The whole dance community lost a light this week, after the sad news of Sir Richard Alston’s passing. Originally, he trained in fine art and theatre design, but got bitten by the dance bug in the mid-sixties, before training under the inimitable Merce Cunningham in the mid-seventies.
That spirit of invention and playfulness never left his work. He was serious about his craft, but there was always a playfulness too. I was fortunate to see him and his work many times: the courtly and the silly often co-existed. He worked with many other choreographers who shared a mischievous side, such as Michael Clark, Siobhan Davies and Martin Lawrence. What a loss. He was one of the very best.
1948-2026.
Hit The North 