Virginia Arts Festival Presents Richard Alston Dance Company on May 21

Richard Alston Dance Company on May 21 & 23 will present The Devil in the Detail, with Choreography: Richard Alston, Music: Scott Joplin Maple Leaf Rag, Stoptime Rag, Cascades, The Ragtime Dance, The Entertainer, A Strenuous Life, Original Rag; Shimmer with Choreography: Richard Alston and Music: Maurice Ravel Sonatine , Oiseax Tristes, une Barque sur l’Ocean, La Vallee des Cloches from Miroirs and Les Illuminations with Choreography: Richard Alston and Music: Benjamin Britten.

Alston’s acclaimed company will perform works that contrast two very different composers. Alston’s Shimmer is danced to the sun-drenched music of Ravel, and the jewel-encrusted cobweb costumes illuminate dazzling streaks of limpid choreography in a ravishingly beautiful piece of theatre. In The Devil in the Detail, the irresistible ragtime music of Scott Joplin springs to life as barefoot dancers reveal every note in superbly finessed syncopation.