Richard Alston Dance Company

Richard Alston has been making dance for 50 years. He will celebrate his half century with a programme full of his trademark lyrical choreography performed by undoubtedly one of the world’s finest dance ensembles.

The evening centres around Mid Century Modern, a journey through each decade of Alston’s career, featuring sections from Nowhere Slowly (1970), Rainbow Bandit (1977), Dutiful Ducks (1982), Brisk Singing (1997), Shimmer (2004) and the new solo Syrinx (2018).

Alston has also revived Proverb, made for the Barbican’s celebration of composer Steve Reich’s 70th birthday in 2006. Reich’s music is based on a medieval motet and the repetition of a phrase by Wittgenstein; ‘How small a thought it takes to fill a whole life’.

‘One of the strongest sections in Mid Century Modern comes from Proverb, created to mark composer Steve Reich’s birthday in 2006… with clean lines and a gorgeous quality of movement.’
The Independent, March 2018

The evening will also feature brand new pieces by both Richard Alston and associate choreographer Martin Lawrance.

‘Alston at the top of his game’
Debra Craine, The Times, April 2018