Kansas City Ballet York City Ballet dancer Patricia McBride performed her first full-length production of "Giselle" with the KCB. In January 1981, Todd Bolender, a renowned and long-time New York City Ballet (NYCB) dancer, teacher, and choreographer, accepted the artistic directorship of the Kansas City Ballet. His first year proved to be pivotal for the company with the introduction of major new works and the implementation of several major initiatives. In May 1982, Bolender saluted his mentor, George Balanchine, by presenting a four-day Balanchine Festival at the Lyric Theatre. Kevin Amey joined KCB as company manager in February 1983. During the 1983-1984 season,
1928 United States presidential election in New York that populated cities like New York and Boston. The first Catholic to be nominated on a major-party ticket, Smith's Catholicism would severely weaken his candidacy in many rural parts of the country, especially in the South, but would prove an asset in appealing to voters in New York. The urban, ethnic coalition that delivered New York City to Al Smith would prove to be a harbinger of long-term realignment of both the city and the state toward the Democratic Party. 1928 began a Democratic winning streak in New York City that has never been broken since, as New York would