Alonzo King LINES Ballet Returns to Harris Theater with Two Chicago Premieres, 2/27-28

San Francisco-based Alonzo King LINES Ballet, led by visionary Founder and Artistic Director Alonzo King, will present two alternate programs at the Harris Theater for Music and Dance, one on Thursday, February 27 at 7:30PM and the other on Friday, February 28 at 7:30PM, featuring two of the company's newest interdisciplinary collaborations: The Thursday night performance welcomes acclaimed Israeli mezzo-soprano Maya Lahyani in her Chicago debut, and Friday night highlights an original score performed live by Grammy Award-winning double bassist Edgar Meyer in a Chicago premiere. The Harris Theater presentation of Alonzo King LINES Ballet is made possible thanks to generous support from The PrivateBank, Opening Night sponsor.

In Constellation (February 27), King explores "the orientation of our bodies to light" using 1,300 LED spheres designed by Chicago-born visual artist and MIT alumnus Jim Campbell. Campbell's work has appeared in public collections at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Museum of Modern Art and The Whitney Museum of American Art, among others. His 2010 work, Scattered Light, was installed in the Madison Square Park Conservancy in Manhattan. King's evening-length piece incorporates a score of Baroque music sung live by Lahyani, currently with the Metropolitan Opera. Lahyani makes her Chicago performance debut on Thursday during her collaborative performance with LINES. Constellation's unique score also includes contemporary works by artists Leslie Stuck, Somei Satoh, and Benjamin Juodvalkis.

Created for LINES Ballet's 30th anniversary, Meyer (February 28) premiered in April 2013 at the Yerba Buena Center of the Arts Theater in San Francisco. The original music, composed by Meyer, mixes classical and jazz for cello, violin, double bass, and piano to complement King's choreography and a backdrop of synchronized water created by Academy Award-winning designer Jim Doyle. The Friday program includes two works and marks the Chicago premiere of both Meyer and King's intricate Writing Ground, inspired by the poetry of National Book Award-winning author Colum McCann. Commissioned in 2010 by Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo, Writing Ground incorporates an eclectic variety of Jewish, Christian, Muslim, and Tibetan Buddhist music.

"Each night promises something new to Chicago, whether it's the debut of Maya Lahyani or the premiere of Edgar Meyer's eponymous Meyer," said Harris Theater President and Managing Director Michael Tiknis. "This is a rare opportunity for people to hear not one but two great musicians perform alongside one of the world's greatest neoclassical ensembles. As dance fans know, there's nothing quite like seeing dance performed with live music."

LINES Ballet returns to the Harris Theater following last season's historic collaboration with Hubbard Street Dance Chicago in a Harris-commissioned performance, AZIMUTH, which saw dancers of LINES Ballet and Hubbard Street performing together on the Theater's Elizabeth Morse Genius Stage. ­­

Tickets for the performance are $40-$95, available at HarrisTheaterChicago.org or by calling the Box Office at 312.334.7777.

More than 50 tickets will be provided to Chicago Public Schools high school students through the Theater's Access Tickets Program.

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