Richard Alston, Rambert Dance and Others

At the moment, I feel privileged  to live where I am – the centre of Brighton. Only ten minutes walk away from my home are the Brighton Dome and the Theatre Royal, both recently playing host to wonderful dance productions.

I love the Brighton Dome. It’s got a wonderful ambiance inside, a beautiful design and it’s run with great efficiency. It also has a good selection of dance events and musical performances  on a regular basis. Last week, it was the turn of the Richard Alston Dance Company, with a production of “To Dance and Skylark”, plus two other pieces.

I especially enjoyed “To Dance and Skylark” as the music was Bach’s “Brandenburg Concerto No. 2 in F Major” – quite different to the usual, often challenging, music that modern dance employs. Compare this to the second piece, “Light Flooding Into Darkened Rooms”, which begins with works by Denis Gaultier (pleasant lute music from early 1600s France, although played in this instance on guitar) but then moves on to a current composer,  Jo Kondo (exceedingly discordant and jerky pieces played on a mandolin).

Now, I’m no expert in dance at all, but when you see the Richard Alston group perform it quickly becomes clear they are special. The fluidity of movement, the timing, the athleticism of the dancers. Conversely, I also find it interesting how quickly a novice such as I can pick up on common ‘modern’  (i.e. not classical ballet) dance movements that companies like the Richard Alston and the Rambert share.   (I only mention this to prove my complete ignorance or naivety.)

And there is more to come. We’ve booked up to see the Michael Clark Company in June with, no doubt, more to follow. The only significant drawback is the cost. This is only dance I’m talking about, after all. What of theatre and music? Yes, let’s not think about the cost.

Like I say, at the moment I’m feeling somewhat privileged. It’s not London, but I’m getting enough culture to please me. And Brighton has the sea.