Kansas City Ballet to return to Oz with production that made world premiere here
Septime Webre has become one of the go-to choreographers for the Kansas City Ballet.
The Ballet will feature a work by Webre, the former artistic director of the Washington Ballet, for the third consecutive season when “The Wizard of Oz” opens as the first full production on the 2026-27 schedule announced Friday.
The Ballet performed Webre’s “Alice in Wonderland” in 2024-25 at the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts and will present the Kansas City premiere of Webre’s “The Great Gatsby” in May as part of the ongoing 2025-26 season.
Other 2026-27 highlights will be the Shakespearean tragic romance “Romeo & Juliet,” a Family Series production of “Pinocchio” and, of course, the holiday tradition of “The Nutcracker.”
The KC Ballet has previously staged Webre’s “The Wizard of Oz” twice, which it commissioned in conjunction with the Colorado Ballet and Royal Winnipeg Ballet. The world premiere kicked off the 2018-19 season in October 2018, and “Oz” returned to the Kauffman Center stage in May 2022.
This version of “Romeo & Juliet” also has its roots in Kansas City. Sergei Prokofiev’s “Romeo & Juliet,” of course, is one of the staples of the opera world, but the Ballet debuted this production by Devon Carney, the Ballet’s artist director, in 2017 and hasn’t done it since.
The KC Ballet’s three-show season package consisting of “The Wizard of Oz,” “Romeo & Juliet” and the season-ending “Pulse” is now available ($87-$345), with “The Nutcracker,” “New Moves” and “Pinocchio” as add-ons. Single tickets will go on sale at a later date. More information at kcballet.org.
Kansas City Ballet 2026-27 Season
‘New Dance Partners’
7:30 p.m. Sept. 18-19, JCCC Midwest Trust Center, Yardley Hall
Four local dance companies, including the KC Ballet, perform original works at this festival of contemporary and modern dance.
‘The Wizard of Oz’
7:30 p.m. Oct. 16-17, 1:30 p.m. Oct. 18, 10:30 a.m. and 7:30 p.m. Oct. 22, 7:30 p.m. Oct. 23, 2 and 7:30 p.m. Oct. 24, 1:30 p.m. Oct. 25, Kauffman Center
This version of the classic Kansas-set tale made its world premiere by the KC Ballet in 2018. It was commissioned by the KC Ballet, Colorado Ballet and Royal Winnipeg Ballet and choreographed by Septime Webre.
‘The Nutcracker’
2 and 7:30 p.m. Nov. 28, 1 and 5:30 p.m. Nov. 29, 10:30 a.m. and 6 p.m. Dec. 3, 10:30 a.m. and 7:30 p.m. Dec. 4, 2 and 7:30 p.m. Dec. 5, 1 and 5:30 p.m. Dec. 6, 10:30 a.m. and 7:30 p.m. Dec. 10, 7:30 p.m. Dec. 11, 2 and 7:30 p.m. Dec. 12, 1 and 5:30 p.m. Dec. 13, 7:30 p.m. Dec. 17-18, 2 and 7:30 p.m. Dec. 19, 1 and 5:30 p.m. Dec. 20, 2 and 7:30 p.m. Dec. 22-23, 1 p.m. Dec. 24, Kauffman Center
A Kansas City holiday tradition since 1972, “The Nutcracker” features music by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky with updated choreography by KC Ballet artistic director Devon Carney.
‘New Moves’
7:30 p.m. Jan. 28, 11 a.m. and 7:30 p.m. Jan. 29, 2 and 7:30 p.m. Jan. 30, 1 and 5:30 p.m. Jan. 31, 2027, Todd Bolender Center
Emerging choreographers come to the forefront in this showcase of new dance works in the 180-seat Frost Studio Theater.
‘Pinocchio’
11 a.m. and 7 p.m. Feb. 19, 11 a.m., 2:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. Feb. 20, noon and 3:30 p.m. Feb. 21, 2027, Folly
The wooden puppet who dreams of becoming a real boy comes to life in an hour-long, narrated ballet that is part of Kansas City Ballet’s Family Series.
‘Romeo & Juliet’
7:30 p.m. March 12-13, 1:30 p.m. March 14, 7:30 p.m. March 19-20, 1:30 p.m. March 21, 2027, Kauffman Center
Shakespeare’s romantic tragedy about star-crossed lovers has become one of the world’s most beloved ballets, with music by Sergei Prokofiev and choreography by the KC Ballet’s Carney.
‘Pulse’
May 14-23, 2027 (showtimes TBA), Kauffman Center
This world premiere traces ballet’s past, present and future with three dance works: George Balanchine’s “The Four Temperaments,” Jerome Robbins’ “Glass Pieces” and a new work by Melissa Hough.
