One word comes to mind when looking back on Sunday’s performance by Alonzo King LINES Ballet — intentional.

Every movement by every dancer at the Earl Cameron Theatre, City Hall, was as intentional as the next; each simple tendu danced with just as much precision and purpose as a tour en l’air.

It was evident that each dancer in the troupe shared the same artistic vision as founder and director Alonzo King, which in turn created a corps movement that was stunningly in sync.

The entire company’s precise, yet seemingly effortless moments abounded from their powerful legs and soft, sinewy arms.

The mixed programme opened with Concerto for Two Violins, where barelegged ballerinas and their male counterparts juxtaposed contemporary lines and movement with the classical score.

Kara Wilkes stood out immediately with her incredibly fluid port de bras, and not to be overlooked was the extension on Laura O’Malley — if an aspiring dancer had no previous inspiration to work on their penché, here it is. Although, I’d be remiss to say the entire company’s extension didn’t blow me away.

During the second movement of Concerto for Two Violins, a lyrical pas de quatre with two men and two women, it was as though we were watching the inspiration from which Matisse created his famed painting, Dance. Playing with shapes, both within one’s own body and among the corps, was a constant for King’s choreography.

Men’s Quintet followed, with more classical dancing set to a more contemporary score. Alonzo King’s visionary choreography was evident in this piece, as it is far less common to see a corps of men performing together than a corps of women.

It was refreshing to watch, and no less dynamic, graceful or engaging than pieces created for ballerinas. Attendance by young Bermudian men in dance classes, particularly ballet, is despondently low in comparison to the many young bun heads. Let us hope that pieces like Men’s Quintet serve as inspiration for the interested, and much-needed, boys.

Sunday’s programme finished with Writing Ground, a piece with 14 movements, each set to a score with religious associations.

More sombre than the previous pieces, there was a beautiful sadness to many of the movements. It explored issues that transcend time — love and loss, power and weakness.

An early movement danced by the whole company evoked an image of Bosch’s Garden of Earthly Delights, again through the strong use of intricate body shapes created with one another. Movement VIII was an obvious favourite within this piece — and another performed by all men.

It was strong with many impressive turns and jumps, as if each dancer was proving his merit while the others looked on, to then join together in chorus.

Movement IX performed by Michael Montgomery also stood out as a favourite. Montgomery danced with the strength and power expected from a man, with all the lithe gracefulness of a woman; gender was entirely secondary to the dancing.

From there, Madeline DeVries danced to Over My Head I Hear Music In the Air, which was as though she was speaking in tongues with her sharp and chaotic, yet no less intentional, movements.

The 14th and final movement in Writing Ground was danced by Kara Wilkes and four company men, where the way her tenderness contrasted with the dominance of the four men was disconcerting.

It was unclear at the start of the piece whether Wilkes was being constrained against her will, as a brilliant stage presence made it apparent that her character was unstable.

As the dance continued, it became evident that Wilkes was a human sacrifice as she both clung to the men and tried to run free.

The most exciting part of this choreography was when the four men collectively lifted their sacrifice above their heads, and in one swell motion snaked her agile body upside down and back above again, creating the image of flying.

Alonzo King LINES Ballet is a contemporary ballet company that I certainly hope to have the pleasure of watching again and again. Their performance was an absolute treat.