Featuring Lawrence Arts Center’s own Liat Roth and Hanan Misko, KU’s Cullen Krishna, and Joffrey Ballet School’s Van Beyer, Don Quixote features original choreography by Kristopher Estes-Brown to the delightful music of Ludwig Minkus. The antics of Basilio, Kitri, Gamache and Sancho unfold as Don Quixote follows his dream image of the perfect woman, Dulcinea. Fun for the whole family!
Learn More about Our Guest Artists:
Hanan Misko performing as Don Quixote
Hanan studied at the Kansas City Ballet School and received his B.F.A. from The Juilliard School under the directorship of Lawrence Rhodes. Hanan has danced with various companies including Storling Dance Theater, Mark Morris Dance Group, the Metropolitan Opera (Faust, Don Giovanni, Orfeo ed Euridice, and Nixon in China), Jessica Lang Dance; and as a company member with Ballet Hispanico, Martha Graham Dance Company, and Nimbus Dance works in New York City. Hanan has served as artistic director for the Fine Arts Summer Academy’s Dance Ensemble in Nashville, TN for the past six years. He has taught at the Kansas City Ballet School, the Wharton Music Center, The Culture House, in New Jersey public schools’ after-school programs, and in The Juilliard School’s C.L.I.M.B. program.
Liat Roth performing as Kitri
a native of St. Louis, Missouri, is a choreographer, dancer, and educator based in Kansas City. She began training under Kathleen Massot and Lisa Nicholas and furthered her education at the St. Louis Ballet, Kansas City Ballet School, Houston Ballet, and Joffrey Ballet School. In 2021, Liat graduated cum laude from the University of Missouri-Kansas City Conservatory with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Performance and Choreography and a minor in Visual Art and Communication. While at UMKC, Liat presented choreography in the Symposium of Undergraduate Research and Creative Scholarship and, in 2021, was chosen to choreograph the Conservatory’s commencement performance. She is a dancer with City in Motion Dance Theater and has directed and choreographed several dance films since graduating. In her post graduate work, Liat strives to foster creative intersections between makers of all mediums in the Kansas City and beyond.
Cullen Krishna performing as Basilio
was born in Bellevue, Nebraska and eventually moved to Ashburn, Virginia where he began training under Troy Brown of the Loudoun Ballet Company. After performing in their Coppelia and Nutcracker productions, he moved back to Bellevue and furthered his education under Sasha and Bret York. Cullen is currently a student at KU pursuing a Bachelor of Fine Arts while under the direction of Ashley Brittingham, where he is also a performer in the University Dance Company. He is thrilled for the opportunity to perform with the Lawrence Arts Center for their season’s Don Quixote.
Van Beyer performing as Espada
is a ballet dancer from Topeka, Kansas. He started dancing at Kansas Ballet Academy until the age of 17, then got accepted into the Joffrey Ballet School and is now in his 4th year. Van has had the opportunity to dance with the Joffrey Ballet School, the Catskills Mountain Foundation, and Greenwich Ballet Academy. His repertoire includes various productions with the Joffrey ballet school as well as variations from ballets such as Paquita, Le Corsaire, Sleeping Beauty, Talisman and more. He was also a top 12 finalist in both classical and contemporary categories at the 2021 Youth America Grand Prix in Kansas City.