Alonzo King

Last updated

Alonzo King
Alonzo King.jpg
Alonzo King
Born1952 (1952)
Albany, Georgia, U.S. [1]
Occupation(s) Dancer, Choreographer
Years active1981–present
AwardsDance Magazine Award, 2020; Doris Duke Performing Artist Award, 2015; San Francisco Museum & Historical Society San Francisco Treasure Award, 2012; Jacob's Pillow Dance Creativity Award, 2008; Bessie Award for Choreographer/Creator, 2005; Kennedy Center Master of Choreography, 2005
Website linesballet.org

Alonzo King, born in Georgia to civil-rights activists Slater King and Valencia King Nelson, is an American dancer and choreographer based in San Francisco. [2] King grew up in Georgia and California, and, as an adult, decided his contribution would be teaching and choreography. In 1982, having established himself as a well-respected teacher, he founded Alonzo King LINES Ballet. Believing that everyone has the potential to grow through dance, seven years later he opened what was then known as the San Francisco Dance Center, offering classes for both professionals and the community. [3]

Contents

Alonzo holds Honorary Doctorate Degrees from The Juilliard School, [4] California Institute of the Arts, [5] and Dominican University of California. [4]

Alonzo King LINES Ballet

In 1982, upon relocating back to California, King founded Alonzo King LINES Ballet, [6] which premiered at the San Francisco State's McKenna Theater. Sharing his choreography around the world, LINES Ballet performs bi-annual home seasons at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco, [7] and also maintains an international touring schedule including a recent set of performances in Hong Kong of The Propelled Heart in September 2017. [8]

Awards and recognition

King is the recipient of numerous awards including an NEA choreographic fellowship, San Francisco Mayor's Award, a Jacob's Pillow Creativity Award, and Kennedy Center Master of Choreography which was awarded in 2005. [9] [10] In 2020, he was one of five honorees of the Dance Magazine Awards. [11] In addition to his work for LINES Ballet, King's choreography is also in the repertoire of other dance companies including The Royal Swedish Ballet, Ballet Frankfurt, Ballet Béjart, Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo, Joffrey Ballet, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Hong Kong Ballet, North Carolina Dance Theatre, and Hubbard Street Dance Chicago. [12] [13] [14]

Selected works

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lar Lubovitch</span> American choreographer (born 1943)

Lar Lubovitch is an American choreographer. He founded his own dance company, the Lar Lubovitch Dance Company in 1968. Based in New York City, the company has performed in all 50 American states as well as in more than 30 countries. As of 2005, he had choreographed more than 100 dances for the company. In addition to the company, Lubovitch has also done creative work in ballet, ice-skating venues, and musical theater, notably Into the Woods. He has played a key role in raising funds to fight AIDS.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lisa Fischer</span> American vocalist and songwriter

Lisa Melonie Fischer is an American singer and songwriter. She found success with her 1991 debut album So Intense, which produced the Grammy Award–winning hit single "How Can I Ease the Pain". She has been a back-up singer for a number of famous artists, including Sting, Luther Vandross, and Tina Turner, and she toured with The Rolling Stones from 1989 to 2015.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mark Morris (choreographer)</span> American dancer, choreographer and director

Mark William Morris is an American dancer, choreographer and director whose work is acclaimed for its craftsmanship, ingenuity, humor, and at times eclectic musical accompaniments. Morris is popular among dance aficionados, the music world, as well as mainstream audiences.

<i>Scheherazade</i> (Rimsky-Korsakov) Symphonic poem by Rimsky-Korsakov

Scheherazade, also commonly Sheherazade, Op. 35, is a symphonic suite composed by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov in 1888 and based on One Thousand and One Nights.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">San Francisco Ballet</span> U.S. ballet company

San Francisco Ballet is the oldest ballet company in the United States, founded in 1933 as the San Francisco Opera Ballet under the leadership of ballet master Adolph Bolm. The company is currently based in the War Memorial Opera House, San Francisco, and effective December 2022 under the direction of Tamara Rojo. It is among the world's leading dance companies, presenting more than 100 performances annually, with a repertoire that spans both classical and contemporary ballet. Along with American Ballet Theatre and the New York City Ballet, San Francisco Ballet has been described as part of the "triumvirate of great classical companies defining the American style on the world stage today."

François Perron is a French ballet dancer, choreographer and teacher, who now works and resides in the United States. Perron is a graduate of the Paris Opera Ballet School where he studied under the direction of Claude Bessy. In 2011, Perron founded the French Academie of Ballet, based in New York City.

Helgi Tomasson is an Icelandic choreographer, and a former professional ballet dancer. He served as artistic director and principal choreographer for San Francisco Ballet.

Edwaard Liang is a Taiwanese-born American dancer and choreographer. He grew up in Marin County, California.

Margaret Jenkins is a postmodern choreographer based in San Francisco, California. She was a Guggenheim Fellow in 1980 and in 2003, San Francisco mayor, Willie Brown, declared April 24 to be Margaret Jenkins Day.

<i>Who Cares?</i> (ballet) Ballet by George Balanchine

Who Cares? is a ballet choreographed by George Balanchine to songs by George Gershwin that were orchestrated by Hershy Kay. The ballet is split in two parts, the first danced by an ensemble, and the second focuses on four principal dancers. Who Cares? premiered on February 5, 1970, at the New York State Theater, danced by the New York City Ballet.

Henning Rübsam is a choreographer and dancer based in New York City. He is the artistic director of SENSEDANCE, a faculty member of The Juilliard School and Fordham University, and a visiting guest professor at Texas Academy of Ballet. He is the dance curator for Arts at Work and a resident choreographer for Hartford City Ballet.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alonzo King LINES Ballet</span> American contemporary ballet company

The Alonzo King LINES Ballet (AKLB) is an American contemporary ballet company based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The ballet company, founded by choreographer Alonzo King, premiered at San Francisco State University's McKenna Theatre in 1982.

Zachary Alexander Tang is an American professional dancer who currently performs with RUBBERBANDance Group.

The New York International Ballet Competition (NYIBC), was a program providing dance education and employment opportunities for young dancers ages 17 to 24. In 1983 Ilona Copen founded NYIBC, with Igor Youskevitch as first artistic director, in order to fill a void and satisfy a need in the global dance ecosystem. Other international ballet competitions existed, but New York City, considered a dance capital of the world, did not have its own.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Val Caniparoli</span>

Val Caniparoli is an American ballet dancer and international choreographer. His work includes more than 100 productions for ballet, opera, and theater for over 50 companies, and his career as a choreographer progressed globally even as he continued his professional dance career with the San Francisco Ballet.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Norbert Vesak</span>

Norbert Vesak, one of Canada's leading choreographers in the 1970s, was a ballet dancer, choreographer, theatrical director, master teacher, dance columnist, lecturer, and opera ballet director, known for his unique, flamboyant style and his multimedia approach to classical and contemporary choreography. He is credited with helping to bring modern dance to Western Canada.

Danses concertantes is the title of a work for chamber orchestra written in 1941–42 by Igor Stravinsky, commissioned by Werner Janssen. Stravinsky's music has been used for eponymous ballets by numerous choreographers attracted by its danceability.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Martine van Hamel</span> Dutch choreographer, teacher (born 1945)

Martine van Hamel is a Dutch choreographer, director, teacher, retired ballerina and former Principal dancer at the National Ballet of Canada and American Ballet Theatre (ABT). She was a gold medalist at the biennial Varna International Ballet Competition, the most prestigious ballet competition in the world, held in Varna, Bulgaria. She is also a recipient of the Prix de Varna, a recognition rarely awarded, for best artistic interpretation in all categories. She was one of the leading classical ballerinas in America.

Lea Elizabeth Ved is an American contemporary dancer and choreographer. She was a second soloist contemporary dancer at the Royal Swedish Ballet, dancing with the company from 2016 until 2018. Ved currently dances with Nederlands Dans Theater.

References

  1. Cynthia Bond Perry (January 1, 2017). "For the first time, celebrated choreographer Alonzo King brings his ballet company to his home state". The Atlanta Magazine. Retrieved October 24, 2017.
  2. Molly Glentzer (May 2, 2014). "Meet: Alonzo King, LINES choreographer". Chron. Retrieved October 24, 2017.
  3. "Dance Magazine Award Honoree: Alonzo King". Dance Magazine. December 2, 2020. Retrieved January 5, 2021.
  4. 1 2 "Choreographer Alonzo King, Actress Rita Moreno, and Composer Kaija Saariaho to Receive Honorary Doctorates at Juilliard's 114th Commencement Ceremony on May 24, 2019 | The Juilliard School". www.juilliard.edu. Retrieved January 5, 2021.
  5. "Honorary Degree Recipients". CalArts. Retrieved January 5, 2021.
  6. Jessica Yang (October 12, 2017). "Through sound and shape: Alonzo King LINES Ballet performance". The Phoenix. Retrieved October 24, 2017.
  7. Andrew Gilbert (May 2, 2017). "Choreographer Alonzo King sets new work to crisis of vanishing words". The Mercury News. Retrieved October 24, 2017.
  8. Natasha Rogai (September 4, 2017). "Arts review: The Propelled Heart – Lisa Fischer shines with Alonzo King Lines Ballet from Frisco – Translating an Indian guru's philosophical concept into choreography was a tough challenge, but the energetic dancers match Fischer's vocals wonderfully". South China Morning Post. Retrieved October 24, 2017.
  9. "Alonzo King LINES Ballet Announces Spring Season, 5/4-14". Broadway World. March 1, 2017. Retrieved October 24, 2017.
  10. "Alonzo King LINES Ballet infuses classical dance traditions with bold movement". Virginia Tech News. March 14, 2016. Retrieved October 24, 2017.
  11. Kosman, Joshua (September 25, 2020) [September 22, 2020]. "S.F. choreographer Alonzo King honored by Dance Magazine". San Francisco Arts & Entertainment Guide. Retrieved January 5, 2021.
  12. Mandy Prather (January 9, 2017). "Alonzo King LINES Ballet performs in Danville during two-day residency". The Advocate-Messenger. Retrieved October 24, 2017.
  13. Jennifer Homans (August 2, 2012). "Meet: The Universalist". New Republic Magazine. Retrieved October 24, 2017.
  14. Zan Dubin (March 19, 1994). "Meet: Alonzo King's Intersecting LINES : Dance: The choreographer, whose troupe is at the Irvine Barclay Theatre tonight, is interested in what unites people". LA Times. Retrieved October 24, 2017.
  15. "Choreographic Work". LINES Ballet. Retrieved July 2, 2013.