A pivotal moment in Wichita’s civil rights history will soon come to life through movement.
Ballet Wichita’s spring production, “Breaking Barriers,” will feature two contemporary dance works inspired by history and community when it takes the stage April 3 and 4 at 7:30 p.m. at the Doc B-29 Hangar, located on the grounds of Wichita Municipal Airport, 1788 S. Airport Road.
The production includes a piece created especially for Wichita that draws inspiration from the 1958 Dockum Drug Store sit-in, the protest that integrated the Dockum drugstore lunch counter in downtown Wichita.
The piece was choreographed by Yusha-Marie Sorzano, a New York-based choreographer who has danced with major companies including Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. Sorzano said she was immediately drawn to the project after learning about the Wichita story.
“I knew nothing about it,” Sorzano said. “I’m always interested in learning about stories that weren’t taught in my education.”
Originally from Trinidad and raised in the United States, Sorzano said the project became an opportunity to study the history and voices connected to the protest.
She reviewed archival material and interviews with Ron Walters and other sit-in organizers to understand the deeper meaning behind the protest.
“What kept coming up in those interviews was dignity and self-respect,” she said.
Rather than recreating the protest literally, Sorzano said the work explores the spirit of the sit-in and what it means for today’s generation.
“I’m not trying to recreate the Dockum Drug Store sit-in,” she said. “I’m examining what it looks like now for young dancers to ask the question: what does it mean to stand for something and hold your ground?”
The performance includes 13 dancers, with participants drawn from Ballet Wichita’s company, the Ballet Wichita school and the Wichita State University dance program.
Sorzano said it was important that the dancers reflecting on the history included Black performers.
“The people that get to sit in those chairs are all Black people of color,” she said, noting the casting was intentional in honoring the story being told.
On stage, dancers interact with a row of stools representing the lunch counter, while projected images provide historical context for the audience.
The choreography blends elements of classical ballet and modern movement but is rooted in contemporary dance rather than traditional ballet.
“It’s touching classical ballet and classical modern,” Sorzano said. “But it’s also touching my own voice and signature.”
The second work in the program, titled “Invisible,” was choreographed by Ballet Wichita’s new executive director, Sandra Shih Parks.
The piece is inspired by the female musicians of Venice’s Ospedale della Pietà, an orphanage and music school where young women performed the works of composer Antonio Vivaldi but often received little public recognition. In Ballet Wichita’s staging, the work has been reimagined to honor women in Wichita whose leadership and contributions have helped shape the community.
Breaking Barriers is presented in partnership with The Kansas African American Museum and the Wichita-Sedgwick County Historical Museum.
Tickets are $20 for general admission and $30 for a limited number of reserved seats and can be purchased at balletwichita.com.
For those planning on attending, the Doc B-29 Hangar has 70 parking spaces on site, with additional event parking available next door directly north of the hangar and across the street to the west and southwest of the facility.
Founded in 1974, Ballet Wichita has brought ballet performances and dance education to Kansas for more than five decades. The organization is the only professional ballet company in Kansas and offers ballet instruction for students ranging from beginners to advanced dancers while also presenting professional performances throughout the year.