Events
Get ready for youth artists to dance, sing and perform their way into your living room during the weekend-long virtual Future Stages Festival June 12 and 13.
We are excited to announce the talented youth performance groups that will take the stage (virtually) at our eighth annual Future Stages Festival. On June 12 and 13, audiences will enjoy engaging, free digital content and do-it-at-home arts activities.
Similar to the 2020 virtual festival, audiences will explore an online portal of riveting youth performance videos. However, new this year is the opportunity for viewers to interact with content and their community in new ways. Five youth groups pre-recorded performances on the Kauffman Center stages, and these videos will premiere June 12 on the Center’s Facebook page. Viewers will revel in the ribbon twirling, pirouettes, rhythmic drum lines and more!
This interactive platform will give attendees an opportunity to connect with the content by commenting in real time. For the first time, the Future Stages Festival webpage will offer an applause wall that allows viewers to give kudos and shout out their favorite performances and activities by posting on social media with #VirtualFutureStages. Additionally, families can follow along with livestreamed activities led by staff and community partners, as well as enjoy a family-friendly activity booklet full of crafts, coloring pages and other engaging projects for all ages.
Youth performance groups that will join the 2021 festival include:
- 18th Street Combo from Kansas City Jazz Academy
- AileyCamp the Group
- Chilanka School of Dance
- Crescendo Conservatory
- Gurukul Dance Company
- Heart of America Youth Ballet
- HK Chinese Folk Dance Group
- Harmony Project KC
- Ice Studios School of Dance
- Kansas City Ballet School
- Kansas City Boys Choir/Kansas City Girls Choir
- Kansas City Movement
- KC Youth Percussion Ensemble
- Lawrence Ballet Theatre
- Lily Zhang Li Taylor Dance Academy
- Metropolitan Youth Orchestra of Kansas City
- MSA Crescendo Project Orchestra
- Pythons Drill Team
- String Sprouts KC
- The A-Flat Youth Orchestra
- The Culture House Conservatory of Dance Youth Ensemble
- Youth Symphony of Kansas City, Symphony Orchestra
Arts content and activities generously provided by:
- American Institute of Architects Kansas City
- American Jazz Museum
- American Theatre Guild
- Drum Safari
- Global FC (Futbol Community)
- Heart of America Shakespeare Festival
- Jan Kraybill
- Kansas City Ballet
- Kansas City PBS
- Kansas City Public Library
- Kansas City Symphony
- Kathak Aura
- Katie Minion, DoodleStation
- Lyric Opera of Kansas City
- Mattie Rhodes Center
- Saint Luke’s Health System
- Science City
- StoneLion Puppet Theatre
- The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art
- The Whole Person
- Three Trails Taiko
- UMKC Conservatory Academy
- Vania Soto
Stay up to date about virtual Future Stages Festival, and RSVP for this year’s event here.
Virtual Future Stages Festival is presented by Premier Partner Saint Luke’s Health System.
This project is sponsored in part by the Richard J. Stern Foundation for the Arts – Commerce Bank Trustee, Anonymous, National Endowment for the Arts, the Marlese and Robert Gourley Children’s Fund, the Frank and Margaret McGee Fund, Missouri Arts Council, JE Dunn Construction and the NuWin Foundation.
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 about Open Doors programs is available at: kauffmancenter.org/open-doors.
Follow the Kauffman Center on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to get details about upcoming performances and behind-the-scenes access.
By this point, you’ve been at home a while — whether that means working from home, virtual learning or teaching or just staying in more often. That’s why we’re bringing you a few activities to take your mind off the mundane.
In November, we released a Kauffman Center painting tutorial led by local muralist and painter Vania Soto. With her easy-to-follow, step-by-step directions, anyone from a novice to an experienced painter can create a masterpiece.
For this project, you’ll need the following:
- A basic watercolor set and brush. Two brushes are recommended.
- Watercolor paper
- Printer paper and printer
- Four small pieces of tape
- Pencil or graphite stick
- Cup of water
- Ruler or other straight edge
Download the traceable outline and follow along with the video. Then, share your creation with us on social media by tagging @Kauffmancenter and @Artista_VaniaSoto.
For these next DIY crafts, we teamed up with ScrapsKC, a local non-profit with the mission to reuse, repurpose and renew odds and ends found around your home. This three-part series was filmed in the Kauffman Center’s various spaces with ScrapsKC’s Events and Education Coordinator, Courtney Christensen. Check out the instructions and supply lists below, and follow along to create your very own Kauffman Center-inspired CD bookends, CD weaving and sheet music paper snowflake.
- Paper Snowflake Instructions and Supplies
- CD Weaving Instructions and Supplies
- Kauffman Center-Inspired CD Bookends Instructions and Supplies
Share your finished creations with us on social media by tagging @Kauffmancenter and @ScrapsKC.
Follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to get more details about upcoming performances at the Kauffman Center and behind-the-scenes access.
Between canceled performances and an empty building, our stunning Julia Irene Kauffman Casavant Organ, Opus 3875, has been lonely these past months.
However, with the help of our Grammy-nominated Organ Conservator, Jan Kraybill, we’ve found a way to share the beauty and sounds of this instrument and offer you the best seat in the house.
In a series of six short performance videos, Kraybill offers a brief synopsis of each work before she takes to the crown jewel of Helzberg Hall for an intimate concert just for you.
Intrigued by the organ itself and want to know more? We’ve compiled a few fun facts to share with you. Find more in our Google Arts & Culture exhibition.
- Québec-based firm Casavant Frères custom designed the mechanical action organ in the French romantic tradition, with 79 stops, 102 ranks and 5,548 pipes.
- The 125-year-old firm custom designed every piece of the Kauffman Center’s pipe organ. At the time of production, it was the largest mechanical action organ Casavant Frères had ever built.
- After it was produced and tested, the organ was disassembled and its 20,000 pieces were transported 1,368 miles from Québec to Kansas City.
- Only 80 pipes are visible, just more than 1 percent of the total; the rest live behind the steel-mesh covering at the north end of Helzberg Hall.
- The smallest pipe is the size of a pencil and the largest is 32 feet and weighs half a ton. The large visible wooden pipes are made of Douglas fir, matching the other wood elements of Helzberg Hall.
- It took two months of installation and two months of testing to “voice” the organ in Helzberg Hall. Much of this work was done overnight to accommodate the brand-new concert hall’s busy performance schedule.
We hope you enjoy virtually being back inside Helzberg Hall.
Follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to get more details about upcoming performances at the Kauffman Center and behind-the-scenes access.
The Best of Your Favorite Artists
Change up your daily routine with our seven new Kauffman-Center-inspired Spotify playlists. Whether you are an avid jazz fan, a ballet buff or a Broadway enthusiast, these playlists will transport you back to your favorite live performances in Muriel Kauffman Theatre and Helzberg Hall. Each carefully curated playlist features artists and performances that have graced Kauffman Center stages.
Whether you choose to work your way through each playlist or focus only on your favorite genre, we are sure these playlists will become staples in your music library.
Visit the Kauffman Center’s Spotify profile or search “Kauffman Center” on Spotify to explore all seven playlists today!
Read more about each playlist below:
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Best of: Kauffman Center Presents
Featuring some of the most notable Kauffman Center Presents performers to grace our stages, this playlist will keep you entertained and wanting more. From Aretha Franklin to Blondie to Willie Nelson, there is something for everyone to love. Turn up the volume and get ready for an eclectic playlist that elevates your daily routine. |
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Best of: Symphony
This playlist features musical works by the Kansas City Symphony and other orchestras that have appeared at the Kauffman Center over the years like the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony and more. While there is nothing like hearing great music in Helzberg Hall this playlist comes in a close second. |
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Best of: Opera
Featuring powerful and poignant selections from operas that have been performed at the Kauffman Center, this playlist will have you shouting “Bravo!” You’ll be ready to sing out arias, duets and grand finales from “Turandot” to “Carmen” to “Madame Butterfly,” alongside some notable opera virtuosos. |
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Best of: Jazz
Looking for a playlist to get your energy up? Look no further than our “Best of: Jazz” playlist. This playlist features a lineup of jazz musicians and vocalists that have performed at the Kauffman Center, including the Kansas City Jazz Orchestra, Branford Marsalis, Herbie Hancock and Kenny G. Get ready for a mix of smooth stylings, toe-tapping tunes and syncopated rhythms. |
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Best of: Ballet
Whether you are practicing pliés, stretching or studying at your desk, the “Best of: Ballet” playlist captures the musical magic of numerous ballets performed on the Muriel Kauffman Theatre stage. You will be transported back to scenes from some of your favorite works, including “Cinderella,” “The Nutcracker” and “Swan Lake.” It is the perfect playlist to inspire your inner dancer. |
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Best of: Musicals
Composed of popular numbers from musicals performed at the Kauffman Center, let this playlist transport you center stage. Get your Broadway fix as you sing along with the casts of “The Color Purple,” “Chicago,” “Bring it On,” “A Chorus Line” and many more of your favorites. |
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Best of: Pipe Organ
The jewel of Helzberg Hall, the Julia Irene Kauffman Casavant Organ, Opus 3875 is unmatched in majestic sound quality. Tune into this playlist to hear pipe organ works performed by some of the best organists to have appeared at the Kauffman Center, including some works performed by the Center’s own Organ Conservator, Jan Kraybill. |
Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to get more details about upcoming performances at the Kauffman Center and behind-the-scenes access.
Photo by Jessica Gebhards
The Show Must Go On: Future Stages Festival Goes Virtual
Summer in Kansas City is synonymous with plenty of family-friendly activities, but none more so than Future Stages Festival at the Kauffman Center. Each summer since 2014, the Kauffman Center has showcased hundreds of youth performance groups in the Kansas City area and welcomed more than 30,000 guests to enjoy exciting acts and dozens of kid-friendly activities.
When the 2020 Future Stages Festival was canceled due to COVID-19 and the Center couldn’t welcome guests and performers back into its iconic spaces, it was time to find an innovative and engaging way to ensure the show would go on.
In just two short months, the Kauffman Center crafted a virtual experience that maintained the charm and impact of the festival. The newly adapted event featured a full day of captivating performance videos, youth-friendly creative activities and original livestreamed content, including a Q&A with a Kansas City Ballet dancer, Kansas City Symphony musician and a local actor.
Hundreds of youth performers in more than 35 entertaining and compelling groups took to the virtual stage. The acts ranged from cultural dance groups to orchestras, percussion bands to choirs and more! Some of the most viewed videos from the festival include Crescendo in Motion, K Company’s Lion King and Hamilton Excerpts, Caruthers Creative Center Dance Studio, HK Chinese Folk Dance Group and Kamryn Henderson’s Vocal Performance.
More than 20 community partners contributed do-it-at-home craft and activity content, including how-to videos, coloring sheets and instructions to “Make your Own Kauffman Center Toy Theater.” Movement and Dance Demonstrations from Kansas City Ballet, Story Time with the Kansas City Public Library and Lessons on Stage Combat with Heart of America Shakespeare Festival are just a few of the videos that garnered dozens of views throughout the festival day.
 Caruthers Dance Studios during the 2019 Future Stages Festival – Photo by Ju-Young Morimot |
 Crescendo in Motion during the 2019 Future Stages Festival – Photo by Aaron Mason |
Kauffman Center staff members also shared their talents by creating content for the festival. Susan Campain shared instructions for no-sew crafts, Donna Miller-Brown showed viewers how to make creative 3D paper constructions and Don Hovis gave festival-goers a better understanding of how the Kauffman Center’s Fly System is used to “fly” set pieces on and off stage. These are only a few of the staff-created videos available online.
Livestreamed content was especially popular during virtual Future Stages Festival. Kauffman Center staff members took attendees on virtual tours of the Kauffman Center’s front-of-house and back-of-house spaces, and shared little-known facts about the Center. From the strength of the windows in Brandmeyer Great Hall to how giant sets are taken on and off stage, these live tours covered it all.
 Don Hovis teaches patrons about the Muriel Kauffman Theatre fly system in a video demonstration |
 Interview featuring KC Ballet dancer Fiona Lee, KC Symphony Associate Principal Flutist Shannon Finney and KC actor Chioma Anyanwu |
In addition, the Kauffman Center hosted a live Q&A panel with Kansas City Ballet dancer Fiona Lee, Kansas City Symphony Associate Principal Flutist Shannon Finney and Kansas City actor Chioma Anyanwu. These four livestreams were widely enjoyed by festival-goers. Views for these videos are increasing daily, with more than 13,300 views! The four live conversations are still available for viewing on the Kauffman Center’s Facebook page.
Our commitment to support and celebrate talented young artists in the Kansas City Metropolitan area doesn’t stop here. Whether online or in person, the Kauffman Center will continue to shine a spotlight on local young talent and provide an outlet to explore artistic ambitions.
If you like what you see, please consider making a donation at kauffmancenter.org/give.
Future Stages Festival is presented by Premier Partner Saint Luke’s Health System
This project is supported in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts
Additional support provided by
Courtney S. Turner Charitable Trust, John H. Mize Jr. and Bank of America, NA, Trustees
Follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to get more details about upcoming performances at the Kauffman Center and behind-the-scenes access.
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