Alonzo King has works in the repertories of companies throughout the world, including the Swedish Royal Ballet, Frankfurt Ballet, Joffrey Ballet, Dance Theater of Harlem, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre, Hong Kong Ballet, North Carolina Dance Theatre, and Washington Ballet. He has worked extensively in opera, television, and film and has choreographed works for prima ballerina Natalia Makarova and film star Patrick Swayze. Mr. King has also collaborated with artists such as actor Danny Glover, legendary jazz saxophonist Pharoah Sanders, and tabla master Zakir Hussain. Renowned for his skill as a teacher, Mr. King has been the guest ballet master for National Ballet of Canada, Les Ballets de Monte Carlo, San Francisco Ballet, Ballet Rambert, Ballet West and others.
In 1982, Mr. King founded Alonzo King’s LINES Ballet, which has developed into an international touring company. Seven years later, he inaugurated the San Francisco Dance Center, which has grown into one of the largest dance facilities on the West Coast. In 2001, Alonzo King started the LINES Ballet School and Pre-Professional Program to nurture and develop the talents of young dancers. Expanding the scope of his educational visions to the college level, Alonzo King and LINES Ballet embarked on a partnership with the Dominican University of California, creating the West Coast’s first Joint BFA program in Dance. It is the only Joint BFA program in the country to be led by a living master choreographer.
In December 2006, Alonzo King was recognized as one of the fifty outstanding artists in America by the United States Artists organization. In 2005, he won the Bessie Award for Choreographer/ Creator. He is also the recipient of the NEA Choreographer’s Fellowship, Irvine Fellowship in Dance, National Dance Project and the National Dance Residency Program, as well as five Isadora Duncan Awards. He has also received the Hero Award from Union Bank, the Lehman Award, and the Excellence Award from KGO in San Francisco. He was recently awarded the 2007 Community Leadership Award from the San Francisco Foundation. He has several honorary Doctorates, including from his alma mater, CalArts (California Institute of the Arts) in Los Angeles.
King has served on panels for the National Endowment of the Arts, California Arts Council, City of Columbus Arts Council and Lila Wallace-Reader’s Digest Arts Partners Program. In 2005 he was named a Master of African-American Choreography by the Kennedy Center. He served as a commissioner for the city and county of San Francisco, and a writer and lecturer on the art of dance.