Alonzo King Travels to Paris to commemorate Universal Declaration on Human Rights

Alonzo King LINES Ballet, the San Francisco-based, internationally celebrated contemporary ballet company, is pleased to announce it has been selected as one of the dance companies to perform at Wake of Humanity, a celebration of the 70th anniversary of the signing of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This historic event takes place at the Palais de Chaillot in Paris, December 10, 2018.

Seven decades ago, 48 nations came together at the Palais de Chaillot to sign the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This milestone document affirmed an individual's rights. The Declaration was the first step in the process of formulating the International Bill of Human Rights, which was completed in 1966, and came into force in 1976.

To commemorate this anniversary and reaffirm the values set forth by the Declaration, Alonzo King LINES Ballet will perform an excerpt of King's groundbreaking work, Writing Ground. Company dancers Adji Cissoko, Babatunji, Robb Beresford, Michael Montgomery and Shuaib Elhassan will perform.

"We are incredibly honored that LINES Ballet has been invited to participate in the performances surrounding the 70th Anniversary commemorating the signing of the Declaration of Human Rights," says Alonzo King. "The belief in human rights is at the core of our beliefs in all that we make and do at LINES."

Wake of Humanity, directed by Anne-Laure Liégois, will also include works by artists Isabelle Adjani, Taigue Ahmed, Marcia Barcellos, Fabrice Bwabulamutima, Carolyn Carlson, Francois Chaignaud, Denis Guénoun, Anne-Laure Liégeois, Phia Ménard, Dominique Mercy, Mathilde Monnier, Wajdi Mouawad, Ohad Naharin, Angelin Preljocaj, Lia Rodrigues, Eric Ruf, Kirill Serebrennikov, and others. More information here.

While in Paris, Alonzo King will take part in Art Lab, a dialogue on human rights with artists from around the world at the UNESCO Headquarters on December 11, 2018. Moderated by journalist Audrey Pulvar, the event gives the floor to International Artists to present their artistic research and describe their personal journey, especially as it pertains to human rights.More information about Art Lab is available here.

In addition, LINES Ballet dancers participated in the United Nation's Stand Up 4 Human Rights' online video Campaign leading up the 70thAnniversary of the Declaration. Each dancer recorded reading one of the 30 articles from the Declaration. The series of videos and others from people around the world are available here.

About Alonzo King LINES Ballet

Since 1982, Alonzo King LINES Ballet has collaborated with noted composers, musicians and visual artists from around the word to create performances that alter the way we look at ballet today. The Company is guided by a unique artistic vision that adheres to the classical form-the linear, mathematical and geometrical principles that are deeply rooted in the preexisting East-West continuum. LINES Ballet's spring and fall home seasons and global tours share this vision of transformative, revelatory dance with 40,000+ audience members worldwide every year. It has been featured at venues such as the Venice Biennale, Monaco Dance Forum, Maison de la Dance de Lyon, the Edinburgh International Festival, Montpellier Danse, the Wolfsburg Festival, the Holland Dance Festival, and most recently Théâtre National de Chaillot in Paris.

Alonzo King has been honored by the dance world's most prestigious institutions for his impact on the cultural fabric of the company's home in San Francisco, as well as nationally and internationally for over more than three decades. Named a Master of Choreography by the Kennedy Center in 2005, King is the recipient of the Doris Duke Foundation Artist Award, the NEA Choreographer's Fellowship, the Jacob's Pillow Creativity Award, the Irvine Fellowship in Dance, the US Artist Award in Dance, and the National Dance Project's Residency and Touring Awards. King has works in the repertories of San Francisco Ballet, the Royal Swedish Ballet, Frankfurt Ballet, Béjart Ballet Lausanne, Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo, Joffrey Ballet, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Hong Kong Ballet, and Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, among others.

Photo: Jeffrey Van Sciver performs in Writing Ground, photo by Margo Moritz