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DANCE OF THE SPHERES
“Constellation,” Alonzo King LINES Ballet. Photo © Margo Moritz
San Francisco-based choreographer Alonzo King and his LINES Ballet company perform in Paris for the first time this week at the Théâtre National de Chaillot, presenting his 2011 creation, Constellation (Dec. 11-14). Trained as a dancer with Alvin Ailey and the American Ballet Theatre, King is a Balanchine admirer who mixes classical and contemporary technique in a style characterized by muscular sensuality and pure aesthetic beauty. Known for reaching across boundaries to combine dance with other art forms, he has worked with creative partners ranging from the jazz sax player Pharoah Sanders to the martial arts monks of Shaolin, China, and the Baka pygmies of Central Africa. For Constellation, he has teamed up with the electronic artist Jim Campbell to create a two-part piece in which dance interacts with visual effects, establishing a dialogue between light projections and movement. The score combines a Baroque cantata with the hiss of wind on ice and the rustle of bird wings. Claudia Barbieri
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