So, why do people go to a dance performance? Maybe you?re a dance aficionado. You make the decision based on a wide exposure to, and intimate knowledge of, the many varieties of companies and styles that make up this particular art form.

Maybe you?re a dance lover. You go because you enjoy rhythm and movement and the sight of well-toned bodies creating interesting patterns on stage.

Maybe you have a subscription to the Bermuda Festival and feel that a dance performance nicely rounds out the selection you?ve made for this year?s season.

I?d wager that the audience drawn to Alonzo King?s ?Lines? ballet at the Ruth Seaton James Centre last night fell rather evenly into each of these three categories.

There were those who understood and appreciated the influences on Mr. King?s choreography, the devilishly difficult combinations he set for his dancers and the almost absolute mastery his company has of their craft. This segment of the audience was clearly wowed by what they saw, as they should have been.

The first half of the programme, a 14-segment piece called ?Before the Blues?, was tailor-made for someone who has spent a lot of time studying dance or watching dancers dance. They know excellent technique when they see it, appreciate the echoes of Graham, Ailey, Mitchell, Taylor and Cunningham but also know that what they?re watching is uniquely King.

Alonzo King has said: ?In ballet, the ideal is a perfect world of balance, harmony and poise. I use this as a background for my piece and then I set up obstacles for the dancers to go through. Even if the world turns upside down, the dancers remain poised because they are in a place of calmness and know they will come through the turmoil.?

Throughout ?Before the Blues?, Mr. King liberally sprinkles choreographic obstacles for his dancers to overcome. Frenetic footwork, contracting torsos and arms scything through space never undo the control that this nine-member company has over every step.

And to make things even more interesting, their accompaniment ranges from a throaty saxophone to gusts of wind to the velvet tones of actor Danny Glover, who manages to give the word ?yes? a dozen different meanings ? all of them enthralling.

This is thoughtful, challenging, slightly uncomfortable stuff. It confronts traditional expectations of dance performance head-on and creates an obstacle of sorts for some members of the audience.

But not to worry. Those who had come looking for something a bit more traditional got what they came for with ?Who Dressed You Like A Foreigner??, the work that made up the second half of the programme. A percussive beat, full company ensemble work, joyous partnering and precise, meticulous footwork were rewarded with shouts, whistles and enthusiastic applause ? and at the curtain call, an audience of varying appetites for dance had become one in its appreciation of a master choreographer and his brilliant dancers.

So, why do you go to a dance performance?

Dance aficionado, dance lover, or season subscriber, you?ll get what you wanted ? and more ? with Alonzo King?s ?Lines? Ballet.