Richard Alston Dance Company

Richard Alston Dance Company
Name	Richard Alston Dance Company
Founded	1994
Founder	Richard Alston
Genre	Contemporary dance
Venue	The Place
Location	London, England
Artistic director	Richard Alston

Richard Alston Dance Company was a contemporary dance company based in London, England, founded by choreographer Richard Alston. The company became a leading presence on the British and international dance scenes, touring to major theatres, festivals and institutions across Europe, North America and Asia. It maintained strong relationships with venues, broadcasters and arts bodies, sustaining a repertory that drew on modernist and postmodernist lineages while engaging composers, designers and filmmakers.

History

The company emerged from Richard Alston’s earlier work with the London Contemporary Dance Theatre, The Place, Ballet Rambert, Cunningham technique, Merce Cunningham, Robin Howard and the broader British dance renaissance of the late 20th century. It established a permanent home at The Place studio complex alongside companies such as Wayne McGregor Random Dance, Siobhan Davies Dance, Matthew Bourne's New Adventures and institutions like Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance. During the 1990s and 2000s the company received support from Arts Council England, toured to festivals including Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Edinburgh International Festival, Brooklyn Academy of Music, Sadler's Wells, Paris Opera, The Kennedy Center and took part in cultural exchanges with organisations such as British Council and Goethe-Institut. The company’s trajectory intersected with events and venues like Barbican Centre, Royal Opera House, Royal Festival Hall, Southbank Centre, Lincoln Center, Jerwood Foundation and benefactors including Paul Hamlyn Foundation.

Artistic Directors and Key Personnel

Richard Alston, trained at Royal Ballet School and influenced by figures such as Gillian Lynne, Frederick Ashton, Anthony Tudor and Pina Bausch, served as the founding Artistic Director, directing choreography, repertoire choices and company ethos. Key collaborators and staff over the years included répétiteurs and dancers who worked with choreographers like Merce Cunningham, Trisha Brown, Alvin Ailey, Kenneth MacMillan and William Forsythe. Designers and composers associated with the company included Julian Joseph, Michael Nyman, Max Richter, Joby Talbot, Tommy Smith and visual artists linked to Rufus Wainwright-style projects. Administrators liaised with bodies such as Arts Council England, Jerwood Arts, British Council, Creative Scotland and funders including National Lottery trusts.

Repertoire and Style

The repertoire ranged from solos to ensemble works, reflecting influences from Graham technique, Cunningham technique, Balanchine, Nijinsky, Isadora Duncan and contemporary choreographers like Akram Khan, Wayne McGregor, Lester Horton-influenced works and pieces by contemporaries including Christopher Bruce and Michael Clark. The company premiered works that incorporated music by composers such as Max Richter, Gavin Bryars, Thomas Adès, Edgar Varese, John Cage, Arnold Schoenberg and arrangements from Bach, Beethoven and Steve Reich. Movement vocabulary emphasized musicality, line, release technique and a classical-modern hybrid that reviewers from outlets like The Guardian, The Times, The New York Times and The Telegraph often described alongside comparisons to Royal Ballet and Béjart Ballet Lausanne aesthetics.

Collaborations and Commissions

Collaborations included commissions from composers, designers and institutions: composers linked to BBC Radio 3, English National Opera, Royal Opera House projects, film collaborations involving Channel 4, BBC Two and music partnerships with ensembles such as London Symphony Orchestra, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Ensemble Modern, London Sinfonietta and chamber groups associated with Barbican Centre. Choreographic partnerships and co-productions involved companies and artists like Scottish Dance Theatre, Rambert Dance Company, Nederlands Dans Theater, Batsheva Dance Company, Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch and festivals including Jacob's Pillow, Holland Festival and Avignon Festival.

Tours, Performances, and Venues

The company toured nationally and internationally, performing at venues and festivals such as Sadler's Wells Theatre, Southbank Centre, Barbican Centre, The Place, Edinburgh International Festival, Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Aldeburgh Festival, Cheltenham Music Festival, Linbury Theatre, Royal Opera House linings, Lincoln Center Festival, Kennedy Center, Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM), BAM Fisher, Luminato Festival, Helsinki Festival, Paris Opera Ballet venues, Teatro Real, Bolshoi Theatre-linked festivals, Tokyo International Arts Festival and regional tours through Arts Council England networks.

Education and Outreach

Educational programmes engaged with institutions like Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance, Royal Ballet School, Central School of Ballet, Guildhall School of Music and Drama, Royal Academy of Dance and partnerships with community organisations supported by Arts Council England and British Council initiatives. Outreach activities included workshops in schools linked to National Youth Dance Company, masterclasses at Trinity Laban, community projects with local authorities, collaborative residencies at venues such as DanceEast, New Vic Theatre and training programmes inspired by methodologies from Martha Graham School, Laban Centre and Cunningham technique lineages.

Awards and Legacy

The company and Richard Alston received awards and recognitions from organisations including Olivier Awards, South Bank Sky Arts Awards, Critics’ Circle National Dance Awards, Laurence Olivier Trust acknowledgments, Jerwood Prize associations and honors presented at festivals like Edinburgh International Festival and institutions like Sadler's Wells. Its legacy endures in choreographic repertoires kept in archives at The Place, Victoria and Albert Museum collections, British Library performing arts holdings and influence on generations of dancers and choreographers linked to Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance, Rambert School and contemporary companies such as Siobhan Davies Dance and Wayne McGregor Random Dance.

Category:Contemporary dance companies