Sir Richard Alston RIP

At the RAD, we are saddened to learn of the passing of iconic contemporary dance choreographer and teacher, Sir Richard Alston.

Sir Richard originally studied fine art and theatre design at Croydon School of Art, but changed his career direction after seeing Frederick Ashton’s La Fille mal gardée in the 60s, and decided that he wanted to pursue a career in dance.

He went on to join the London School of Contemporary Dance (later the London Contemporary Dance School at The Place). In the 80s, he became resident choreographer at Ballet Rambert (now Rambert), going on to run the company as artistic director. He created 25 works for Rambert, as well as works for the Royal Danish Ballet, The Royal Ballet. In 1981, Sir Richard’s dance company, ‘Strider’, merged with Siobhan Davies’ ‘Siobhan Davies and Dancers’, to form ‘Second Stride’.

His version of Dangerous Liaisons, first created in 1985 was toured by Scottish Ballet in 2003. In 1994, he became artistic director at The Place and formed The Richard Alston Dance Company, where he created over 50 new pieces. And, in 2011 he created A Rugged Flourish, for New York Theatre Ballet. he also created works for the Shobana Jeyasingh Dance Company, Ballet Black, and Phoenix Dance Theatre.

Sir Richard was committed to young people’s dance, through his outreach work, as a former chair of Youth Dance England. He was also an ambassador for the U.Dance programme, and other educational projects.

Sir Richard died on 7 September 2026, at the age of 77.