GLIDE GOES "FROM THE 'HOOD TO THE HOUSE" - A benefit to honor Reverend Cecil Williams' 45th Anniversary at Glide, featuring Alonzo King LINES Ballet, Dr. Maya Angelou, Rita Moreno, San Francisco Opera Adler Fellows and more.

Celebrate Reverend Cecil Williams' 45th Anniversary at Glide at the San Francisco War Memorial Opera House on Thursday, November 12. Featuring special guests Alonzo King LINES Ballet performing sections from Rasa, Dr. Maya Angelou, Rita Moreno, San Francisco Opera Adler Fellows, the Glide Ensemble and Change Band followed by a reception with DJ David Harness, Jaz Sawyer, lavish hors d'oeuvres and libations.

For tickets: call the San Francisco Opera at (415) 864-3330

Paulo was born in Goiania, Brazil. Paulo has studied at the Center Cultural Gustav Ritter in Brazil, the Paris Opera Ballet School in France, the English National Ballet School and the Royal Ballet School both in England. Upon graduating from the Royal Ballet School, Paulo was awarded the Ninette de Balois Bursary. He joined the Norwegian National Ballet in 2007 where he worked with choreographers such as William Forsythe, Jiri Killian, Paul Lightfoot, and Sol Leon and danced lead roles in Sleeping Beauty and Don Quixote. The 2009-2010 season will be his first with LINES Ballet and he will make his debut performance with the Company in Monaco next month.

The Monaco Dance Forum is fast approaching and Scheherazade is nearly ready! Supporters of this seminal work at the $250 level and above are invited to a sneak-peek into the rehearsals for Scheherazade on November 14 at 3:30pm. Rehearsal takes place in Studio 5 of the Alonzo King LINES Dance Center, 26 7th Street at Market. If you can join us, please RSVP to Laure Williams at 415.863.3040 ext 257 or laure@linesballet.org.

It's not too late to be a part of history! To make your donation in support of Scheherazade, click here.

Alonzo King LINES Ballet will open the Monaco Dance Forum's Centennial Celebration of the Ballets Russes on December 9, 10 with the re-creation of the classic tale Scheherazade. Please join us!

Come see the dancers of the Alonzo King LINES Ballet Training program present exciting new work by five student choreographers! This showcase marks the culmination of several months of creative exploration and collaboration between the choreographers, dancers, and advisors. The Student Choreography Showcase will be Friday, November 13 at 6 PM and Saturday, November 14 at 3 PM at the Alonzo King LINES Dance Center. Tickets may be purchased for $3 at the door. Please join us in Studio One next week and experience the LINES Ballet Training Program!

The LINES Ballet Training Program offered a preview of this new work at the San Francisco Arts Commission's "Art in Storefronts" event on Friday, October 23. This collaboration of businesses, artists, and community members was created to revive local neighborhoods and make art more accessible to the community.

In addition, the LINES Ballet Training Program students had the opportunity to take several master classes with prestigious instructors, including Desmond Richardson of Complexions Contemporary Ballet Company and Janet Wong of Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company. They also took weekly classes with Alonzo King for the first six weeks of the semester. Leyna Swoboda, a first-year student, comments, "I have learned so much more about myself, my dancing, and my body's abilities this semester."

This fall has been a season of opportunity and accolades for the talented, hardworking students of the Alonzo King LINES Ballet/Dominican University of California BFA in Dance program!

At the start of October, Program Director, Marina Hotchkiss, accompanied four BFA students, Alexandria Diaz Defato (10'), Allie Papazian (10'), Michael Montgomery (11'), and Adam Peterson (11'), to Honolulu to perform segments of Alonzo King's the MOROCCAN Project at "Destination Morocco," a benefit for Ballet Hawaii.

Senior Katie Scherman has just returned from the Princess Grace Awards ceremony in New York City, where she and only five other dancers received the prestigious Princess Grace Scholarship. Scherman, along with LINES Ballet company member Corey Scott-Gilbert, were honored for their extraordinary talent and contributions to the art of dance in 2009. And congratulations to Scherman and Gregory Dawson, former Company and BFA faculty member, for their Isadora Duncan Award nominations.

Please join us for our annual fall performances at Angelico Hall of Dominican University in San Rafael on November 20 at 4 PM and November 21 at 7 PM. The shows will premiere original choreography by LINES Ballet Master, Arturo Fernandez, as well as faculty members Kara Davis, Gregory Dawson, and former San Francisco Ballet principal dancer Julia Adams. Tickets are general admission and will be available for purchase at the door. For more information please contact Program Coordinator, Jessica Schneidman, at jessica@linesballet.org.

It's that time of year, again. It's time for dance artists to renew their powers of critical thinking and their creative approach. REVIVE, the annual winter intensive workshop curated by Yannis Adoniou, returns to Alonzo King LINES Dance Center. This year, REVIVE will feature the renowned Pina Bausch dancer, Julie Anne Stanzak, teaching Poetry & Necessity of Movement - a workshop designed to help you find an authentic emotional impulse for your movement. The workshop will run from January 4 through 8, 2010, from 10 AM to 5 PM and early registration at a discounted rate ends December 1, 2009. Call us at the Dance Center to register.

Just as exciting will be our Lar Lubovitch Repertory Master Class on November 21 -- taught by Lar Lubovitch company dancer, Kate Skarpetowska. After a short warm-up, you will learn phases from the Lar Lubovitch repertory, illustrating Lar's unique approach to movement. The celebrated Bay Area independent contemporary ballet company, Company C, will also be in attendance and all master class participants are invited to observe their open rehearsal following the class.

As you know, the Dance Center is trying to raise $20,000 to begin making the studio improvements you've been asking for and we're almost halfway to our goal. We still need your help. Just $20 can make a difference and if you can give more, you will get some excellent thank you gifts - a free 2010 calendar, preferred registration status for the next Master Class for Beginning Dancers with Alonzo King and much more. Follow the link at the end of this article to find out more.

A great time was had by all who attended our Opening Night Celebration! It was a truly special evening with Alonzo King, Jason Moran, El Hamideen and all of our artists and collaborators. In addition to a fantastic performance, dinner, and auction, we are pleased to announce the evening raised more than $70,000 to go towards our artistic and educational programs. A big thank you to all who came and all who donated to make the evening possible!

We also give special thanks to our partners throughout the season: SF Jazz Festival, Jazz Times, Clear Channel/KKSF and Cirque du Soleil's OVO.

There's big buzz around town - from the streets of San Francisco to the Grand Chapiteau, OVO is everywhere. Check out the schedule at cirquedusoleil.com/bugdance to see where the bug dance squad will be creeping up next. Learn the bug dance, join the celebration and you could win tickets to OVO.

Cirque du Soleil is back in San Francisco with it's latest touring show, OVO. OVO opens November 26 at the AT&T Park.