On April 30, 1957, the company gave its premiere performance at the Victoria Theater (renamed the Lyric Theatre) with Dokoudovska serving as its first artistic director.

In 1966, guest artist Nathalie Krassovska came to Kansas City to set Anton Dolin's restaging of Pas de Quatre on the company.

In 1967, Dokoudovska brought Shirley Weaver,[3] a Kansas City native and former dancer with the Metropolitan Opera and the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo, to the KCB.

Weaver danced major roles with KCB, choreographed, served as (honorary) ballet mistress, and taught alongside Dokoudovska at the University of Missouri–Kansas City Conservatory of Music for many years.

In the fall of 1996, Bolender premiered his last new work for the company, Arena, commissioned by a “Meet the Composer” grant[12] with James Mobberley,[13] composition professor at the UMKC Conservatory and composer-in-residence with the Kansas City Symphony.

KCB presented Giselle, staged by KCB Ballet Mistress/School Director Karen P. Brown Archived June 13, 2018, at the Wayback Machine, and two world premiers emphasizing live music: Lila York's Gloria[14] which showcased the Kansas City Symphony Chorus with the Kansas City Ballet Orchestra and Ann Reinking's Suite Kander which included a six-musician band on stage.

In October 2000, Whitener co-choreographed On the Boulevard with Twyla Tharp Dance colleague Shelley Freydont Archived July 27, 2018, at the Wayback Machine.

[17] In 2005, KCB performed Twyla Tharp's Nine Sinatra Songs as part of the “Evening Stars” dance series at Battery Park in New York City.

In 2006, KCB announced plans to renovate the old Power House Building at Union Station in downtown Kansas City, Missouri as its new permanent home.

In 2009, Whitener continued to add to the KCB repertory with Yuri Possokhov's Firebird, the world premiere of Artic Song by Karole Armitage, and Jessica Lang Archived August 14, 2018, at the Wayback Machine's Splendid Isolation III.

In August 2011, after operating out of nine different locations over the course of 50+ years, the KCB moved into its new permanent home, the totally renovated Todd Bolender Center for Dance and Creativity.

In October 2011, KCB made its debut as the resident dance company of the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts with William Whitener's Tom Sawyer: A Ballet in Three Acts.

Carney concurrently began a concerted effort to expand KCB's repertory, introducing a series of full-length classical ballets as well as more modern works from established choreographers.

[41] For the latter piece, Carney invited former American Ballet Theatre prima ballerina Cynthia Gregory to come to Kansas City to coach KCB dancers on the Odette/Odile role.

[47] KCB finished off the season with a "Director's Choice" program of three works: Jerome Robbins' Interplay, Val Caniparoli's The Lottery, and George Balanchine's Theme and Variations.2017–2018.

[48][49] In November 2017, the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts invited the KCB to Washington, D.C. to present its new production of The Nutcracker[50] to a national audience.

Week one included Mathew Neenan's[53] The Uneven,[54] Jiří Kylián's Petite Mort, and George Balanchine's master work Diamonds.

Week two of the festival brought the world premiere of Andrea Schermoly's Klein Perspectives as well as Stanton Welch's Play, and The Man in Black by James Kudelka.

[61] The KCB wrapped up their 2018–2019 season with a three-piece program[62] highlighting works by three master American choreographers – William Forsythe's "In the Middle, Somewhat Elevated",[63] the world premiere of (Kansas City-raised) David Parsons' "A Play for Love",[64] and Twyla Tharp's "In the Upper Room.

However, in February 2021, KCB was able to return to the stage virtually with its "New Moves: The Broadcast Series" which consisted of sixteen videos (streamed weekly) of new pieces filmed at well-known venues across the greater Kansas City area.

In late May 2021, KCB returned to the stage physically (albeit in masks), presenting live open-air performances at the historic Starlight Theatre.

In September 2021, KCB performed the world premiere of the work “Amor Brujo”, choreographed and set on the company by Cuban dancer Irene Rodriguez, as part of the 8th annual New Dance Partners event at the Midwest Trust Center at Johnson County Community College in Overland Park, Kansas.

In March 2022, KCB hosted their annual New Moves showcase at the Todd Bolender Center for Dance and Creativity, featured for the first time a set of original works all created by female choreographers.

[72] KCB end-of-season production was aptly titled “Bliss Point”[73] and consisted of three contemporary works; Mark Morris's “Sandpaper”, Jiří Kylián's “Petit Mort”, and “Cacti,” by Alexander Ekman.

[75] After its standard month-long run of Carney’s “Nutcracker” in December 2023, the KCB presented its annual New Moves program at the Bolender Center in March 2024.

He also toured extensively throughout the United States, Mexico, Europe, and Asia with ballet notables such as Rudolf Nureyev, Fernando Bujones, and Cynthia Gregory.

[88] The expansion, which nearly triples the facility's square footage, adds two studios (from two to four), and provides staff space and expanded/full changing rooms, was completed in August 2023.

The company presents two major performances each season and educational outreach demonstrations throughout the community, showcasing works by local and national choreographers, as well as new emerging artists.

Members are invited to special KCB events such lunches/lectures with guest choreographers, social gatherings with company dancers, private rehearsals, and trips to dance performances.

[101] Participants were offered special tours each day (including a visit to the Cuban National Ballet School) and attended IBF performances each evening.