Ballet across America: companies come together in DC for a new festival.

The idea of the Kennedy Center presenting a program of ballet companies from across the country makes so much sense that it's surprising it hasn't happened before. It seems the perfect venue for an overview of arts from around the nation. But it was just within the last year that the center received a grant specifically to create an "Arts Across America" program. According to Kennedy Center president Michael Kaiser, this month's "Ballet Across America" is the pilot.

"Because we have such a large ballet program," says Kaiser, "I wanted a chance to showcase some of the companies that don't normally perform here." From June 10 to 15, nine ballet companies will perform works ranging from Balanchine's Serenade to Christopher Wheeldon's RUSH. By carefully planning a selection that represents both geographic and artistic diversity, Kaiser hopes that audiences will appreciate the high quality of dancing that exists in this country.

And how could they not, with Boston Ballet, Ballet West, Joffrey Ballet, and Houston Ballet on the bill, to name only a few? Some companies, such as Kansas City Ballet, will be making their Kennedy Center debut.

Oregon Ballet Theatre's artistic director Christopher Stowell, who had been wanting to add Wheeldon's work to OBT's repertoire, decided to bring RUSH, "a really exciting ballet with a large enough cast that it represents the whole company." OBT shares a program with Boston Ballet performing Jorma Elo's edgy Brake the Eyes and Joffrey Ballet performing Tudor's beloved Lilac Garden.

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William Whitener, artistic director of Kansas City Ballet, relishes the chance to reach a wider audience, especially since the company just had a satisfying debut in New York at the Joyce in March. Because, he says, many companies find touring challenging, Whitener particularly appreciates the Ballet Across America model: "I think all of us are looking for opportunities for our dancers to be seen in more venues, and this is a very positive step in that direction." For KCB's Kennedy Center debut, Whitener chose The Still Point, choreographed by the late Todd Bolender, the former KCB artistic director who was much beloved for his contributions to the Kansas City community.

Whitener says Ballet Across America is "a great way for audiences to sample a number of companies in one venue." It also gives the artists a chance to meet, reconnect, and inspire each other.

"Getting artists together is really fun," says OBT's Stowell, who remembers performing with San Francisco Ballet at the center's Balanchine Celebration. "There's this unity of purpose and interest in one another." He is also excited by the "synchronicity" of three San Francisco Ballet alumni--himself, Ashley Wheater, and Mikko Nissinen, now artistic directors of, respectively, OBT, Joffrey Ballet, and Boston Ballet--participating not just in the same series, but the same program.

In another dose of synchronicity, KCB will share its bill with Pacific Northwest Ballet performing Nacho Duato's Jardi Tancat and Washington Ballet performing Tharp's Nine Sinatra Songs. KCB's Whitener danced in the original cast of Nine Sinatra Songs, and his company was the second, after American Ballet Theatre, to add the work to its repertoire. As Pennsylvania Ballet's artistic director Roy Kaiser says, "It's enlightening to see a different company perform a ballet that you're very familiar with and to see a different perspective on it."

Ballet West's artistic director Adam Sklute, whose company contributes Serenade, the first work created by Mr. B in the U.S., sums up the thrill of the series: "When there are so many high-caliber ballet companies across America that deserve to be seen, it's really an exciting opportunity that the Kennedy Center has given to all of us."