Ballet Society Ballet Society Ballet Society is a non-profit educational institution founded in 1946 by Lincoln Kirstein and George Balanchine. At its founding, Balanchine was the Artistic Director and Kirstein served as the Secretary. The president of Ballet Society is Nancy Lassalle, an original Board member of both the School of American Ballet and the New York City Ballet, currently Emerita. The first performance took place on November 20, 1946 at the Central High School of Needle Trades in New York City. In its first season, it opened with "The Four Temperaments" and the "Spellbound Child". Ballet Society's purpose was to develop
Kansas City Ballet of the 1969-70 season, Solov returned to Kansas City to create and present three world premiere ballets with the KCB: The World I Knew (set to Massenet's Scenes Alsaciennes), Zygosis, and Divertissement. Lead roles in the first piece were danced by New York City Ballet guest artists Jacques d'Amboise and Melissa Hayden. For the spring 1970 performance, the KCB presented the ballet Laurencia, staged by guest artists. In 1970, the mayor of Kansas City, Ilus Winfield Davis proclaimed a special “Civic Ballet Week." During the 1970-1971 season, the company name changed back to Kansas City Ballet. In the spring of