Wells Fargo Center for the Arts Opens 2014-15 Rodney Strong Vineyard Dance Series Tonight

Wells Fargo Center for the Arts kicks-off the 2014-15 Rodney Strong Vineyards Dance Series with the celebrated Alonzo King LINES Ballet tonight, November 1, 2014 at 8:00 p.m. in the Ruth Finley Person Theater (50 Mark West Springs Road in Santa Rosa). Alonzo King LINES Ballet of San Francisco, is an internationally renowned contemporary ballet company that has been guided since 1982 by its uniquely global artistic vision. Collaborating with noted composers, musicians, and visual artists, innovative choreographer and artistic director Alonzo King creates works that draw on a diverse set of deeply rooted cultural traditions and imbue classical ballet with new expressive potential.

Tickets for the performance, which includes a pre-show discussion, are $45, $39, $32 and $25, and are available now online at wellsfargocenterarts.org, by calling 707.546.3600 or in person at the Wells Fargo Center for the Arts box office (50 Mark West Springs Road in Santa Rosa).

Alonzo King, who the San Francisco Chronicle describes as "... one of the few bona fide visionaries in the ballet world today," brings his distinctive choreography renowned for its ability to connect audiences to a profound sense of shared humanity-of vulnerability and tenderness, but also of furious abandon and exhilarating freedom to Santa Rosa for one night only.

The Santa Rosa performance celebrates the company's roots, as well as looking ahead. "Concerto for Two Violins," is choreographed to Bach's concerto in D Minor, utilized famously by George Balanchine in 1941. This ballet is a sleek and sharp salute to the Ballet's past while marking the continued evolution of neoclassicism. Commissioned in 2010 by Les Ballets de Monte Carlo, King's masterful "Writing Ground" draws inspiration from poetry. An emotionally searing and lyrical work, set to a collection of sacred early music from the Jewish, Christian, Muslim and Tibetan Buddhist traditions, "Writing Ground" challenges the Company to explore new physical territory.

In addition to its biannual home seasons, the Alonzo King LINES Ballet enjoys tremendous success abroad at venues including the Venice Biennale, Montpellier Danse, Maison de la Danse, the Wolfsburg Festival, the Edinburgh Festival, the Spoleto Festival, and Monaco Dance Forum.

Tickets, which include a pre-show discussion, are $45, $39, $32 and $25, and are available now online at wellsfargocenterarts.org, by calling 707.546.3600 or in person at the Wells Fargo Center for the Arts box office (50 Mark West Springs Road in Santa Rosa).