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Richard Alston

Richard Alston choreographed his first work in 1968 as one of the original students at the London School of Contemporary Dance. He went on to choreograph for London Contemporary Dance Theatre before forming this country’s first independent dance company, Strider, in 1972. In 1975 he left for New York to study at the Merce Cunningham Dance Studio and on his return two years later he worked throughout the UK and Europe as an independent choreographer and teacher.

In 1980 he was appointed Resident Choreographer with Ballet Rambert, becoming the company’s Artistic Director from 1986-1992. During his time there he created twenty-five works for Rambert besides being commissioned to create works for the Royal Danish Ballet (1982) and the Royal Ballet (1983); he also made SODA LAKE (1981) and Dutiful Ducks (1982), two solo works for Michael Clark. He returned to Rambert in 2001, creating UNREST to help celebrate Rambert’s 70th Anniversary.

In 1992, Alston was invited to create a full evening of his own work for the Ballet Atlantique based in La Rochelle, France. He made another full evening for London Contemporary Dance Theatre at the 1994 Aldeburgh Festival and it was therefore a logical step to go on to form his own company, which he did when he took up the post of Artistic Director of The Place. The Richard Alston Dance Company was launched at The Place in November 1994. Over the past decade, Alston has made over 20 pieces for his company.

Alston was made an honorary Doctor of Philosophy (in Dance) at Surrey University in 1992 and more recently, in 2003, he received an honorary MA from University College Chichester. In 1995 he was named Chevalier dans l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres in recognition of his work in France and in 2001 he received the CBE in the New Year Honours list.

About The Company

Launched in 1994 to great critical acclaim, Richard Alston Dance Company has grown into one of Britain’s most avidly followed contemporary companies.

Richard Alston Dance Company is Britain’s largest independent company. It offers a unique combination of the innovative and the entertaining in the work of its Artistic Director, Richard Alston, who in 1998 celebrated 30 years of award winning dance making.

In building its repertoire, Richard Alston Dance Company focuses on Alston’s new choreography but combines this with the re-creation of seminal past works from Alston’s career. Music plays a vital part in the Company’s identity and since its inception Alston has used the work of a diverse range of composers including Brahms, Britten, Hoagy Carmichael, Monteverdi, Rameau, Shostakovich and Stravinsky. In 1997, in collaboration with London Sinfonietta, Alston presented a new program of choreography for Secret Theatres: The Harrison Birtwistle Retrospective at the South Bank.

As well as performing regularly and extensively throughout Britain, Richard Alston Dance Company is frequently invited to perform overseas. Recent foreign tours have included Russia, where the Company represented Britain at Moscow’s 1st International Festival of Contemporary Dance, China, Holland, Cyprus Germany, South East Asia, Greece and Turkey.