KCB Dancer Chat for Dracula

Danielle Fu

Joined KCB in 2014

Mrs. Fu was born in Ridgewood, New Jersey and started dancing at the age of 3. Shortly thereafter, her family moved to Northern California where she continued her training at Lamorinda Ballet Center under Lynn Homeres from San Francisco Ballet, with Deborah Pitts from Oakland Ballet and Pat Keene from the Royal Ballet. She went on to extend her training by spending the next six years with the San Francisco Ballet School and attended summer programs such as The Briansky Saratoga Ballet Center, The Jillana School, American Ballet Theatre, and International Dance School in Jackson, Mississippi. While attending San Francisco Ballet School, Mrs. Fu had the privilege of performing many works by George Balanchine, Helgi Tomasson, Lew Christensen, and August Bournonville. She also had the opportunity to perform with the San Francisco Ballet Company in Helgi Tommason’s The Nutcracker, Swan Lake and Romeo & Juliet. Mrs. Fu joined Cincinnati Ballet in 2006, and continued to dance with the company for the next eight seasons. Over the course of her career with Cincinnati Ballet, she has performed featured roles such as Tinkerbell in Septime Webre’s Peter Pan, Myrtha in Devon Carney’s Giselle, The Rose in Victoria Morgan’s and Val Caniparoli’s The Nutcracker, The Lead Woman in James Kudleka’s The Man in Black, Pas de Trios and Big Swan in Swan Lake, and 3rd Movement Principal in George Balanchine’s Symphony in C. She also had the privilege of going on tour with the company in May 2014 to perform at The Joyce Theater in New York City. Since joining KCB in 2014, she has been featured in classical works such as The Queen of Hearts in Septime Webre’s Alice (in Wonderland), Sanguinic in Balanchine’s The Four Temperaments, Milady de Winter in The Three Musketeers; Snow Queen, Rose and The Sugar Plum Fairy in Devon Carney’s The Nutcracker, Carabosse in Devon Carney’s The Sleeping Beauty, The Wicked Witch in Septime Webre’s Wizard of Oz, and Olympe in Val Caniparoli’s Lady of the Camellias. She has also been featured in contemporary works such as Concertino by Amy Seiwert, Klein Perspectives by Andi Schermoly, Petite Mort by Jiří Kylián, In the Upper Room by Twyla Tharp, In the Middle, Somewhat Elevated by William Forsythe, and Petal by Helen Pickett. During the pandemic, Mrs. Fu started @dancing_with_murals on social media, a project created to continue spreading the art of dance while exposing the beautiful murals & the artists who painted them, through a time when we needed ART the most. This is her 8th season with Kansas City Ballet.

Liang Fu

Joined KCB in 2014

Liang Fu was born in Qingdao, China. He trained at Beijing Dance Academy for 6 years before graduating in 2001. He then went on to dance with Singapore Dance Theatre, Universal Ballet Company and as a Senior Soloist with Cincinnati Ballet before joining Kansas City Ballet in 2014. Mr. Fu was invited to perform at the Gala of Benois de La Danse Competition at The Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow, Russia in 2003. In 2005, he was awarded 1st Prize at the 10th Asian Pacific International Ballet Competition in Tokyo, Japan. His classical repertoire includes leading roles such as Siegfried in Swan Lake, Prince Desire in The Sleeping Beauty, Albrecht in Giselle, Romeo in Romeo and Juliet, James in La Sylphide, Oberon in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, D’Artagnan in The Three Musketeers, Escamillo in Carmen, Lucien in Paquita, Jean de Brienne in Raymonda, Snow King and Cavalier in The Nutcracker. As well as in George Balanchine’s The Four Temperaments, Theme and Variations and Diamonds. He has also been featured in contemporary works including Stamping Ground, Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen, Forgotten Land and Petite Mort by Jiří Kylián, In the Upper Room by Twyla Tharp, In the Middle, Somewhat Elevated by William Forsythe, Tabula Rasa by Ohad Naharin, Maninyas by Stanton Welch, The Man in Black by James Kudelka, Lambarena and Vivace by Val Caniparoli, Wunderland by Edwaard Liang and Petal by Helen Pickett.

Gavin Abercrombie

Joined KCB in 2018

Gavin Abercrombie was born in Acton, California, and began his ballet training at the age of 8 with the Antelope Valley Ballet. During his high school years he trained at The Pittsburgh Ballet Theater School and the San Francisco Ballet School for two years each, and was taught by individuals such as Marjorie Grundvig, Andre Reyes, Patrick Armand, and Parrish Maynard. Mr. Abercrombie then moved to Kansas City and spent two years in Kansas City Ballet’s Second Company before joining the main company. While in Kansas City, he has had the opportunity to perform in many ballets including; Adam Hougland’s Carmina Burana, Twyla Tharp’s In The Upper Room, Helen Pickett’s Petal, Val Caniparoli’s Lady of the Camellias, Annabelle Lopez Ochoa’s Tulips and Lobster, Septime Webre’s The Wizard of Oz, George Balanchine’s Theme and Variations and Diamonds, Devon Carney’s Romeo & Juliet and The Sleeping Beauty, and Stanton Welch’s Play.