Richard Alston Dance Company was back in Edinburgh for one night only, performing three dances from a repertoire spanning two decades of exciting choreography.
Spotlights flanking both sides of the Festival Theatre stage revealed a bare dance floor and backdrop waiting to be flooded with coloured projections that would move with the music in a dance all of their own. Brisk Singing, choreographed by Alston himself back in the 1990’s and restaged by former dancer, associate choreographer and rehearsal director Martin Lawrence, provides a gently evocative opening number. The music, taken from Rameau’s opera Les Borėades, lends an introspective lyricism throbbing with a slow-burning rhythm that builds and dissipates into a soft silence. The choreography, performed by eight of the company, merges with the music and kaleidoscopic floor projections in a piece of perfect synergy.
Burning, choreographed by Martin Lawrence and debuted at the Festival Theatre last year, is the centre piece of the evening’s entertainment – literally and figuratively. Depicting the relationship between Franz Liszt, his long-term lover Marie D’Agoult and the legions of female fans who threw themselves at his feet, this is a sensational piece of theatre. Pianist Jason Ridgway plays Liszt’s music live on stage while Liam Riddick and Nancy Nerantzi dance out a tempestuous and anguished affair amidst the women clamouring for his attention and the husbands who intermittently appear to haul them away.
The last dance performed –Nomadic - choreographed by Alston and Ajani Johnson-Goffe and premiered at Sadler’s Wells earlier this year, has a nascent quality that nevertheless ends the evening on a surprisingly hopeful note. Exploring the very different progress made by tribes forced out and onwards by others, and those desert tribes who purposefully propel themselves towards the next source of sustenance, this dance is set to the sounds of a raw yet soulful urban gypsy music. All the elements for something really special are present, yet the choreographic distinctions between the different cultures remain blurred and some musical quirks are not given their dancing voice. Given Alston’s constant striving for perfection, this piece is sure to evolve.