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,
Kansas City Ballet company, its school, and its staff are all housed in, operate from, and rehearse at the Todd Bolender Center for Dance and Creativity, a renovated, seven-studio, office, and rehearsal facility in Kansas City, Missouri that opened in August 2011. The company performs at and is the resident ballet company at the nearby Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts, a performance venue in downtown Kansas City that opened in September 2011. In April 2018, KCB presented its "60th Anniversary Dance Festival", performing six new works over the course of two weeks. In 1957, Tatiana Dokoudovska founded the Kansas City Ballet (KCB)