THROUGH LINES - The Art of Ballet

Ballet is a living and continually evolving artistic tradition. The artistry of ballet as a living tradition is not only encapsulated in the choreography. A diverse representation of artists is integral to developing the visual and emotional mood that engenders beautiful balletic works. LINES Ballet has benefitted from various impressive and interdisciplinary artists in their own right.

Thirty-five years of outstanding multi-disciplinary collaborations for the stage place Alonzo King LINES Ballet at the forefront of artistic innovation in ballet. These collaborations give LINES Ballet unique opportunities to investigate deeply rooted affinities between Western and Eastern classical forms, elemental materials, the natural world, and the human spirit. Utilizing the inherent expressive properties of movement and line as a starting point, LINES Co-Founders Choreographer Alonzo King and Creative Director Robert Rosenwasser collaborate with contemporary artists to explore underlying through-lines: body and consciousness, movement and stasis, and intuition and reason. Intricate and subtle in focus, these connective themes are paradigm-changing for ballet, an art form primarily symbolic, hierarchal, and externalized throughout history. Each uses its vocabulary. The collaborators include visual light artist Jim Campbell, photographers RJ Muna, and Jamie Lyons, and filmmaker Kate Duhamel, working with metal, paper, fiber, and space architect Christopher Haas and acoustics and biology Bernie Krause. Respectively, each opens new dimensions of what is deeply felt and deeply thought and helps engender art’s transformative power. 

At LINES Ballet, the artistic investigation is infinite and essential, for it leads to what unites us: empathy, joy, and the ability to transcend.

Through-LINES: The Art of Ballet is an experimental, activated space that emphasizes the many artists contributing to this multi-media artistry, from costumes and set design to photography, lighting, and soundscapes. Gallery guests will be immersed in the visual, audio, and tactical beauty that is LINES Ballet. This is LINES Ballet’s first-ever retrospective exhibit and includes a behind-the-scenes learning journey with LINES artistic collaborators, including world-renowned and locally-based artists.