We have seen The Collective Agreement – Ode to Alice Coltrane

On Wednesday and Thursday, the Parvis theater was packed for the Alonzo King Lines Ballet performance. This renowned Californian ballet company made two nights in Tarbes as part of its French tour. The program featured two choreographed pieces in which Alonzo King presents the contemporary ballet work he has been developing for over four decades. Like a bridge between classical ballet and contemporary dance, at a time when pointe work and the illusion of lightness meet a culture and an expression that gives it new depth. It was in this spirit that the evening opened on the Parvis stage with The Collective Agreement, created in 2018 at his home in San Francisco. The choreography begins as a series of duets and solos, quickly evolving into a ballet. The classical positions are perfectly executed, but the choreography rapidly transcends the traditional framework. It becomes more of a danced interplay between the group, the duo, and the individual, who respond to and differentiate themselves from one another. It's striking when the twelve dancers are in ballet formation, with subtle shifts in time and space that fuel a decidedly contemporary vision of ballet. And even more so in the second part of the performance, when they interpret an Ode to the American jazz musician Alice Coltrane; Alonso King seems to see ballet as a collection of individuals from whom he draws the solos and duets that punctuate the choreography. A truly delightful vision of dance.