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September 13, 2022
By Lydia E. Ringwald
Alonzo King Lines Ballet expressed inspired moments of freedom and release to a caring covid conscious audience enthusiastic again to have an opportunity to experience the artistic and cultural energy of a live performance on the Segerstrom Center stage.
The September 11 evening performance opened with a series of unique Alonzo Kingchoreographies, ‘Grace,’ ‘Writing Ground,’ ‘The Radius of Convergence’ and ‘Rasa’excerpts from completed original compositions, each a visual poem expressing King’s dance aesthetic.
With sinuous muscularity, with movement generated from the dancer’s corp, each dancer performed choreography Immersed in a musicality, blended into the subtle shifting shades of color and light on the blank canvas of the naked stage.
Dancers danced both as individuals, with choreography tailored to each dancer’s body type, as well in unison, heartbeat to heartbeat as an expression of King’s choreographic vocabulary. Whether lithe, elongated and ethereal or muscular, dense and sculptured, the dancer’s body also defines the movement into a choreographic context of rhythm, energy, sound and light.
King’s dancers are technically trained in classical ballet, jazz and hip hop. Yet, each dancer’s movement remains generated from a place deep within the body’s muscular corp, in tune with natural instinct and inundated with a belief in the value of the art they are destined to offer.
Belief in the power of art motivates and inspired the dancers in Alonzo King Lines’dance company. Art is a sacred calling and to accomplish something of value, the artist must recognize and acknowledge his talent, dedicate his life to cultivating that talent.
Physically fine tuned with trained muscularity and style, propelled by music and meaning each dancer interprets the world through dance on the stage.
In his TEDx talk, Lines speaks his poetry, revealing a philosophy that parallels his life as a dance choreographer. He discovered his calling as a choreographer early in his life and was brave enough to honor his artistic intuition and create a path that would lead to many honors including the Dance Magazine Award in 2020, an honorary doctorate from Juilliard for achievements and contributions in dance and numerous prestigious grants and fellowships.
King’s choreographies are included in the repertoire of the Royal Swedish Ballet, Frankfurt Ballet, Ballet Bejart, Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo, Joffrey Ballet, Alvin Ailey and many others. He has collaborated with musicians, architects and artists from multi-various world cultures and traditions.
Recently Segerstrom Center announced a three-year partnership with Alonzo King and American Ballet Theater to perform the U.S. Premier of Christopher Wheeldon’s ‘Like Water for Chocolate’ and world premier original Alonzo King choreography.
The Alonzo King Lines’ performance on September 11 ended with standing ovations from the enthusiastic Segerstrom Center audience that can now also look forward to the inspiring Alonzo King Lines performances ahead.
