Alonzo King LINES Ballet: Sutra

Review by Nili Nathan

Photo Credit: RJ Muna

“If you say to yourself  — I am not living like that music, like that novel, like that painting, like that dancer, like that musician — I am cheating on myself,” said Alonzo King during the Q&A after the opening of Sutra.

You can begin the journey back to self-artisan actualization by seeing this supreme work by Alonzo King Lines Ballet.  It is a beautiful, deeply moving fusion of ballet, yoga and East Indian spirituality in a spectacular 70-minute dance extravaganza which is Sutra.

Sutra means string or thread; that which sews and holds things together. The dancers moved their bodies using their garments, and fabric which created a stunning visual on stage. Music composed and performed by Zakir Hussain, who is an international phenomenon and one of the greatest musicians of our time.

All the dancers were superb. I got to meet Michael Montgomery after the performance and was blessed with his presence and the aura he emitted coming off of a unbelievable performance. Montgomery was named to the list of “25 to Watch” by Dance Magazine in 2013.

**************************************************** 

Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts

Presents Alonzo King LINES Ballet

in Southern California Debut of SUTRA,
King’s Latest Full-Length Work

 Thursday, November 1 through Saturday, November 3, 2018, 7:30 pm

Performance Marks San Francisco-Based Company’s
First Public Appearance in L.A. since 2015

Alonzo King LINES Ballet, the groundbreaking San Francisco-based company noted for melding classical and contemporary ballet and creating works that draw on deeply-rooted cultural traditions, presents the Southern California debut of SUTRA, King’s most recent collaboration with Grammy Award-winning tabla virtuoso Zakir Hussain and ninth-generation Sarangi master Sabir Khan, on Thursday, November 1 through Saturday, November 3, 2018, 7:30 pm, in the Bram Goldsmith Theatre at The Wallis. The influences of these masters of rhythm, vibration and movement unite in this acclaimed full-length 70-minute work, hailed as a “spectacular burst of musical and choreographic creativity” (Boston Globe). The complex rhythmic systems of the music combine with King’s choreography to celebrate the long-standing continuity between transcendental Eastern thinking and Western ballet’s classical forms and techniques. This marks The Wallis debut and the first Los Angeles public appearance since 2015 of LINES Ballet and its choreographer Alonzo King, “one of the few bona fide visionaries in the ballet world today” (San Francisco Chronicle).

“Alonzo King LINES Ballet, with its compelling repertoire and virtuosic dancers, consistently thrills audiences wherever they perform,” says The Wallis’ Artistic Director Paul Crewes. “The Wallis is pleased to showcase this extraordinary company after its long absence from Los Angeles.”

“Alonzo King LINES Ballet, with its compelling repertoire and virtuosic dancers, consistently thrills audiences wherever they perform,” says The Wallis’ Artistic Director Paul Crewes. “The Wallis is pleased to showcase this extraordinary company after its long absence from Los Angeles.”

SUTRA, created in 2018, was premiered in April, at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in the Bay Area as part of Alonzo King LINES Ballet’s 35^th anniversary celebration. Founded in 1982, LINES Ballet is at the forefront of artistic innovation in ballet. The company has forged multi-disciplinary collaborations with noted composers, musicians and visual artists from around the world to create performances that alter the way we look at ballet today.  Its unique artistic vision adheres to the classical form – the linear, mathematical and geometrical principles that are deeply rooted in the East-West continuum. Connecting audiences to a profound sense of shared humanity, LINES Ballet reaches more than 40,000 audience members worldwide annually through global tours.

Explaining the company’s name, founder Alonzo King says, “The term LINES alludes to all that is visible in the phenomenal world. There is nothing that is made or formed without a line.  Straight and circle encompass all that we see.”

Single tickets are $35-$105. Visit TheWallis.org, call 310.746.4000, or stop by in person at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts Ticket Services Office located at 9390 N. Santa Monica Blvd., Beverly Hills, CA 90210.

WHEN:

Thursday, November 1, 7:30 pm

Friday, November 2, 7:30 pm

Saturday, November 3, 7:30 pm

Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts

Bram Goldsmith Theater

9390 N. Santa Monica Boulevard

Beverly Hills, CA 90210

Ticket prices start at $35