In his post-performance dialogue with audience members, Alonzo King spoke less and listened more. When a hand raised to ask about the symbolism of the dancer reaching upward to the light, King replied “Ah, more importantly, what did that mean to YOU?”

The Alonzo King LINES Ballet toured three nights to a sold-out Newmark Theater in Portland, Oregon, Nov. 21-23, 2024. The company, which was brought to Portland by White Bird, performed “Deep River,” a compilation of 13 shorts choreographed by King with original music by Lisa Fischer (Grammy-Award winning vocalist) and Jason Moran (pianist and MacArthur Fellow composer).

The piece, named for the traditional African American Spiritual, captured the imagination and achieved LINES’s core ideology of “touching hearts and stirring minds through dance.” The seamless flow of 11 dancers felt like a float down a river – sometimes calm, sometimes in rapids – exploring the rhythms, movements, music, lighting, and earthen-toned costumes that showcased their strength and grace.

The whole evening built to a stirring, joyful climax. Babatunji’s solo dance to “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” left nothing for want, then Adjii Cissoko and Shuaib Elhassan provided the magnetic-beyond-belief closing pas de deux “Epilogue Pas.” And, in doing so, reminded us of our humanity, our inherent creativity, and our undeniable connections to dance and to each other.

Find out where LINES will be next on its global tour here.