind, L-R are: Andrea Mason, Kassi Butler, Kaitlin Heibel, ..., Nina Rose Wardanian, Stephanie Morrow, Lynley Schaffer.
Miyesha McGriff (front) in "Bittersuite" by Sabrina Madison-Cannon.
Behind, L-R are: Andrea Mason, Kassi Butler, Kaitlin Heibel, ..., Nina Rose Wardanian, Stephanie Morrow, Lynley Schaffer.

Erik Sobbe and Haley Day in Cappriccio by Mary Pat Henry
Erik Sobbe and Haley Day in "Cappriccio" by Mary Pat Henry

Program Order

Title   Choreographer
Bittersuite   Sabrina Madison-Cannon
Blue   Paula Weber
Cappriccio   Mary Pat Henry
  intermission  
Dark Elegies Orchestra
for evening
performances
Antony Tudor (Tudor Trust)
  intermission  
Magnesium Pieces   Ronn Tice
Without a Word   DeeAnna Hiett
Performances:
evenings: thursday, friday, saturday 7:30 pm
matinee: Saturday 2:30 pm

 

Erik Sobbe (front) and Gavin Stewart (left) in Blue by Paula Weber. Behind (L-R) are Kelanie Murphy, Pam Auinbauh
Erik Sobbe (front) and Gavin Stewart (left) in Blue by Paula Weber. Behind (L-R) are Kelanie Murphy, Pam Auinbauh

Blue by Paula Weber: (front couple) Gavin Stewart and Kelanie Murphy, then Michael Tomlinson and Brittany Duskin
"Blue" by Paula Weber: (front couple) Gavin Stewart and Kelanie Murphy, then Michael Tomlinson and Brittany Duskin

A quick overview:

  • "Bittersuite" by Sabrina Madison-Cannon uses three songs,
    1. "Sugar in My Bowl" by J. Tim Brymn, Clarence Williams, Danny Small
    2. "I Put a Spell on You" by Jalacy J. Hawkins
    3. "Ne Me Quitte Pas" by Jacques Brel (sung by Nina Simone)
  • "Blue" is a reprise by Paula Weber of a piece used by Wylliams/Henry, music by Ludwig Van Beethoven
  • "Cappriccio" is a renaisance piece by Mary Pat Henry, Music by Noel Pointer
  • "Dark Elegies" by Antony Tudor, music by Gustav Mahler and five songs by Friedrich Rückert.(see below)
  • "Magnesium Pieces" by Ronn Tice was last done at the fall concert - music by Frank Zappa.
  • "Without a Word" is a new piece by DeeAnna Hiett, music by Osvaldo Golijov performed by Chronos Quartet.

All Choreography is copyright each of the choreographers.
"Dark Elegies" Choreography is © Copyright 2010 Antony Tudor Ballet Trust.
All rights reserved.

  
Dark Elegies

Antony Tudor's "Dark Elegies" is a major featured work from an outside institution, the Tudor Trust. We are lucky enough that we have an authentic Tudor repetiteur who lives and works in Kansas City, James Jordan, Kansas City Ballet Master, to come in on a regular basis to work with the dancers and to stage the piece. James has also set Tudor work on major companies across the nation and now at UMKC.

Dark Elegies will feature live orchestra music and mezzo-soprano Aidan Soder (UMKC professor of music) for the three evening performances. KC Ballet is providing costumes.

The "story" in Dark Elegies is really a series of scenes in which we see the varied reactions of a small community when their children die without reason. The songs (in German) are "Kindertotenlieder" or songs on the death of children (literally ChildDeathSongs).

James Jordan, in studio rehearsals working on Dark Elegies
James Jordan in studio rehearsals

In the work, Tudor is coming from a frame of emotional reference in which the ballet choreography often resembles modern dance and German folk dances, moving weight into the earth. Dark Elegies does not use "off-the-shelf" (so to speak) ballet technique, it invented new and still distinct, ways of moving in ballet. This, from a perspective in time when each new piece was also a new dance invention.

Studio rehearsal for Dark Elegies: Chadi El-Koury, Haley Day, Erin Kane, Michael Tomlinson
Studio rehearsal for Dark Elegies: Chadi El-Koury, Haley Day, Erin Kane, Michael Tomlinson

James Jordan working on a lift (of Miyesha McGriff) by (L-R) Mark Gieringer, Michael Tomlinson and Chadi El-Khoury
James Jordan working on a lift (of Miyesha McGriff) by (L-R) Mark Gieringer, Michael Tomlinson and Chadi El-Khoury

Mark Gieringer (Dark Elegies studio rehearsal) - behind, L-R: Michael Tomlinson, Daley Kapenman, Hannah Benditt, Chadi El-Khoury, (hidden) Appie Peterson, Pam Auinbauh, (to right of leg) Haley Day, Rose Taylor-Spann
Mark Gieringer (Dark Elegies studio rehearsal)- behind, L-R: Michael Tomlinson, Daley Kapenman, Hannah Benditt, Chadi El-Khoury, (hidden) Appie Peterson, Pam Auinbauh, (to right of leg) Haley Day, Rose Taylor-Spann

Dark Elegies rehearsals in PAC studio 103: Michael Tomlinson and Miyesha McGriff. On the right James Jordan and mezzo-soprano Aidan Soder.
Dark Elegies rehearsals in PAC studio 103: Michael Tomlinson and Miyesha McGriff. On the right James Jordan and mezzo-soprano Aidan Soder.

On Stage Notes for Dark Elegies with Sally Bliss from the Tudor Foundation and co-executrix of the Antony Tudor estate, working with Miyesha McGriff and Michael Tomlinson (left center). To the far left hand of head is Rose Taylor-Spann. To the right of Sally Bliss is James Jordan, Tudor repetiteur and KC Ballet ballet Master, then Paula Weber chair of the UMKC Dance Division. Just to the right of Michael is Gavin Stewart.
On Stage Notes for "Dark Elegies" with Sally Bliss from the Tudor Foundation and co-executrix of the Antony Tudor estate, working with Miyesha McGriff and Michael Tomlinson (left center). To the far left (hand on head) is Rose Taylor-Spann. To the right of Sally Bliss is James Jordan, Tudor repetiteur and KC Ballet ballet Master, then Paula Weber chair of the UMKC Dance Division. Just to the right of Michael is Gavin Stewart.

The orchestra pit for Dark Elegies, music by Gustav Mahler and ballet by Antony Tudor. This is a set of overlapped images with Robert C. Olson conducting (imaged twice in this picture).
The orchestra pit for Dark Elegies, music by Gustav Mahler and ballet by Antony Tudor. This is a set of overlapped images with Robert C. Olson conducting (imaged twice in this picture).

Sally Bliss (Tudor FoundationTrustee) talking with KC Ballet's Artistic Director William Whitener and KC Ballet dancer Kimberly Cowen (top right). AT bottom left is Eddie Verso who was working with KC Ballet restaging their upcoming production of Moves by Jerome Robbins. Verso danced Moves with Robbins in 1961 (Moves was choreographed in 1959).
Sally Bliss (Tudor FoundationTrustee) talking with KC Ballet's Artistic Director William Whitener and KC Ballet dancer Kimberly Cowen (top right). AT bottom left is Eddie Verso who was working with KC Ballet restaging their upcoming production of "Moves" by Jerome Robbins. Verso danced "Moves" with Robbins in 1961 (Moves was choreographed in 1959).

Megan Squires (fri/sat eves)
Megan Squires (fri/sat eves)

Scene II. Resignation - Mezzo-Soprano Aidan Soder PhD sang the songs for the evening performances with the Conservatory Chamber Orchestra conducted by Robert C. Olson.
Scene II. Resignation - Mezzo-Soprano Aidan Soder PhD (and UMKC professor of music) sang the songs for the evening performances with the Conservatory Chamber Orchestra conducted by Robert C. Olson.

Alyssa Gold
Alyssa Gold

Gavin Stewart (front) with (seated L-R) Lynley Schaffer, Michael Tomlinson, Haley Day
Gavin Stewart (front) with (seated L-R) Lynley Schaffer, Michael Tomlinson, Haley Day

Alyssa Gold in Dark Elegies
Alyssa Gold in "Dark Elegies" by Antony Tudor

Alyssa Gold in Dark Elegies performing four grande jetes in four directions (these are four successive frames: 2888, 89, 90 and 91, Left-Right, Top to Bottom)
Alyssa Gold, in "Dark Elegies" by Antony Tudor, performing four grande jeteés in four directions
(these are four successive frames: 2888, 89, 90 and 91, Left to Right and Top to Bottom)

Appie Peterson and Chadi El-Khoury - in Dark Elegies by Antony Tudor
Appie Peterson and Chadi El-Khoury - in "Dark Elegies" by Antony Tudor

"Dark Elegies" Choreography is © Copyright 2010 Antony Tudor Ballet Trust.
All rights reserved.
 

 

Asha Singh and Nina Rose Wardanian in Without a Word by DeeAnna Hiett (in saturday performance)
Asha Singh and Nina Rose Wardanian in Without a Word by DeeAnna Hiett (in saturday performance)
(Compare with dress above)

Brittany Duskin in Bittersuite by Sabrina Madison-Cannon at the start of the piece where she comes out from the curtain and dances in front until the curtain opens
Brittany Duskin in "Bittersuite" by Sabrina Madison-Cannon at the start of the piece where she comes out from the curtain and dances in front until the curtain opens

Rehearsal for Bittersuite in jazz studio (PAC 108) to Ne Me Quitte Pas by Jacques Brel - sung by Nina Simone - Sabrina Madison-Cannon directing (right). Dancers, L-R: Hannah Benditt, Linley Shaeffer, Brittany Murphy, Megan Squires (in penchée, head down toward the left), Miyesha McGriff.
Rehearsal for Bittersuite in jazz studio (PAC 108) to Ne Me Quitte Pas by Jacques Brel - sung by Nina Simone (The last of three songs in the suite)
Sabrina Madison-Cannon directing (right). Dancers, L-R: Hannah Benditt, Linley Shaeffer, Brittany Murphy,
Megan Squires (in penchée, head down toward the left), Miyesha McGriff.

 

Side Note: What you won't read in UMKC's own UNews - no preview piece. The editor, after knowing about this all the way from January, getting approvals for go ahead, and heads up approval two weeks ago, decided, over the weekend, just prior to performance, that she would not do a preview piece on the concert but might run it the next week. The author, Nicole English, had the piece ready to go and I have been in studio rehearsals shooting material across several months. The spring dance concert is a major concert and a huge undertaking, with four performances involving the Dance Division, Opera Theater and Orchestra, yet no piece to give the campus a heads up. After numerous emails to determine whether the UNews will do anything on the concert, there is no news. Update 18 April: Monday's UNews had no mention of the concert. Both editions did have full page ads for paid positions on the UNews and both editions had various non-campus-oriented pieces or forum (opinion) pieces that could have not run (except that forum pieces get pay for the authors).
Update 24 April: The A&E editor says this was a mistake and the piece should have run. So something is to run Monday the 25th.

 

 

The Program:

UMKC Dance Division Spring Concert

Featuring the choreography of Antony Tudor
with guest artists:
Aidan Soder, mezzo soprano
Robert Olson, conductor
Conservatory Chamber Orchestra

Choreographers
Mary Pat Henry
DeeAnna Hiett
Sabrina Madison-Cannon
Ronald Tice
Paula Weber

Thursday-Saturday, April 14-16, 2011 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, April 16, 2011, 2:30 p.m.

White Recital Hall
James C. Olson Performing Arts Center

 

Bittersuite

Choreography by Sabrina Madison-Cannon
"Sugar in My Bowl" by J. Tim Brymn, Clerence Williams, and Danny Small
"I Put a Spell on You" by Jalacy J. Hawkins
"Ne me quitte pas" by Jacques Brel
Music performed by Nina Simone
Lighting design by Rachael Shair
Costume design by the dancers
Costumes courtesy of Tracy Vogt

Dancers:
Joyce Armstrong, Hannah Benditt, Emily Berger, Kassi Butler, Shanna Colbern, Rachel Crawford, Haley Day, Simone Delozier, Willa Dock, Brittany Duskin,
Claire Gardner-Dale, Kaitlin Heibel, Sara Herbert, Rachael Hulse,
Daley Kappenman, Lexie Klasing, Stephanie Morrow, Andrea Mason,
Miyesha McGriff, Erin Muenks, Taylor Ohman, Whitney Ricketts, Liza Rod,
Sara Beth Rothhammer, Lynley Schaffer, Alyssa Schneider, Rachel Schneider,
Asha Singh, Megan Squires, Gwen Tripp, Hayley Turner, Caitlin Vasser,
Dempsey Ward, Nina Wardanian

Blue

Choreography by Paula Weber
Music by Ludwig van Beethoven
Adagio from Piano Concerto No. 5 in E-flat Major, Op. 73 ("Emperor")
Lighting design by Rachael Shair
Costume design by Paula Weber
Costume construction by Laura Powell
Courtesy of Wylliams/Henry Contemporary Dance Company

Dancers
Brittany Duskin and Michael Tomlinson Pamela Auinbauh and Erik Sobbe Kelanie Murphy and Gavin Stewart

Cappriccio

Choreography by Mary Pat Henry
Music by Noel Pointer
Lighting design by Rachael Shair
Costumes courtesy of Michael Simms and Mary Pat Henry

Dancers
(Thurs. eve., Sat. mat.)
Michael Tomlinson and Joyce Armstrong
Gavin Stewart and Lynley Schaffer
Erik Sobbe and Haley Day

(Fri. eve.. Sat. eve.)
Michael Tomlinson and Alyssa Gold
Gavin Stewart and Miyesha McGriff
Erik Sobbe and Kelanie Murphy

INTERMISSION

Dark Elegies

Choreography by Antony Tudor
Copyright © The Antony Tudor Trust
Music by Gustav Mahler
Kindertotenlieder
Music performed by Aidan Soder, mezzo soprano
and the Conservatory Chamber Orchestra
Conducted by Robert Olson
Staged by James Jordan
Lighting design by Brandon J. Clark
Costumes courtesy of the Kansas City Ballet

Scene I. Laments of the Bereaved

Dancers
I.
Alyssa Gold and chorus (Thu. eve., Sat. mat.)
Megan Squires and chorus (Fri. eve., Sat. eve.)
II.
Rose Taylor-Spann and Gavin Stewart (Thu. eve., Sat. mat.)
Miyesha McGriff and Michael Tomlinson (Fri. eve.. Sat. eve.)
III.
Desmond Roach and chorus (Thurs. eve., Sat. mat)
Mark Gieringer and chorus (Fri. eve., Sat. eve.)
IV.
Apple Peterson (Thurs. eve., Sat. mat.)
Pamela Auinbach (Fri. eve., Sat. eve.)
V.
Michael Tomlinson (Thurs. eve., Sat. mat.)
Gavin Stewart (Fri. eve., Sat. eve.)

Chorus
(Thurs. eve., Sat. mat.)
Hannah Benditt, Lacee Ebert, Danielle Glynn,
Sara Beth Rothhammer, Rose Taylor-Spann, Dempsey Ward
or
(Fri. eve., Sat. eve.)
Haley Day, Abigail Engelhardt, Erin Kane
Daley Kappenman, Miyesha McGriff, Lynley Schaffer
and
Chadi EI-Khoury (all show/times)

Scene II. Resignation

Dancers: Ensemble

INTERMISSION

Magnesium Pieces

Choreography by Ronald Tice
Music by Frank Zappa
Music performed by Ensemble Modern
Lighting design by Erick Voecks
Costumes design by Ronald Tice

Dancers
(Thurs. eve., Sat. mat.)
Rose Taylor-Spann and Gavin Stewart
with
Haley Day, Rachel Crawford, Lacee Ebert, Chasmine Gerschefske,
Danielle Glynn, Erin Kane, Taylor Ohman and Megan Squires

(Fri. eve., Sat. eve.)
Kelanie Murphy and Gavin Stewart
with
Marie Buser, Danielle Glynn, Alyssa Gold, Daley Kappenman, Sara Beth Rothhammer, Liza Rod, Lynley Schaffer and Dempsey Ward

Without a Word

Choreography by DeeAnna Hiett
Music by Osvaldo Golijov
Music performed by Kronos Quartet
Music editing by Gavin Stewart
Lighting design by Rachael Shair
Costume design by the dancers

Dancers
Andrea Mason, Haley Day, Mark Gieringer, Hayley Turner, Kaitlin Heibel, Megan Squires, Hannah Benditt, Rachel Schneider, Asha Singh, Claire Gardner-Dale, Rachel Crawford, Brittany Duskin, Simone Delozier, Erin Kane, Liza Rod, Taylor Ohman, Sarah Herbert, Dempsey Ward, Alyssa Schneider, Daley Kappenman, Erin Muenks, Reginald Simmons, Rachael Hulse, Erika Edwards, Marie Buser, Gavin Stewart, Nina-Rose Wardanian, Shanna Colbern, Kassi Butler, Desmond Roach, Whitney Ricketts, Kelanie Murphy, Miyesha McGriff, Chadi EI-Khoury, Caitlin Vasser, Lexie Klasing

 

PRODUCTION STAFF
Concert Director.....................................................................................Paula Weber
Production Manager................................................................................Robert Beck
Stage Manager.................................................................................Heather Costello
Assistant Stage Managers..............................................David Cross, Vashti Gorake
Master Electrician............................................................................Richard Sprecker
Lead Lighting Designer........................................................................Rachael Shair
Lighting Designers.....................................................Brandon J. Clark, Erick Voecks
Sound Designers........................................................Robert Beck, Jason Scheuffler
Sound Operator.........................................................................................Kari Hayde
Curtain.......................................................................................................Paco Vitug
Technical Crew................................Emily Berger, Lacee Ebert, Claire Gardner-Dale,
Chasmine Gerschefske, Mark Gieringer, Danielle Glynn, Sarah Herbert, Reggie Simmons, Gwen Tripp

Conservatory Chamber Orchestra Personnel

VIOLINS I
Shan-Ken Chien, concert/master
Yu-Fen Chen Trisha McGovern Christian Fatu Rachael Schlosberg

VIOLINS II
Heidi Downin* Cheng Hu* Sarah Holmes Jack Chen

VIOLA
Yu-Fang Chen* Youming Chen* l-Ting Huang Yuan-Yu Weng Shih-Hsun Pan Nicole Wang Alyssa Bell

CELLO
Alice Huang* Jeff Millen Nathan Hoffman Benjamin Duvall

BASSE
Barron Weir* Alexandra Vendetti

FLUTE
Hannah Porter

OBOES
Rena Vacha, Mary Stahlhuth

CLARINET
Erin Vander Wyst, Amanda Hudnall

BASSOON
Keel Williams

HORN
Steve Lewis, Sarah Tarrant

TRUMPET
Chris Larios, Sam Wells

TROMBONE
John Jenkins

TUBA
Matt Crossley

PERCUSSION
Ben Shellhaas Spencer Jones

KEYBOARD
Shao Zhang

* — principal, co-principal

Music Director and Conductor: Robert Olson
Interim Conductor: Sam Seung-Ryul Yang
Orchestra Manager/Librarian: Krista Jobson
Assistant conductors: Marcio Landi, Steve Lewis, Shao Zhang

CONSERVATORY OF MUSIC AND DANCE-DANCE DIVISION

Dance Division Professors
Mary Pat Henry, Associate Dean of Conservatory Faculty Affairs
DeeAnna Hiett
Sabrina Madison-Cannon
Ronald Tice
Paula Weber, Division Chair
Rodni Williams

Adjunct professors
Billie Mahoney
Ann Shaughnessy
Lisa Vinzant

 

 

Bittersuite   Dark Elegies
Ne me quitte pas Dont' leave me   Songs on the Death of Children
Lyrics by Jacques Brel   Lyrics by Friedrich Rückert
Ne me quitte pas
Il faut oublier
Tout peut s'oublier
Qui s'enfuit déjà
Oublier le temps
Des malentendus
Et le temps perdu
A savoir comment
Oublier ces heures
Qui tuaient parfois
A coups de pourquoi
Le coeur du bonheur

Ne me quitte pas
Ne me quitte pas
Ne me quitte pas
Ne me quitte pas

Moi je t'offrirai
Des perles de pluie
Venues de pays
Oþ il ne pleut pas
Je creuserai la terre
Jusqu'après ma mort
Pour couvrir ton corps
D'or et de lumière
Je ferai un domaine
Oþ l'amour sera roi
Oþ l'amour sera loi
Oþ tu seras reine

Ne me quitte pas
Ne me quitte pas
Ne me quitte pas
Ne me quitte pas
Ne me quitte pas

Je t'inventerai
Des mots insensés
Que tu comprendras
Je te parlerai
De ces amants-là
Qui ont vu deux fois
Leurs coeurs s'embraser
Je te raconterai
L'histoire de ce roi
Mort de n'avoir pas
Pu te rencontrer

Ne me quitte pas
Ne me quitte pas
Ne me quitte pas
Ne me quitte pas

On a vu souvent
Rejaillir le feu
De l'ancien volcan
Qu'on croyait trop vieux
Il est para
Des terres brulées
Donnant plus de blé
Qu'un meilleur avril
Et quand vient le soir
Pour qu'un ciel flamboie
Le rouge et le noir
Ne s'épousent-ils pas

Ne me quitte pas
Ne me quitte pas
Ne me quitte pas
Ne me quitte pas

Ne me quitte pas
Je ne vais plus pleurer
Je ne vais plus parler
Je me cacherai là
A te regarder
Danser et sourire
Et à t'écouter
Chanter et puis rire
Laisse-moi devenir
L'ombre de ton ombre
L'ombre de ta main
L'ombre de ton chien

Ne me quitte pas
Ne me quitte pas
Ne me quitte pas
Ne me quitte pas

Dont' leave me
You have to forget
Everything can be forgotten
That is flying away already
Forget the time
The misunderstandings
And the time that was lost
Trying to understand how
These hours can be forgotten
Those that are killing sometimes
With whys that hurt like punches
The heart of happiness

Don't leave me
Don't leave me
Don't leave me
Don't leave me

I will offer you
Pearls made of rain
Coming from countries
Where it never rains
I will work the earth
Until I die
To cover your body
With gold and light
I will create a kingdom for you
Where love will be the king
Where love will be the law
Where you will be the queen

Don't leave me
Don't leave me
Don't leave me
Don't leave me

I will invent for you
Meaningless words
That you will understand
I will speak to you
Of these lovers
That we've seen twice
Their hearts embracing each other
I will tell you
The story of this king
Who died of not being able
To get to know you

Don't leave me
Don't leave me
Don't leave me
Don't leave me

We have often seen
Fire flowing again
From an ancient vulcano
That we considered to be too old
It seems like
Burned earth
Produces more wheat
Than a warm month of april
And when the night comes
And the sky is on fire
The black and the red
Won't go together

Don't leave me
Don't leave me
Don't leave me
Don't leave me

Don't leave me
I won't cry anymore
I won't speak anymore
I will hide right there
To see you
Dancing ad smiling
And to listen to you
Sing and then laugh
Let me become
The shadow of your shadow
The shadow of you hand
The shadow of your dog

Don't leave me
Don't leave me
Don't leave me
Don't leave me

  Song #1
Now will the sun rise just as brightly
As if no misfortune had happened in the night.
The misfortune happened to me alone;
The sun shines for everyone.

You must not hoard the night within,
It must be absorbed into the eternal light.
a little lamp in my shelter has gone out;
Hail to the joyful light of the world!

Song #2
Now I can see why,
in so many looks,
You flashed such dark flames at me,
O eyes!
As if in one look you would completely
Focus together all of your strength.
But I was not aware,
because mists swam around me,
Woven by deceitful Fate,
That the beam was already homeward
bound
To the place where all beams are born.

You wanted, with your light, to say to me:
We would like to stay near you.
But Fate has forbidden us.
Look at us, for soon we shall be far away!
What, in these days, are only eyes to you
Will be, in future nights, only stars.

Song #3
When your Mummy
Comes through the door
As I turn my head
To look towards her,
At first my sight
Falls not upon her face,
But upon the place,
Nearer the threshold
Where your dear little
Face would be,
When bright with happiness
You would come in with her,
as usual, my little daughter.

When your Mummy
Comes through the door
With the glow of a candle,
It seems to me as if,

As always, you came in with her,
Scurrying around behind her,
As ever, into the room.
O you, little bit of your father,
Ah, too quickly
Extinguished light of happiness!

Song #4
often think: they have just gone out!
Soon they will be coming home again!
It's a lovely day! O don't be afraid!
They are just taking a long walk.

Indeed, they have just gone out,
And now they will be coming home.
Oh don't be afraid, it's a lovely day!
They have just taken a walk
to those high places!

They have just gone out before us,
And will not want to come home again!
We will meet them at those high places
In the sun!
It's a lovely day in those high places!

I often think they have only gone out!
Soon they will get back home!
The day is fine! Oh do not be afraid!
They are just going out for a long walk.

Yes indeed, they have only gone out
And now they will be reaching home!
Oh do not be afraid. The day is fine!
They are only taking a walk to those heights!

 

 

 



Unless otherwise noted photos and copyright 2024 Mike Strong KCDance.Com and Mike Strong Photo Gallery and CV Site - Email This Page

UMKC Dance Division page links on this site

UMKC Dance Division moments between studio classes

Dance Division moments between studio classes

Fall Concerts
 With staff and guest choreography 

November 2017
November 2016
November 2015
November 2013
November 2012
November 2011
November 2010
November 2009
November 2008
November 2007
November 2006
November 2005

Spring Concerts
 Held every April with staff and visiting choreography. A showcase for the year. 

April 2017
April 2016
April 2014
April 2012
April 2011
April 2010
April 2008
April 2007

Other Dance Concerts and Dance Division Events at UMKC
 Held every April with staff and visiting choreography. A showcase for the year. 

Carmina Burana
CORPS de Ballet 2011 Conference with the introduction of the Tudor Curriculum
Battleworks Concert - 25 October 2008
UMKC Master Class with Robert Battle - 20-24 Oct 2008
Note: as of spring 2011 Robert Battle took over as Artistic Director of Alvin Ailey from the retiring Judith Jamison.
Master Class with Donald McKayle - August 2006
100th Year Anniversaryof the Conservatory - April 2006

Senior Recitals
These are held in the winter semester and the graduating seniors begin signups and rehearsals early in the fall semester. This is one of their last graded works. Each senior choreographs and directs a group piece and performs in a solo which may be self-choreography or another's and may also be a duet if there is a large enough mix of solo to duet.

There are a number of recital concerts, depending on the total number of seniors. Generally the mid-week concerts have in-town seniors while those with families out of town are scheduled for Saturdays so relatives can attend.

Senior Recital 2012
Senior Recital 2011
Senior Recital 2008
Senior Recital 2007
Senior Recital 2005

Related Links
 Non-UMKC events which have UMKC dancers, staff or visiting artists. 

Don McKayle talk 24 Jan 2008 at Public Library, KCMO about Kansas City Ballet piece he was commisioned to create.
UMKC guys in Romeo and Juliet at Kansas City Ballet Spring 2008 backstage in costumes.
Wylliams/Henry Sept 2006 and "Games ," choreography Donald McKayle.

For some of the least expensive, good dance entertainment in Kansas City the University of Missouri Kansas City's Conservatory of Dance and Music's Dance Division offers some of the best young adult dancers in the area. UMKC's Dance Division is among the top dance schools in the country. Those of us who live in this area often miss that distinction but people elsewhere know (isn't it always so?).