Richard Alston Dance Company 20th Anniversary, Sadler's Wells

In this significant anniversary programme, Richard Alston shares the limelight for first time in his career, collaborating with the young hip hop artist Ajani Johnson-Goffe in a new work called Nomadic. The Sadler’s Wells-commissioned piece will be part of a quadruple bill which includes associate choreographer Martin Lawrance’s two choreographies, Madcap and Burning, alongside another Alston work, Rejoice in the Lamb.

While each piece stages individually expressive narratives, together they also create an interesting rhythm of solos, duets and group segments. In this selection of works passionate and dynamic physical movements mix with lyrical, pleasurable fluency. Clear shapes and lines, sparkling footwork, sudden changes, elegance are driven and inspired by music that doesn’t only please the ear but tells fascinating stories embedded in them.

2014's Richard Alston Rejoice in the Lamb, danced to Benjamin Britten’s superb setting of Christopher Smart's fervent poetry, has its London premiere in this programme. The words, sung live onstage by the American choir, Montclair State University Vocal Accord, are full of witty detail, and that’s reflected in Alston’s choreography for his company’s ten dancers.

Burning (2014), set to Lizst’s Dante Sonata (played live) is also a London premiere, this time for choreographer Martin Lawrance. It explores ‘Lisztomania’ and the composer’s relationship with the young married Countess, Marie D’Agoult. The passion floods out of every note and every step in this frenetic and emotional piece.

Nomadic (2015) is perhaps the most challenging piece, as it brings together Alston’s classical contemporary language and Ajani Johnson-Goffe’s cutting edge exploration of the interaction between gypsy music and urban sound. Johnson-Goffe returns here to the musical genre of his hugely popular Gypsy Mixture – with darker and sharper music from Ursari Gypsy band Shukar Collective.

Finally, in Madcap (2012) the iconic band Icebreaker play Julia Wolfe’s percussive score as the sound-base for Lawrance’s dynamic and exhilarating new piece. The band’s previous collaborations include the Royal Ballet and Wayne McGregor’s Random Dance.

Richard Alston is a founding father of UK contemporary dance. He was one of the original students at London Contemporary Dance School, founder of Strider, the UK’s first independent dance company, co-founder of Second Stride and artistic director of Rambert. In 1994 he was appointed artistic director of The Place where he finally formed his own company.

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