Choreographer Alonzo King has been described by fellow artists as “absolutely authentic,” a true “composer’s choreographer” and even an “unsung hero” through his modern take on classical ballet. King and featured jazz musician Jason Moran will present two pieces, “Scheherazade” and “Refraction,” for one culturally infused weekend.
A highly acclaimed dancer and choreographer, King is known for establishing the contemporary ballet company Alonzo King’s LINES Ballet in 1982 and for crafting dances for national and international companies such as Ballett Frankfurt, the North Carolina Dance Theatre and the Joffrey Ballet.
“Alonzo has really created his own language of movement that falls in between traditional classifications,” said Assistant Professor of Dance Julie Janus Walters, who worked with King at the Joffrey Ballet. “He dabbles in the exploratory edges and draws outside the lines.”
Neither King nor Moran are strangers to the University. Duke Performances has worked with both artists in the past, crafting pieces that were met with high success, Director of Duke Performances Aaron Greenwald said. Moran’s latest major commission, In My Mind, premiered at Duke in October 2007.
“We helped make the introduction between [King and Moran],” Greenwald said. “Jason made the music that Alonzo then choreographed. In many ways, this performance is a continuation of their collaboration with Duke that started five years ago.”
The two pieces are the second installment of a three-part series that focuses on the African roots of dance. King drew on his rich family history of civil rights activists to make colorful renditions of classical ballet.
“His work has a different ethos and impulse than a lot of traditional dance forms,” Greenwald said. “There is a deep intentionality in his work. People do not move just to move—they move because they are compelled to move.”
The first piece, “Scheherazade,” is a re-imagination of Rimsky-Korsakov’s famous symphonic suite, which was also used in a 1910 ballet by Michel Fokine. Although Fokine’s version is a classic example of exoticizing the Orient, King’s rendition focuses on portraying the character of “Scheherazade” as a sentient being, Greenwald said.
Featuring Moran’s jazz trio, King’s enactment of “Refraction” will be the east coast premiere of the work.
“You can imagine how wonderful it is that two of our most successful presentations are now collaborating,” Vice Provost for the Arts Scott Lindroth said. “We’re proud to be an innovator for that new work.”
In addition to the two performances, King will complete a residency at Duke, including class visits, open rehearsals, interviews and lunches to ensure that people can see and hear the artist in action.
“It is really important to us that artists don’t just hit town and leave town, but instead have a substantial engagement with the Duke community,” Greenwald said. “There is a significant engagement in this instance—not just with dance programs but also with the humanities at Duke.”
Although Alonzo King is following the standard cookie-cutter visiting experience of residency and performance, his pieces transcend the typical expectations of ballet.
“You have the responsibility of offering something of value, something that is true and well done that awakens memory,” King wrote in an email. “And [it] shatters the stultifying mental pandemic that we are weak whining mortals, and reminds us that we are gods.”
The LINES Ballet will perform Jan. 29 and 30 in Reynolds Industries Theater.
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