Leadership

LOGAN PACHCIARZ

Co-Founder | Chief Executive Officer

Moving Arts Artistic Director and Co-Founder, Logan Pachciarz began his official dance training at the Franklin School of Performing Arts and at the Nashville Ballet, and his professional career at the age of 15 as a member of Twyla Tharp’s dance ensemble Tharp! During their acclaimed national tour, he performed in three premiere works, Sweet Fields, Heroes, and 66. He then continued his formal dance education at the North Carolina School of the Arts under the tutelage of Ton Simons, Fernando Bujones, and Warren Conover. Joining Boston Ballet II at the age of 18, Mr. Pachciarz was soon promoted to the main company, in which he performed works by choreographers such as Rudi van Dantzig, Christopher Wheeldon, and Ben Stevenson. After two years at Boston Ballet, in 2001 Mr. Pachciarz joined Kansas City Ballet. During his 15 years with the Company, he has performed leading roles in a diverse repertoire, ranging from classical works such as Giselle, and Romeo and Juliet, to contemporary and modern pieces, such as Jardi Tancat, Dark Elegies, The Catherine Wheel Suite, and The Moor’s Pavane. One of his most celebrated roles at Kansas City Ballet (and one which he shared with co-director Anthony Krutzkamp, to equal acclaim) was as the infamous count in Michael Pink’s Dracula. Along with co-artistic director Anthony Krutzkamp, Mr. Pachciarz founded the Kansas City Dance Festival in 2013 in order to develop an exciting performance series for the Kansas City community. He is proud to have the opportunity to present unique and influential choreographers partnered with extraordinary dancers.

KALEENA BURKS

Artistic Director

Kaleena Burks was raised in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, where she received training from Magda Auñon and Magaly Suarez. In 2005, she was awarded first place in the pre-professional division of the American Ballet Competition and has since been invited to perform in many galas, including International Ballet Festival of Miami as well as Moving Arts Dance Festival. Ms. Burks has danced with Cincinnati Ballet, Columbia Classical Ballet, and the Cuban Classical Ballet of Miami. She has been honored to dance the role of Sugar Plum Fairy at the Kennedy Center with Kansas City Ballet’s tour of The Nutcracker in 2017 and 2022. In Kansas City, she has performed many principal roles including the title role in Giselle, Odette/Odile in Swan Lake, Juliet in Romeo & Juliet, Marguerite Gautier in Lady of the Camellias, The Chosen One in Rite of Spring, Waltz Girl in Serenade, Principal Female in Diamonds, Lilac Fairy in Sleeping Beauty, Lucy in Dracula, Helena in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Glinda in The Wizard of Oz, along with notable features in Cacti, Diving into the Lilacs, The Golden Section, In the Middle Somewhat Elevated, In the Upper Room, Interplay, Mercury, Petal, Petite Morte, Tulips and Lobster, and Wunderland. This is Ms. Burks’ fourteenth season with Kansas City Ballet.

TARYN PACHCIARZ

General Manager

Taryn Pachciarz is a native of Kansas City and has been involved in the arts of the city for decades, primarily as a dancer( see dancer bio for more information.)

She has performed with Moving Arts for 7 seasons and is excited to also serve as General Manager for the 2024 and 2025 seasons.

Mrs. Pachciarz has a Bachelors of Science in Psychology from Kaplan University and has enjoyed using her organization and administrative skills to learn the other side of arts organizations. She would like to thank Jennifer Owen and Logan Pachciarz for there guidance and support.

Taryn Pachciarz is a native of Kansas City and has been involved in the arts of the city for decades, primarily as a dancer( see dancer bio for more information.)

She has performed with Moving Arts for 7 seasons and is excited to also serve as General Manager for the 2024 and 2025 seasons.

Mrs. Pachciarz has a Bachelors of Science in Psychology from Kaplan University and has enjoyed using her organization and administrative skills to learn the other side of arts organizations. She would like to thank Jennifer Owen and Logan Pachciarz for there guidance and support.

KELSEY HELLEBUYCK

Development Coordinator

Kelsey Ivana Hellebuyck received her ballet training at the San Francisco Ballet School, where she spent 11 years (five on a full merit scholarship). At age 16, she joined Boston Ballet as a member of the Corps de Ballet, performing not only in Boston but also touring the world in Moscow, South Korea and all across Spain to name a few. With Boston Ballet, she performed numerous ballets by George Balanchine, Marius Petipa, Jorma Elo, and Jiří Kylián, among others. Some of her featured roles included Peasant Pas de Deux and Moyna in Giselle, also Arabian Pas in The Nutcracker,

She then joined Philadelphia Ballet (then Pennsylvania Ballet) for the 2012/2013 Season, she performed numerous works including Angel Corella’s Don Quixote (Mercedes), William Forsythe’s Artifact Suite and The Second Detail, Jiří Kylián’s Forgotten Land, George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker™ (Coffee), Alexei Ratmansky’s Jeu de Cartes, Christopher Wheeldon’s Swan Lake, Jerome Robbins’ Fancy Free as well as The Concert, and Liam Scarlett’s Asphodel Meadows.

In 2016 she joined KCB, some of her favorite roles being Dark Angel in George Balanchine’s Serenade, Yoomi in Helen Pickett’s Petal, Jiří Kylián’s Petite Mort, Brown Couple in Lila York’s Celts & Arabian & Snow Queen in Devon Carney’s The Nutcracker.

Ms. Hellebuyck has appeared as a model in publications such as Improper Bostonian, The Boston Globe and Pointe Magazine as well as in the Ballerina Project and other advertising campaigns. In 2010, The Boston Globe named her one of the 25 Most Stylish Bostonians. In 2016, Ms. Hellebuyck was asked the honor of performing La mort du Cygne (The Dying Swan) for MANNA’s Shut up & Dance Benefit performance.

MARISA WHITEMAN

Marketing Director

Marisa DeEtte Whiteman began classical training at Seiskaya Ballet in her hometown of St. James, NY. At age 14, she was invited by Peter Stark to join the Pre-Professional Program at Next Generation Ballet, during which she danced in La Traviata with Opera Tampa, and in the YAGP Gala at Lincoln Center. She later continued in the Pre-Professional Program at Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, where she performed Snow and Flowers with the company in The Nutcracker, and the Putti Couple in Septime Webre’s Cinderella. Subsequently, she trained for a year privately and was awarded Top 12 in the Senior Classical Division at YAGP.

Ms. Whiteman has spent summers at San Francisco Ballet, ABT and Orlando Ballet, and has performed at the Hermitage Theatre in St. Petersburg, Russia, Jacob’s Pillow where she was featured in a work by Yury Yanowsky for the Gala Performance, as a Stepsister in a benefit performance of Cinderella with Misty Copeland, and featured as Zelda Fitzgerald with Terpsicorps Theatre of Dance.

Since joining Kansas City Ballet in 2014, Ms. Whiteman has moved through the ranks as Trainee, KCB II, Apprentice, and into the Main Company. Some of her featured roles have included Bomb Squad in Twyla Tharp’s In the Upper Room, Lead Duet in Alexander Ekman’s Cacti, and in Devon Carney’s Peter Pan as Tinkerbell. She has also enjoyed performing Kick Girl in William Forsythe’s In the Middle, Somewhat Elevated, Petite Mort by Jiří Kylián, Umbra by Myles Thatcher, George Balanchine’s Diamonds, Emeralds, Rubies, The Four Temperaments and Theme and Variations, among others.

She is currently pursuing a B.S. in Business at Pennsylvania State University, and also teaches Ballet, Progressing Ballet Technique (PBT), and coaches students for Youth America Grand Prix at the Kansas City Ballet School. Marisa is thrilled to begin her twelfth season with Kansas City Ballet.

SPECIAL ADVISORS

Kyle Danner

Nick Mullikin

Matthew White