Future Stages Festival

Youth Performance Groups will shine at Future Stages Festival

Over 30 youth performance groups will shine at the ninth annual Future Stages Festival.

Kauffman Center is thrilled to announce the young artists who will dazzle audiences in-person on Sunday, June 12 from 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. at Future Stages Festival. More than 500 youth artists from the Kansas City region will showcase a wide range of diverse performance styles.

Watch in awe as performers twirl across the Muriel Kauffman Theatre stage, harmonize in Helzberg Hall and shine on the Saint Luke’s Outdoor Stage and the outdoor Community Stage. A few performance groups making their return this year include Crescendo Conservatory, Harmony Project KC and AileyCamp The Group. The Center is also proud to feature 12 first-time festival performers including St. Joseph’s Arts Academy, Jasmine Dance Groups and Lawrence Arts Center Irish Dancers. These are only a few of the extremely talented youth groups that will be highlighted at the festival. See the complete list of performance groups below.

Youth performance groups that will join the 2022 festival include:

  • 5 Star Jazz Band
  • A-Flat Youth Orchestra
  • AileyCamp The Group
  • Bharathanatyam from Chilanka School of Dance
  • Camerata Orchestra – Harmony Project KC
  • Chinese School of Greater Kansas City
  • Creative Emajinations FreeStyle Dancers
  • Crescendo in Motion
  • First Act Dance Company
  • IGNITE Youth Contemporary Dance Group
  • Jasmine Dance Group
  • Kansas City Aerial Arts
  • Kansas City Institute of Chinese Language and Culture dance team
  • Kathak Aura
  • KC Youth Percussion Ensemble
  • KCYA Community School of the Arts Dancers
  • Kauffman Center Artful Poetry Youth Winners
  • Lawrence Arts Center Irish Dancers
  • Lawrence Ballet Theatre
  • Los Bailadores de Kansas City
  • Lyric Singers of St. Joseph Youth Chorale
  • MSACP Orchestra
  • O’Riada Manning Academy of Irish Dance
  • Ovation from The Culture House
  • Priscilla & Dana’s Tap Dance Company
  • Rebel Song Academy by Art as Mentorship
  • Refine The Studio
  • St. Joseph Arts Academy
  • St. Joseph Arts Showcase
  • Starlight Stars
  • Storybook Theatre
  • The Kansas City Boys Choir and The Kansas City Girls Choir
  • The Last Carnival
  • The Young MAIsterSingers

Future Stages Festival attendees assemble kites on the Center’s south lawn at the fifth annual Future Stages Festival.

Future Stages Festival is FREE and open to the public. Bring the whole family to the Kauffman Center Sunday, June 12, 2022, anytime between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. Enjoy performances as well as fun, engaging arts activities that will be provided on the Center’s south lawn and in Brandmeyer Great Hall. Youth attendees who complete a BINGO will win an activity booklet full of coloring pages, craft instructions and more.

Tickets are not required for entry, but registration is encouraged. RSVP to receive updates and reminders about the festival. All registrants will be automatically entered into a drawing for a 4-pack of tickets to an upcoming Kauffman Center Presents performance.

RSVP for Future Stages!

Future Stages Festival is presented by Premier Partner Saint Luke’s Health System. This event is also supported in part by PNC, Richard J. Stern Foundation for the Arts – Commerce Bank Trustee, Anonymous, National Endowment for the Arts, Marlese and Robert Gourley Children’s Fund, Frank and Margaret McGee Fund, Missouri Arts Council, NuWin Foundation and JE Dunn.

Additional support provided by media partners Cumulus Media and KCUR 89.3 and 91.9 Classical KC.

Children enjoy the Kansas City Symphony’s Instrument Petting Zoo in Brandmeyer Great Hall in 2017.

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.
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Youth Performance Groups Revealed for Virtual Future Stages Festival

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.

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