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When it comes to celebrating this year’s 250th anniversary of the Declaration of the Independence, the Kansas City Ballet knows how to throw it down. The ingenious program the company has put together for its spring performances weaves three strands of the American experience that together form an intricate fabric of seriousness and play. The program, Stars and Stripes, is named for a ballet of the same title by one of the most significant immigrants ever to pledge allegiance to our nation’s flag. George Balanchine created this tribute to his adopted home in 1958: a patriotic but never maudlin work to the music of John Philip Sousa that is making its first appearances on a Kansas City stage. 

It is joined by Agnes de Mille’s slice of classic Americana, Rodéo, to Aaron Copland’s peerless score, and a world premiere by the much-in-demand choreographer, Caili Quan, to music of Dvořák—including his “American” String Quartet, itself an expression of the Czech composer’s joy upon visiting the United States in the 1890s. 

“We wanted to put together a program that recognized ballets that have honored aspects of our country,” said Devon Carney, the Ballet’s artistic director. “The first piece that came to mind was Stars and Stripes. I don’t know of anyone who has created a more celebratory work than Balanchine, himself a Russian immigrant who became an American citizen in 1940 after fleeing Russia.” 

Likewise, Devon added, Rodéo is “an essential American ballet that blends classical technique with Western vernacular … and Caili Quan’s premiere was inspired by Dvořák. Each of these works offers a glimpse into what America means to these artists.” 

The program, performed with the Kansas City Symphony in the pit, will include staging by two legendary former colleagues of the late choreographers: Victoria Simon danced with Balanchine’s New York City Ballet during the 1950s and ’60s and subsequently became one of “Mr. B’s” favorite stagers, and Diana Gonzáles worked with Agnes de Mille during the 1980s and ‘’90s and has become a chief repetiteur for her ballets. 

Stars and Stripes, with deft arrangements of Sousa’s music by composer Hershy Kay, is a work requiring a large company, and it was only recently that the Kansas City Ballet has sported enough dancers to pull it off. “The company is at the point now, size-wise, where we can handle this,” Devon said. “And it’s going to blow people’s socks off.” 

Stars and Stripes, together with Balanchine’s earlier ballets Western Symphony and Square Dance, is in part an expression of the gratitude he felt toward the nation that took him in, after a tumultuous migration that landed him first in Berlin and Paris. The 35-minute ballet is cast in five sections that the choreographer called “campaigns,” danced by four groups he called “regiments.” 

We recently conversed with Victoria Simon, who has staged Balanchine’s works for more than 80 companies on every continent in the world. (She was in Sydney, Australia at the time we reached out to her.) She has staged several works for Kansas City Ballet, including most recently Rubies in 2024 and Four Temperaments in 2015. She possesses a wealth of knowledge about American ballet in the 20th and 21st centuries and about the role that “Mr. B” has played in its development. 

The Independent: First of all, could you tell us a bit about your history with Stars and Stripes, as a dancer? 

Victoria Simon: I was an apprentice with New York City Ballet when it was choreographed. But I was in it immediately after I joined the company. I did the first regiment which is the small girls. I also did the tall girls regiment a few times when a lot of dancers were out sick. And then I danced the pas de deux on some guesting gigs. 

Just out of curiosity, who were the men you danced the pas de deux with, in the guesting gigs? 

Arthur Mitchell, Conrad Ludlow, and Frank Ohman. 

To what extent were pieces such as Western Symphony, Square Dance, and Stars and Stripes part of expressing Mr. B’s feelings toward America during the Cold War—and his steadfast opposition to Communism? 

Mr B became very much an American. He loved the U.S.A. Besides Western Symphonyand Stars and Stripes, the fact that he used American composers Ives, Gershwin, Hershy Kay, and others showed his love for his new country. He still loved the old Russia. But was definitely anti-Communist. 

Is there a bit of irony in Stars and Stripes, which Balanchine called a “balletic parade”? Or is it important to “play it straight” as a ballet expressing the joy of being an American? 

Personally I think it was his way of showing his thanks for being an American. 

Mr. B said that he set Sousa because he loved the music. What’s remarkable is that he sets this music with his signature subtlety: It is not over-the-top at all. 

I agree. I also think that his collaboration with Hershy Kay was very important. 

Kay was a master composer and orchestrator. Sousa with just a brass band might have resulted in a very different ballet; the presence of strings gives it a finer finish. 

As always with Mr. B, the music was his inspiration. 

When Mr. B chose you to be a stager in 1965, did he specify at the time which ballets you would restage? And was Stars and Stripes one of yours from the start? 

He did not specify which ballets we staged, but in the beginning, it was ballets that I had danced in. My first ballet that I staged was his Nutcracker. Then a Serenade. Stars came a bit later. Not many companies had enough dancers to do it. I have staged just the Pas de deux several times, though. 

What are the special difficulties in Stars and Stripes? And has there been elevated interest in this piece in the U.S. this season and next?

No special difficulties, but it is not an easy ballet to dance. It requires stamina and brilliant technique. I believe a few other companies are doing it this year but this is my only staging. (We’re celebrating the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, not of the presidency.) 

How many of the ballets do you currently stage? 

I have staged 25 of Mr B’s ballets. Some, like Serenade, Theme and Variations, and Four Temperaments, many times. 

What is the key to your incredible vitality? 

It really is my love of the ballets—working with the amazing dancers and seeing the results. 

What have been the contributions of the United States to the world of ballet as a whole? What things stand out as having advanced the art of dance? 

Well I certainly feel that Mr B’s ballets have brought the ballet world a lot closer together. The technique of dancers has gotten better, and I think through videos the ballet world is a lot friendlier. 

Is the Trust focused on copying the original dancers’ movements as precisely as possible? Or is part of the aesthetic to allow for the requirements of different body types, different strengths? 

I always have an image maybe of a specific dancer in mind, but always looking at, and working with, the dancers that I have in front of me. One doesn’t change the choreography but just makes the dancers look as good as possible. 

—By Paul Horsley

Kansas City Ballet performs Stars and Stripes this March 20th through the 29th at the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts. For tickets call 816-931-8993 or go to kcballet.org. To reach Paul Horsley, performing arts editor, send an email to paul@kcindependent.com or find him on Facebook or X/Instagram (@phorsleycritic).