Richard Alston

• Richard Alston

  Choreographer, 1986-1992
• Repertoire

  • Soda Lake
  • Pulcinella
  • Wildlife
• Soda Lake

  • Choreographed by Richard Alston in 1981
  • Movement - an abstract solo based on a minimalist sculpture of the same name by Nigel Hall
  • Aural - silence, you can hear the dancers' breath and feet
  • Visual - sculpture comprised of two separate pieces hung from above
• Pulcinella

  • Choreographed by Alston 1987
  • Movement - folk and ballet, gestural to portray narrative, gender battles
  • Aural - melody and accompaniment, operatic vocals and orchestral
  • Visual - Picasso's designs for Brighton's festival, female dancers wear same dresses but different colours, male wear short trousers, tights and loose tops
• Wildlife

  • Choreographed by Alston in 1984
  • Movement - ballet and Cunningham, inspired by the sculpture 'The Kite', sharp and angular movements
  • Aural - woodwind percussion, bird and tribal sounds, surround sound
  • Visual - Richard Smith's three-way collaboration, kites hang in the space and rotate, costumes of long unitards with different stripes
• Name change 1987 Ballet Rambert – The Rambert Dance Company
• Collaboration 5 (1987)
• Alston's interest in architecture and design as a result of his training, placed importance on design elements in work
• Alston created 25 works for the company, was resident choreographer 1980
• Dancers became trained in Cunningham
• Alston developed a fusion of ballet and contemporary technique
• Alston developed and revised old works
• Characteristics of Alston's work

  • Strong element of design
  • Belief that dance should be created
• Four sections – 1. Floor 2. Traces 3. Movement of sculpture 4. slow motion variations
• o   sculpture is comprised of two separate pieces that are hung from above. One piece is a plain large black free hanging rod which hands perpendicular from the ceiling. Its tip does not quite reach the floor so it appears to hover just above the ground. Hanging to its left is a piece that compromises an oval hoop aligned parallel with the ceiling, from which a plain narrow rod descends a steep diagonal, its tip touching the floor.