Leading figures from the worlds of contemporary dance and music come together next month as Nottingham Playhouse adds an extra date to this spring’s successful STRICTLY DANCE season. Presented by the Contemporary Music Network, BRIEF CANDLES features Richard Alston Dance Company, a regular attraction at the Playhouse, performing to live music by the best of the new generation of contemporary composers. Richard Alston himself choreographs three works by the acclaimed composer Simon Holt, performed by pianist Rolf Hind – also the evening’s curator, as Artistic Director of spnm – promoting new music. In addition, fast-emerging choreographers Martin Lawrance and Darren Ellis have been working alongside rising star composers Mark Bowden and Evangelia Rigaki, specially commissioned to devise music and dance together in a rare collaborative process. BRIEF CANDLES is performed at Nottingham Playhouse on Monday 11 June at 8.00pm (Box Office: 0115 941 9419 or www.nottinghamplayhouse.co.uk).
At the heart of the programme is Nigredo, a substantial work composed by Simon Holt for Rolf Hind, performed by him at the piano and interpreted through dance for the first time with choreography by Richard Alston. Holt has also developed his music for clarinet into the works performed by soloist Stuart King that bookend Nigredo, Brief Candles 1 and 2. For the new works that open and close the programme, composers Mark Bowden and Evangelia Rigaki were selected following a national ‘call’ launched by spnm last November. Choreographers Martin Lawrance and Darren Ellis were able to choose the composers they felt they would collaborate with best, in a hugely valuable opportunity for young composers and choreographers to work together.
Developing music and dance in this way is unusual and presents an exciting new departure for Richard Alston Dance Company, resulting from Alston’s own passion for nurturing new talent. Alston is one of the most inspiring and influential figures in British dance, renowned for his lyricism and musicality, and his company is acclaimed in the UK and abroad.
Simon Holt is one of the UK’s foremost contemporary composers, with a vast body of work in the international repertoire, ranging from solo and chamber works to orchestral pieces and theatre. His commissions include major works for the BBC Proms, Opera North, BBC Symphony Orchestra, London Sinfonietta and Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival.
As a leading performer and composer, Rolf Hind has a fascinating insight into the creation and interpretation of music, having worked closely with living composers from John Adams and Tan Dun, to Ligeti and Messiaen, as well as composing in his own right. Also performing alongside Richard Alston Dance Company are the violinist David Alberman, regular leader for BBC Symphony Orchestra and LSO, and clarinettist Stuart King, Artistic Director of the renowned ensemble CHROMA.
- ends -
