Migration
The hierarchical migration of birds and mammals

A breath stirs in the body; a tiny crack appears in the shell; the dance begins with the moment of emergence. This piece explores the awakening of complex bodies, and the beauty of their constant evolution into new forms. A fossil is made because time, writing on bodies, turns them into stone. Yet the stone is made from the same substance as the eggshell, the snail’s shell, and the seashell.  Alonzo King evokes the feeling of home that is born into us, the one that guides us wordlessly back to our wondrous origins. For an instant, we remember that moment when the eggshell trembles and cracks, or when the intricate pattern of a chambered nautilus has finally been engraved entirely in stone, and disappears. There is a feeling that the dancers’ exquisite lines are part of a beauty that we know by heart, if we could only let ourselves remember.

Alonzo King’s choreography is a call to the spirit, and also an intimate form of listening for the spirit’s response.

The Moroccan Project

This piece sets the vibrant drumming of Gnawa ceremonies as a backdrop for the haunting strains of oud (lute), violin, and women’s devotional singing.  In this landscape of shifting rhythms and echoing voices, the extraordinary dancers of LINES Ballet move with unexpected intimacy and flawless grace.  The musicians draw on diverse forms of North African music, including Berber (Amazigh) songs from the Middle Atlas Mountains, Gnawa rituals originating in West Africa, and a form of popular song in Morocco called Chaabi.  The plaintive energy and melodic blending of the Moroccan songs is made tangible as Alonzo King’s choreography reflects the intricate rhythms of emotion and community.