Richard Alston Dance Company

Richard Alston Dance Company

Tonight we went to a contemporary dance performance at Wimbledon Theatre. Despite the theatre being very close to our home, we hardly ever go there. Partly it’s because the shows don’t often interest us, but also it’s just sometimes too easy to overlook what’s on your doorstep. I have only been there twice before, once to see a Doctor Who play starring Jon Pertwee, and another time to see the Rocky Horror Show.

I found out about the show from my friend Penny, who had seen the same tour in Poole. The Richard Alston Dance Company have a repertoire of pieces set to classical and contemporary music, by composers such as Prokofiev, Steve Reich, and Philip Glass. I always thoroughly enjoy contemporary dance shows and hopefully I will be going to more than usual this year, having bought a membership for Sadlers Wells. The tour (which is going on until June) features different pieces on different nights. On our night we were lucky enough to see “Roughcut”, which is performed to Steve Reich’s “Electric Counterpoint”, my favourite composition of his. This was the highlight of the show, with the dance beautifully responding to the unfolding layers of the music, with changes in key and phase following alterations in dance pace and movement style.

It was really good to go and see something locally, and as it was a Friday, both of us having an early finish from work, we had time for food beforehand at our new favourite local restaurant Casa Nostra.

I will definitely be keeping a closer eye on what is coming up at Wimbledon Theatre, if nothing else the ticket prices are certainly more attractive than the West End.