FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, May 7, 2024
Contact:
Ellen McDonald, Publicist
Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts
816.213.4355 | ellen@mershonandmcdonald.com
Karen Badgett, Director of Marketing & Community Engagement
Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts
816.994.7229 | kbadgett@kauffmancenter.org
PERFORMERS SELECTED AND SCHEDULE ANNOUNCED
FOR FUTURE STAGES FESTIVAL
Kauffman Center’s annual festival features more than 30 youth performance groups
across four stages.
Kansas City, MO – On June 9, the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts will feature
35 performance groups at Future Stages Festival. This FREE community event is a
celebration of the arts and hosts hundreds of Kansas City-area youth performers in a
variety of performing arts disciplines, all of whom were selected through a competitive
application process.
“Future Stages Festival is an embodiment of the Kauffman Center’s commitment to
nurturing a love of the arts for present and future generations,” said Kauffman Center
President and CEO Paul Schofer. “We are proud to provide a platform for these budding
artists to share their talents with the Kansas City community and showcase the bright
future of the performing arts.”
Future Stages Festival will take place on Sunday, June 9 from 12 – 5 p.m. Performers
from this diverse line-up showcase their talents throughout the day on the Muriel
Kauffman Theatre and Helzberg Hall stages as well as the Saint Luke’s Outdoor Stage
and the Kansas City Symphony’s Mobile Music Box stage. Additional family-friendly arts
activities can be found outdoors on the south lawn and indoors in Brandmeyer Great
Hall and the PNC PlaySpace, located in the PNC Grow Up Great Gallery area.
Below you will find the performance schedule for each stage and a list of the youth
groups set to perform at Future Stages Festival.
RSVP to receive updated details including the performance and activity schedules in the
weeks leading up to Future Stages Festival. For more information and to RSVP, visit
kauffmancenter.org/futurestages.
View images from past Future Stages Festivals here.
View videos and b-roll from past Future Stages Festivals here.
FUTURE STAGES FESTIVAL PERFORMANCE GROUPS:
• 5 Star Jazz Band
• AileyCamp The Group
• Art as Mentorship’s Rebel Song Academy
• Cathy’s Creative Dance School
• Chinese School of Greater Kansas City
• Creative Emajinations Music Group
• Ekzaltim
• Gurukul Dance Company
• Harmony Project KC Wind Ensemble
• Heart of America Youth Ballet
• HK Chinese Folk Dance
• Ice Studios School of Dance
• Kansas City Aerial Arts – Training Company
• Kansas City Horn Club Youth Ensemble
• Kansas City Institute of Chinese Language and Culture
• Kansas City Suzuki Academy
• Kansas City Symphony Small Ensemble
• KC Bhangra
• Live Jazz KC High School All Star Big Band
• Lyric Singers of St. Joseph Youth Chorale
• MSACP Orchestra
• O’Riada Manning Academy of Irish Dance
• Ovation Dance Academy Company Dancers
• Pythons Drill Team
• Refine the Studio
• Reflections of Polynesia
• Starlight Stars
• Storybook Theatre
• String Sprouts KC
• The A-Flat Youth Orchestra
• The Barton Street Band
• The Kansas City Boys Choir &The Kansas City Girls Choir
• The Last Carnival
• Traditional Music Society – Little Africa
• Voler Aerial Academy
IMPORTANT INFORMATION
• When: 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday, June 9, 2024
• Where: Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts, 1601 Broadway Blvd., Kansas
City, MO 64108
Cost: The festival is FREE and open to the public. Attendees are encouraged to RSVP
at kauffmancenter.org/futurestages to receive the latest event updates and schedule for
performances and activities. Registration is optional, but encouraged, and no tickets will
be issued. Parking is available in the city-owned Arts District Garage for $16 per
vehicle.
SPONSORS
Future Stages Festival is presented by Premier Partner
This event is also supported by
Richard J. Stern Foundation for the Arts, Missouri Arts Council, Marlese and Robert
Gourley Children’s Fund, Hearst Foundations, Courtney S. Turner Charitable Trust,
John H. Mize Jr. & Bank of America, NA Trustees, Evergy, JE Dunn, and City of Kansas
City, Mo., Neighborhood Tourist Development Fund.
Additional support is provided by media partners Cumulus Media, KCUR 89.3 and 91.9
Classical KC.
ABOUT THE OPEN DOORS PROGRAM
The Kauffman Center Open Doors program connects young people to the arts through
three major components:
• The Open Doors Spotlight on Youth initiative offers year-round programs and
engagement opportunities that connect young people with the Kauffman Center.
• The Open Doors Community Tickets program offers free and reduced-price
performance tickets to underserved audiences through local social service
agencies and schools.
• The Open Doors Transportation Fund helps schools offer high quality performing
arts experiences to students by eliminating or defraying the costs of bus
transportation.
More information is available about Open Doors programs at kauffmancenter.org/opendoors.
ACCESSIBILITY
The Kauffman Center’s promise to bring artists and audiences together is reflected in
many ways, including removing barriers and providing access to our performing arts
experiences for all patrons. You can learn more at kauffmancenter.org/accessibility. To
request services or receive additional information that would make your visit more
enjoyable, please contact our ticket office at 816.994.7222 or
contact@kauffmancenter.org.
SOCIAL MEDIA
Receive updates by following our Facebook page at facebook.com/kauffmancenter,
Instagram page at instagram.com/kauffmancenter, and Twitter page at
twitter.com/kauffmancenter. Watch videos at youtube.com/kauffmancenter and follow
our blog at kauffmancenter.org/news.
MEDIA
Visit the Kauffman Center’s online press room for media resources, multimedia library,
press release archive and more: https://www.kauffmancenter.org/about/press-room/.
ABOUT THE KAUFFMAN CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS
Opening in 2011, the Kauffman Center serves as a cultural cornerstone for
extraordinary and diverse music, opera, theater and dance performances for Kansas
City and the region. Designed by internationally recognized architect Moshe Safdie,
the Kauffman Center has been honored as one of the World’s 15 Most Beautiful
Concert Halls, which attracts some of the world’s most renowned performers and
entertainers. The 285,000-square-foot Center includes two performance halls: the
1,800-seat Muriel Kauffman Theatre that hosts dance performances, operas, plays
and musicals and the 1,600-seat Helzberg Hall, a venue for a wide range of musical
performances, from chamber music to full orchestral concerts, jazz and pop, lectures
and recitals.
The Kauffman Center is the performance home for three of the region’s leading
performing arts organizations – Kansas City Ballet, Lyric Opera of Kansas City,
Kansas City Symphony. In addition, the Kauffman Center Presents series brings in
performing artists at the top of their classes as well as Trailblazing Talks, a live
speaker series. Since opening, the Kauffman Center has offered over 3,100
performances and welcomed more than 4.5 million visitors.
By engaging the community and creating access to arts experiences, more than
415,000 students attended over 366 matinees offered by the Kauffman Center, its
resident companies and other arts organizations. More information about the
Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts can be found at kauffmancenter.org.
