Alonzo King Ballet to Review Repertoire

Alonzo King LINES Ballet dancer Marusya Madubuko (photograph by RJ Muna)

While I have been aware of the Alonzo King LINES Ballet for about as long as I have been living in the Bay Area, my first encounter with King’s choreography only took place about two years ago, when members of the company performed in Davies Symphony Hall for the “Re-Opening Night” of the San Francisco Symphony. Music Director Esa-Pekka Salonen included a suite extracted from Alberto Ginastera’s Opus 8 score for the ballet Estancia; and King created choreography for that selection, which was then performed by his LINES dancers. I came away impressed by how much he could achieve for dance that would take place in a very limited space.

King’s company is now in its 42nd year. At the end of next week, they will give four performances of a review of the last 24 years of repertoire. This will include excerpts from “Suite Etta” (1997), “Following the Subtle Current Upstream” (2000), “Dust and Light” (2009), “Writing Ground” (2010), “Resin” (2013), and “Child of Sky and Earth” (2021). The last of these was originally choreographed for Tiler Peck, Principal Dancer with the New York City Ballet.

The music for these selections represents a wide range of genres, ranging from the Italian Baroque period to more recent traditions, including blues, jazz, and pop. There will also be selections based on religious music for Jewish, Christian, Muslim, and Tibetan Buddhist practices. The program will feature two vocalists, singer-songwriter Miriam Makeba and baritone Gregory Porter.

The performances will take place at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, October 12, Friday, October 13, and Saturday, October 14, and at 5 p.m. on Sunday, October 15. The venue will be the Blue Shield of California Theater at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts. The entrance to the theater is at 700 Howard Street, on the northwest corner of Third Street. Ticket prices will range between $40 and $115 and will be sold through City Box Office. A Web page has been created with hyperlinks to the four Web sites for each of the four dates. The Sunday performance will be preceded by a “family experience” conceived for children between the ages of four and twelve. All tickets are being sold for $20 through a separate City Box Office Web page.