Richard Alston Dance Company Returns to Sadler's Wells

Following a successful World premiere in the US and a Spring tour, one of the UK's leading contemporary dance companies returns to Sadler's Wells to present two London premieres; Chacony and Tangent. Richard Alston's newest creation Chacony is inspired by Henry Purcell's powerful Chacony, composed around 1680, and the Chacony from Britten's String Quartet No. 2, conceived as an overt tribute to Purcell. Britten composed his Chacony in 1948 following a visit to the former concentration camps of Europe with virtuoso violinist Yehudi Menuhin and the mood of those times is infused in the music. In his Chacony, Richard Alston juxtaposes these two pieces to make a dance that gets under the skin of the richness and nobility of Purcell, reaching into darker places before reaffirming hope for humanity.

Alongside Chacony, the company's talented dancers will present Tangent, by Associate Choreographer Martin Lawrance which received its World Premiere in Edinburgh in late 2016. Tangent explores the vivid accents and attack of Tango as four couples, intertwined but shifting and subtly syncopating, glide through the Four Seasons of Buenos Aires by Tango master Piazzolla, played live by Jason Ridgway on piano.

Completing the programme is the return of Alston's hugely popular Gypsy Mixture which will be revived for the first time in a decade, set to tracks from Electric Gypsyland, bringing with it a 21st century take on traditional Balkan folk music from artists including Shantel and Taraf de Haïdouks.

Speaking about the programme, Artistic Director Richard Alston said "I'm excited indeed impatient to see on the superb Sadler's Wells stage two dances brand new to London, but excited also to bring a revisited Gypsy Mixture, still zinging with fresh and joyful vitality."

Richard Alston, Artistic Director of The Place, is internationally recognised as one of the most inspiring and influential choreographers in dance. Perhaps more than any other choreographer, Richard is known for his instinctive musicality. Alston is renowned for having a very close relationship with his music, taking inspiration for his work directly from the music he uses, to use the music as a point of departure for the choreography.

Launched in November 1994 to great acclaim, Richard Alston Dance Company is one of the UK's leading choreographer-led companies, for which its founder Artistic Director Richard Alston has created over 45 dance works. Richard Alston is also Artistic Director of The Place, London's leading centre for contemporary dance, where the company is based. Richard Alston Dance Company focuses on Lawrance's and 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 made work to the music of a diverse range of composers.

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