Alonzo King
The famous international dance company ALONZO KING LINES BALLET from San Francisco is coming to the Esch Alzette theater on 17th January to present two awesome ballets. The first, Refraction is set to a huge score by pianist Jason Moran. On stage, enjoy an incredible mix of classical dance and jazz. The second piece, Rasa, in collaboration with Indian drum master Zakir Hussain, introduces tabla with dancing music. Don’t forget, King’s ballets are amazing to watch. So let us introduce you to the King!
Who gave you the love of dance?
My mother was an amateur dancer. She had danced at university, studied dance interpretation and performed with the Orchesis group… I was always surrounded by music. People from different cultures were always coming to the house. And there would always be a moment when they would show dances or play music or talk about things that they believed in. So I think that had an impact.
What is the most beautiful thing to see in dancing?
The most distinctive thing I can identify about the way I work is the idea of approaching things from the inside, to know them as truth, before they evolve into a form on the outside.
How do you find choreography inspiration?
It’s everywhere, the cosmos is rumbling, the ocean is moving, herds of cattle are moving across the plain, stars are shooting, the sun is rising… Everything’s dancing.
Where does your love of ‘metissage’ come from?
Most people think of ballet as a style, and associate it with the Romantic period in Europe. It’s not a style. It’s a language that can be used in limitless ways.
Describe the philosophy of your company LINES BALLETS?
All work is about clarity. Removing debris that blocks light or inhibits flow. Specific to dance, it is about an obsession with geometry and its meaning in spatial design. It is about the manipulation of energy within and around us. It is about the unconquerable human spirit, and the wonder, symbol and metaphor of these physical bodies. It is about connection, clarity, and treatises on endless movement investigations.
Are lovely lines the real secret of your ballets?
Ballet is riddled with symbolism: the idea of the circle. The tendu — what is tendu? It’s a non-stop line addressing eternity.
What would be for you the ideal way for your dancers to approach the notion of movement?
Music is thought made audible, in the same way dance is thought made visible… The bottom line for me is the spirit behind form, making the invisible visible.
Both dance and architecture take information from metaphysical and natural laws, which govern the shapes and movement directions of everything that exists. In great works, by man or nature, a polar balance of physical and metaphysical principles exists, both fulfilling a function and expressing a meaning.
