On Friday night, the Folly Theater was full of men and women in tuxedos and ball gowns, sipping wine and greeting each other with kisses on the cheek. The audience for Ailey II was a who's who of city elite: Congressman Emanuel Cleaver; Tom McDonnell, CEO of DST Systems; Kansas City City Manager Wayne Cauthen.
Photo by Nicole Reinertson​But those weren't the VIPs at this performance.
Up in the balcony, the back rows of the renovated venue were packed with kids in jeans and parkas, all