In an extraordinary collaboration, Alonzo King LINES Ballet partnered with The John & Alice Coltrane Home and the Coltrane Family to celebrate the life and work of the legendary spiritual leader, composer, pianist, and harpist Alice Coltrane. The LINES Ballet performance titled “Ode to Alice Coltrane” showcased a new work set to her transformative music as part of “The Year of Alice.” The premiere is part of an ongoing series of nationwide tributes honoring Alice Coltrane’s extraordinary legacy.
In an interview with ABC7 News, Alonzo King revealed that one of his first choreographed pieces was from Alice Coltrane’s music. King explained that Alice was a musician who gracefully combined both the East and West in devotional harmony, which he aimed to reflect in his own choreography. Through “Ode to Alice Coltrane”, King had the opportunity to revisit the work of Alice, delving deeper into her legacy as both an artist and as a person. When dancers were asked how it felt to interact with Alice’s music through this choreography, they said that it was as if the music entered their body and guided their movements, exemplifying how this performance truly united the hearts and minds of not only the audience, but the dancers as well.