Philly ballet adds refs nod in answer to KC Ballet’s Super Bowl dance-off challenge

Clad in red jerseys and everyone set in their well-practiced formation, this tight-knit group of people with bodies at their fittest, shaped by years of conditioning, are ready to take on their rivals in green from Philadelphia.

Are we talking about the Kansas City Chiefs playing the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LIX here?

No.

This isn’t football.

This is ballet.

In a Jets vs. Sharks-style throwdown (minus Officer Krupke) the Kansas City Ballet Company Dancers are going toe to toe with the Philadelphia Ballet in an online dance-off. The Kansas City troupe recorded their performance last week on their home turf in a studio at the Todd Bolender Center for Dance & Creativity.

The video segments the ballets produced are now on their social media sites where the masses can decide who wins the battle. While there is no official winner, and nobody can blame the referees, although the Philly dancers start their challenge video off by doing just that, the Kansas City Ballet Company claims without doubt that they were the victors in last year’s competition with the San Francisco Ballet.

Here’s the Kansas City Ballet’s challenge to the Philadelphia dancers.

Similarly, the Kansas City Chiefs were the victors in last year’s Super Bowl LVIII where they defeated another San Francisco squad, the 49ers. Kansas City Ballet representatives state their posts on Instagram and Tik Tok from last year’s battle are still out there to prove their claim.

Here’s how the Philadelphia Ballet responded to the challenge.

Ballet (and football) fans can see the companies’ performances on their social media sites leading up to the other Kansas City vs. Philadelphia matchup on Sunday, Feb. 9—Super Bowl LIX.

Here’s how things looked when the Kansas City Ballet recorded their video.

This story was originally published January 31, 2025 at 11:41 AM.

Emily Curiel

The Kansas City Star

Emily Curiel, is a visual journalist at The Star. With a broad scope of coverage, Curiel navigates subjects including breaking news, sports, features and long-form narratives. She is a first-generation graduate from San Francisco State University and a native of Los Angeles.