Video

Rehearsal with LINES Ballet dancers and the Shaolin monks, February 2006 (at the San Francisco Dance Center)

This rehearsal footage was shot on the first day that the Shaolin monks and the dancers of LINES Ballet met, in February 2006. In the studio that day, Alonzo King began the process of shaping new frames for integrative movement between Western classical dance and Chinese martial arts. The first step was to share the experience of complex, classical movement forms, allowing everyone in the studio to feel the potential of a collaborative project. From these initial explorations in the studio, Alonzo King started to develop a blended choreography for the piece, as the dancers’ expressive lyricism became gradually interwoven with the monks’ dynamic power. This project is encouraging the two sets of artists towards a kind of communion through movement, a language that they can speak together.

If the video does not start for you immediately, you may need to download the free QuickTime player.