Performance group applications are open for the 5th annual Future Stages Festival

Youth performance groups are encouraged to apply through March 5

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KC Boys and Girls Choirs in Helzberg Hall during the 2017 Future Stages Festival. Photo by Alaina Abplanalp.

Applications for the 2018 Future Stages Festival are open now through March 5. More than 800 youth performers sang, acted, and danced onstage at the Kauffman Center during the 2017 annual Future Stages Festival. Performances varied from opera recitals to traditional African dance shows. Groups such as Team Shakespeare from Heart of America Shakespeare Festival and the Kansas City Ballet School participated in the free festival last year, helping to bring in nearly 5,000 festival attendees.

The Kauffman Center is hoping to showcase an even more diverse variety of performance groups for the 2018 festival on Sunday, June 10 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Applications are open through March 5. Large ensembles with 10 or more youth performers can apply to perform on the main stages of Muriel Kauffman Theatre, Helzberg Hall or the St. Luke’s Outdoor Stage. New this year, youth performers from smaller ensembles will have a chance to participate. Groups with 2 to 9 youth performers will be considered for an additional stage on the Arts District Garage Lawn.

Additional information about the event and applications may be found at kauffmancenter.org/futurestagesfestival. With over 40 percent of last year’s performance groups having been new to the event, the Kauffman Center is reaching deeper into the Kansas City metro area each year with Future Stages Festival. The diversity of performance groups makes a strong impression on youth performers and festival attendees alike.

“Future Stages is a vital experience for the Greater Kansas City community,” said a representative from Crescendo Conservatory, a 2017 Future Stages participant. “The dancers of Crescendo Conservatory are delighted to be included as part of the diverse youth performances offered throughout the festival. The Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts is a nationally recognized facility and one that every Kansas Citian should get to know!”

Click here to view images from the 2017 festival, and check out a video of the 2017 Future Stages Festival by KCPT here:

Future Stages Festival 2018 is presented by Premier Partner:

Additional funding provided by:

Festival support provided by:

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