Richard Alston's iconic Roughcut is probably his best-loved signature piece. It is danced to Steve Reich's shimmeringly beautiful New York Counterpoint and Electric Counterpoint, played live by clarinettist Roger Heaton and guitarist James Woodrow. A euphoric display of energy, this is a rare chance to see one of the defining classics of British dance, first performed in 1990 and rarely revived.
In Lie of the Land the sharp sweetness of Ned Rorem's String Quartet No.4 has taken Martin Lawrance into new territory. Lyrical yet urgent dancing charts the lie of the land in ever restless and searching mood changes. The Times declared it to be “Lawrance's most impressive dance yet. Strong, clear and charged with expressive tension” when it premiered in 2010.
The evening's triple bill is completed by Alston's latest work, A Ceremony of Carols, choreographed to Benjamin Britten's masterpiece for boys' voices and harp, sung and played live by the Canterbury Cathedral Choir conducted by David Flood and harpist Camilla Pay. The music is of magisterial simplicity, conjuring up a rich world of rapt, devout adoration; the dance is a celebration of a sheer surge of breath, a pure stream of sound.
