Alonzo King LINES Ballet

It’s difficult to mistake Alonzo King’s choreography for that of another dance-maker. The creator of some of the most refined contemporary movement to date, King locates the line between tradition and modernism, then treads that line masterfully with a mix of classical ballet’s strength and precision and the organic, emotional movement of contemporary styles. It’s been nearly ten years since King’s San Francisco-based company, LINES Ballet, visited Duke Performances and, next week, the company returns with a double bill featuring 2018’s world premiere Common Ground and LINES classic, Handel. Commissioned by the Kronos Quartet, Common Ground is exploratory, lyrical, a lesson in shifting musicalities. By contrast, Handel is a focused movement study; crafted in 2005, the piece capably decodes the form and function of motion. Don’t miss November 16’s performance appetizer: at 6:30 p.m., dance scholar and veteran LINES chronicler Jill Nunes Jensen will explore King’s balletic reinvention with a free talk. —