Richard Alston (1948-). British dancer, choreographer and director

Richard Alston was born in Sussex in 1948. He was educated at Eton College, followed by two years at Croydon College for Art. His passion for dance was sparked after attending performances by the Bolshoi Ballet and The Royal Ballet, and also the Merce Cunningham Dance Company, which excited an interest in modern dance. As a result, Alston started taking classes with the Rambert School of Ballet, and in 1968 became one of the London School of Contemporary Dance’s original students. After only three months there Alston created his first work, called Transit. In his third year at the School he organised a group of students to tour schools, colleges and universities demonstrating Martha Graham’s modern dance technique. After choreographing for London Contemporary Dance Theatre, he created an independent dance company, Strider, in 1972.

In 1975, Alston went to New York to study primarily with Merce Cunningham at the Merce Cunningham Dance Studio. He returned to Europe two years later, working as an independent choreographer and teacher, and in 1980 was appointed resident choreographer for Ballet Rambert. He founded Second Stride with Siobhan Davies and Ian Spink in 1982, and in 1986 was appointed artistic director of Ballet Rambert, a post he held until 1992. In 1987, in order to reflect the changing nature of the company and its work, Ballet Rambert changed its name to Rambert Dance Company. Alston created 25 works on the company during his 12 years Rambert, as well choreographing pieces for the Royal Danish Ballet and The Royal Ballet.

After working in France and at the Aldeburgh Festival, in 1994 Alston became artistic director of The Place and formed Richard Alston Dance Company. Alston created a steady stream of over 50 dance works over the next decades, interspersed with collaborations with the London Sinfonietta and Harrison Birtwistle, and several television productions, including The Rite of Spring in 2002. The Richard Alston Dance Company celebrated its tenth anniversary with its first appearance in New York in 2004, followed by tour to the United States of America in 2006, 2009 and 2010. In 2020, the Richard Alston Dance Company closed. Richard Alston received the Dance Critics’ Circle De Valois Award for Outstanding Achievement in Dance in 2009. He was appointed CBE for services to dance in 2001 and was knighted in 2019.