Festival des Arts de Saint-Sauveur - Alonzo King's Lines Ballet

Reviewed by Paula Citron

A special feature of Festival des Arts de Saint-Sauveur is the presentation of dance that appears nowhere else in Canada.

Alonzo King founded his much-hyped Lines Ballet in San Francisco in 1982. King has set works all over the world, but my feeling is that one King ballet at a time is sufficient.

The company presented two pieces. Both are works of abstract movement. The on pointe Dust and Light is about striving for inner grace. The off-pointe Rasa conjures up shared humanity.

While sumptuous in physicality, King's admirable choreography is problematic. Even though his inspiration may differ – the spirituality of Dust and Light in contrast to the tribalism of Rasa – his choreographic structure with its lack of architectural diversity diminishes interest over time.

King's multicultural company is made up of sensational dancers, but by the end of the second piece, I was craving a change-up of some sort.

Alonzo King's Lines Ballet
Festival des arts de Saint-Sauveur
Choreographed by Alonzo King (Dust and Light and Rasa)
Grand Chapiteau
Saint-Sauveur, Quebec
Jul. 29 to Aug. 07, 2010