 Though the buzz has
been sizzling across England, for American audiences Richard Alston
Dance Company remains one of the island’s most secret treasures.
Come May 11–16, however, when the London-based troupe makes
its American debut at The Joyce Theater: Hold your ears, New York!
“Shimmer,” “Brisk Singing” and “Overdrive”–this
triple hitter, radiant with Alston’s prodigious musical imagination,
recently brought Sadler’s Wells’ audiences to their
feet and British critics rushing to their dictionaries for the most
ecstatic adjectives.
“Shimmer,” Alston’s latest dance, is set to a
series of Ravel piano pieces that alternately harken the dazzle
of sunlight and the elegiac melancholy that Alston subtly invests
in his emotionally-charged choreography. Givenchy’s chief
designer Julien Macdonald’s intricately bejeweled costumes
throw off a glittery light imbuing the dancing with an airy poetry.
The music will be played live by Jason Ridgway. The work is dedicated
to the memory of Alston’s friend Bryan Robertson, the English
broadcaster and arts writer.
Charged by the ever-increasing build of Terry Riley’s minimalist
score (“Keyboard Study #1”), “Overdrive”
speeds along with a gathering dynamic force, creating layer upon
rhythmic layer of dancing. Costumes are by Jeanne Spaziani and the
lighting by Charles Balfour. The work premiered in 2003.
Brimming with sensual joy, “Brisk Singing” is choreographed
to selections from Jean-Philippe Rameau’s 1764 opera “Les
Boreades.” Rameau was at his time considered “le dieu
de la danse,” having a similar inspiration in his day as Stravinsky
continues to have on contemporary choreographers. In this baroque
score, Alston finds an edgy lyricism with which he endows his own
glowing choreography. The dance received its first performance in
1997. The costumes are by Jeanne Spaziani and the lighting by Charles
Balfour.
Richard Alston choreographed his first work in 1968 while a student
at the London School of Contemporary Dance. He went on to choreograph
for London Contemporary Dance Theatre before leaving to form England’s
first independent dance company, Strider, in 1972. He spent 1975–77
in New York City, studying at the Merce Cunningham Dance Studio,
before returning to England as an independent choreographer and
teacher.
In 1980, Alston was appointed Resident Choreographer at Ballet Rambert,
becoming the company’s Artistic Director from 1986–1992.
While with Rambert, he created 25 works for the company in addition
to choreographing commissioned works for the Royal Danish Ballet
(1982) and the Royal Ballet (1983), as well as creating “Soda
Lake” (1981) and “Dutiful Ducks” (1982), two solo
works for Michael Clark. Alston returned to Rambert in 2001 to choreograph
“Unrest” as part of Rambert’s 70th anniversary.
Alston created a full evening of his own work in 1992 for the Ballet
Atlantique in La Rochelle, France and another full evening for London
Contemporary Dance Theatre at the 1994 Aldeburgh Festival. After
becoming Artistic Director at The Place in London, Alston founded
his own company, launching Richard Alston Dance Company in November
1994. Since then, Alston has created over 23 works for his company,
which now numbers 11 dancers.
The recipient of a number of awards, including an honorary doctorate
from Surrey University in 1992 and an honorary MA from University
College Chichester in 2003, Alston was named Chevalier dans l’Ordre
des Arts et des Lettres in recognition of his work in France and
in 2001 was made a Commander of the British Empire in the New Year
honors list.
Earlier this year, Richard Alston Dance Company’s tour included
a season at London’s Sadler’s Wells (February 25–28);
Glasgow, Scotland (March 6); Manchester, England (March 9); Norwich,
England (March 26–27); and Liverpool, England (April 15–16).
Following its Joyce Theater engagement, the Company will perform
in Milton Keynes, England (October 19–20); High Wycombe, England
(October 22–23); Malvern, England (November 4–5); Brecon,
Wales (November 12); Edinburgh, Scotland (November 16); and Blackpool,
England (November 26–27). The Company will return to Sadler’s
Wells in February 2005.
The evening curtain for Richard Alston Dance Company at The Joyce
Theater is at 8pm, Tuesday through Saturday. There will also be
a 2pm matinee Sunday afternoon. Please note: there will be no performance
on Sunday evening. Tickets are $38 and are available at the box
office, by calling JoyceCharge at 212-242-0800 or online at www.joyce.org.
The Joyce Theater is located at 175 Eighth Avenue at 19th Street.
###
Richard Alston Dance Company's Joyce Theater season is sponsored
by Bloomberg.
Richard Alston Dance Company gratefully acknowledges assistance
from Arts Council England, the British Council, London Contemporary
Dance School and the Anglo-American Dance Foundation.
041604
250 West 57th Street Suite
2318 New York NY 10107 USA
T: 212.245.5100 F:212.397.1102 eja@ejassociates.org
www.ejassociates.org
ELLEN JACOBS ASSOCIATES
|