Culture of New York City work. In these works each element is in and of itself expressive, and the observer determines what it communicates. George Balanchine, one of the 20th century's foremost choreographers and the first pioneer of contemporary ballet, formed a bridge between classical and modern ballet. Balanchine used flexed hands (and occasionally feet), turned-in legs, off-centered positions and non-classical costumes to distance himself from the classical and romantic ballet traditions. Balanchine also brought modern dancers in to dance with his company, the New York City Ballet; one such dancer was Paul Taylor, who in 1959 performed in Balanchine's piece "Episodes". Another significant modern
Kansas City Ballet Kansas City Ballet The Kansas City Ballet (KCB) is an American professional ballet company based in Kansas City, Missouri. The company was founded in 1957 by Tatiana Dokoudovska. The Kansas City Ballet steadily developed and grew under Dokoudovska (1957-1981) and her artistic director successors Todd Bolender (1981-1995) and William Whitener (1996-2013). The KCB presents five major performances each season to include an annual production of The Nutcracker. In the 2016-2017 season, KCB grew to an all-time high with 30 company dancers, 15 second company dancers, 64 full-time and part-time staff, and a network of over 400 local volunteers. The KCB