Overview
Change the way you look at ballet
The San Francisco Chronicle proclaims that “Alonzo King is one of the few bona fide visionaries in the ballet world today” and his company is renowned for imbuing classical ballet with new expressive potential.
The company will present DEEP RIVER, a deeply soulful, powerful new work that fuses Black spirituals with stunning dance, set to a score by jazz pianist, composer, and MacArthur Fellow Jason Moran and sung by Grammy Award-winning vocalist Lisa Fischer – developed in celebration of its 40th anniversary.
“As we look back on 40 years of work in the community, in ourselves, the programs, classes, and performances, both live and on film, we recognize that it is the same vision and belief that have carried us to this moment and will continue to carry this organization into the future. We have strived to make obvious that art is the inheritance of every individual, that art activates evolutionary growth, is an intellectual virtue, and the fostering principle for all that is made, done, or known. The intention behind the work is to remind me, the artists, and the viewers that love is the ocean that we rose from, swim in, and will one day return to, and that love, if listened to and deeply cultured, can bring us to liberation.”
— Alonzo King
Program
Press
LINK: Alonzo King Lines Ballet elegantly fuses spirituals, dance to mark 40th anniversary with ‘Deep River’
About The Company
Alonzo King LINES Ballet is a celebrated contemporary ballet company that has been guided since 1982 by the artistic vision of acclaimed choreographer Alonzo King. Collaborating with noted composers, musicians, writers, and visual artists from around the world, King draws on a diverse set of deeply rooted cultural traditions, imbuing classical ballet with new expressive potential. He has been heralded as a visionary and thought leader on topics that reach far beyond dance, receiving numerous accolades such as a 2020 Dance Magazine Award. The company brings new works of illuminating beauty to Bay Area audiences in bi-annual home seasons. LINES Ballet’s national and international tours allow the company to share its vision of transformative, revelatory dance through performances worldwide.
LINES Ballet is dedicated to training the next generation of artists through its pre-professional Summer Program, Training Program, and Bachelor of Fine Arts Program with Dominican University of California. LINES also makes dance accessible to Bay Area adults and youth through world-class, affordable classes open to the community and free in-school education programs.
After San Francisco’s stay-at-home order began in March 2020, all of LINES Ballet’s programs transitioned into the online space. The company also produced a new film series, There Is No Standing Still, which The New York Times and The Guardian included in their respective “Best Dance of 2020” lists. The organization has now adopted a hybrid model for its classes, events, and programming and recently completed a successful, five-week international tour.
“The term LINES alludes to all that is visible in the phenomenal world. There is nothing that is made or formed without line. Lines are in our fingerprints, the shapes of our bodies, constellations, geometry. It implies genealogical connection, progeny and spoken word. It addresses direction, communication, and design. A line of thought. A boundary or eternity. A melodic line. From vibration or dot to dot it is the visible organization of what we see.” —Alonzo King
