I
tracked down Martin Lawrance,
associate choreographer for the
Richard Alston Dance Company
(RADC), in Manila. He had been
commissioned by Ballet Manila to
create Rebel, an update of Spartacus,
with that lush Khachaturian score. Despite
his impressive résumé and years spent
onstage, the charming and cheeky
Lawrance has the bouncy enthusiasm
of a bright-eyed teenager. He had just
painted the wall behind him blue so with
his white shirt and bright smile he could
really "pop" on the little screen for our talk.
Like Alston, Lawrance likes to be
thoroughly saturated in the music he's
working with by the time he gets into
the studio. "I try not to touch a piece
of music until I've listened to it for two
to three months on my iPhone." His
tastes run from classical composers like
Liszt (Burning) and Shostakovich
(Captured) to contemporary composers
like John Adams, Scott Walker, and
especially Julia Wolfe.
Martin
Lawrance
"I know the music and I know what's in my heart."
As a dancer, Martin Lawrance
inspired me for the first 12 years of my
company. Now he choreographs, and
his voice is clearly his own and getting
stronger and stronger. We are proud to
present his work for the first time at
Peak Performances—his work is an
important part of the Company profile,
and whilst his language is different
from mine, we definitely sing from the
same hymn-sheet.
"
—Richard Alston
"
Stronghold
Photo: Chris Nash
B Y M A N U E L I G R E J A S
32 www.peakperfs.org
