Richard Alston Dance Company
The Richard Alston Dance Company was started by choreographer Richard Alston, born in 1948. The British choreographer trained at the famous London School of Contemporary Dance. The founder of Strider, the first independent dance company in the United Kingdom, Alston launched the Richard Alston Dance Company in 1994.
The dance company produces a variety of shows, including:
- An Italian in Madrid
- Brisk Singing
- Burning
- Carnaval
- Chacony
- Gypsy Mixture
- Holderlin Fragments
- Mazur
- Nomadic
- Overdrive
- Stonghold
- Tangent
The Dance company is also involved in numerous other performances. The Richard Alston Dance Company is offering several shows through March.
Tangent
Tangent brings the magic of the Argentinian Tango to the stage with the closeness and passion that is only seen overseas. The language and vocabulary are explored with a beautiful piano arrangement that offers true Argentinian flare. The couples on the dance floor have their own story that is reflected in the performance.
Love, happiness, anger and a myriad of other emotions can be seen with each step the dancers take.
A beautiful performance first seen in Edinburgh in 2016, audience members will be graced with music from Las Cuatro Estaciones Portenas, Marcelli Nisinman and Astor Piazzolla. Jason Ridgway is on piano while Jeffrey Rogador is in charge of costumes. Karl Oskar Sordal is in charge of the night’s lighting.
Chacony
Chacony is a two-part performance with music that includes Part I Henry Purcell Chacony and Pary II of Benjamin Britten Chacony. The parts are taken from the classic 1948 and 1945 versions respectively.
The formal order of the original Chacony is displayed through dance.
Purcell Chacony was first performed by the dance company in October 2016 with Britten Chacony first performed in February 2017. The performance is dedicated to Kenneth Tharp (Purcell Chacony) and Alan Britten (Britten Chacony).
Gypsy Mixture
Gypsy Mixture is about traveling people that tend to have their own dance and music style that is revised and updated as they travel the world. Gypsy Mixture is a beautiful rendition of dance that demonstrates dance styles that are influenced from around the world.
Performed for the first time in 2004, Gypsy Mixture incorporates everything from brass bands to samba and clarinet to the electric organ. Influences and dance impulses make this an evening that is unforgettable with new layers every time you listen to the performance.
Music is performed by Electric Gypsyland, lighting is from Charles Balfour, costumes are from Peter Todd and choreography is from Richard Alston.