Alonzo King, The Poet of Dance

Discover Alonzo King's biography, a child of famous African-American civil rights activist, who found his form of expression in dance and the present appearance of his company and its dancers.

Referred to as a visionary choreographer, he is highly influential on contemporary creations and on the way we see ballet today. His work is based on what he calls "thought structures," obeying the energies which govern the shapes and movement directions of everything that exists.Throughout his carreer, he collaborated with the Swedish Royal Ballet, the Ballet Bejart, the Hong Kong Ballet and many others.

In 1982 he founded his company based in San Francisco, the Alonzo King LINES Ballet, upon the idea of highlighting the new creative potential of traditional ballet. Consequently, he creates his choreographies on scores by Handel, Poulenc or Stravinsky, but also on music by jazz composers like Pharoah Sanders or world musicians such as Hamza El Din or Zakir Hussain.