New Dance Partners.

New Dance Partners 2021
The Ultimate Collaboration

September 17, 2021 - September 18, 2021 | Yardley Hall

Past Event


Feast your eyes on four new works premiering on the Yardley Hall stage.


For the eighth festival of contemporary and modern dance, the Midwest Trust Center has enlisted four choreographers to create original works for four local dance companies to perform at the world premieres. Each new work will then be owned by the dance company for two years for use in their own programs.

This year’s collaborative partners are:

Irene Rodríguez
Irene Rodríguez

Rodriguez has worked as dancer and choreography consultant for Ballet Nacional de Cuba and as director of the Flamenco and Spanish Dance Program School at Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival. She is a member of the UNESCO International Dance Council and artistic director of Cuba’s International Festival “The Print of Spain.”

The Kansas City Ballet offers an eclectic repertory ranging from traditional classics to exciting contemporary ballets. Each year, their community engagement and education department reaches more than 20,000 students and adults, and the Kansas City Ballet School provides dance training to 2,000 plus students.

Sidra Bell
Sidra Bell

Bell is a master lecturer at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia and a recent artist-in-residence at Harvard University. She has created more than 100 new works and was the 2019 Honoree at CPR-Center Performance Research's Gala in New York City.

The mission of the Owen/Cox Dance Group is to create new music and dance collaborations, present high-quality contemporary dance performances with live music, and engage a wide audience through affordable live performance, education and outreach programs.

Carolyn Dorfman
Carolyn Dorfman

Hailed as the consummate storyteller, Dorfman is known for her celebrated body of work that honors her Jewish heritage. For 39 years, Carolyn Dorfman Dance has been connecting life and dance in bold, athletic and dramatic works.

Störling Dance Theater has built a repertoire that includes dances of beauty and passion, while establishing a reputation for their gutsy and powerful narrative productions

Roni Koresh
Roni Koresh

Koresh has a repertoire of more than 60 works that represent his experience in Israeli and American cultures. Thirty years ago, he founded Koresh Dance Company, which is known for its engaging performance and technically superb dancers.

With thought-provoking performances that speak to the human spirit, the Wylliams/Henry Contemporary Dance Company is known for its beautiful, athletic style and has been hailed as one of the most exciting, captivating dance troupes in the Midwest.

Supported in part by the Richard J. Stern Foundation for the Performing Arts, Commerce Bank, Trustee; Kansas Creative Arts Industries Commission; George H. Langworthy Sr.; Adrienne Kilbride.