The London Contemporary Dance Theatre (LCDT) was a

contemporary dance Contemporary dance is a genre of dance performance that developed during the mid-twentieth century and has since grown to become one of the dominant genres for formally trained dancers throughout the world, with particularly strong popularity in ...

company, based at

The Place The Place may refer to: * The Place (London) The Place is a dance and performance centre in Duke's Road near Euston in the London Borough of Camden. It is the home of London Contemporary Dance School and the Robin Howard Dance Theatre, and former ...

, founded by Robin Howard with

Robert Cohan Sir Robert Paul Cohan (26 March 1925 – 13 January 2021) was a British dancer, choreographer, and the founding artistic director of The Place, London Contemporary Dance School, and London Contemporary Dance Theatre (LCDT), which he directed ...

as its Artistic Director. Founded in 1967, and strongly influenced by the ideas of American modern and postmodern dance artists

Martha Graham Martha Graham (May 11, 1894 – April 1, 1991) was an American modern dancer and choreographer. Her style, the Graham technique, reshaped American dance and is still taught worldwide. Graham danced and taught for over seventy years. She wa ...

and

Merce Cunningham Mercier Philip "Merce" Cunningham (April 16, 1919 – July 26, 2009) was an American dancer and choreographer who was at the forefront of American modern dance for more than 50 years. He frequently collaborated with artists of other discipl ...

, the company was probably the first contemporary dance company in the UK, and played a pioneering role in developing the art form in that country.

Choreographer Choreography is the art or practice of designing sequences of movements of physical bodies (or their depictions) in which motion or form or both are specified. ''Choreography'' may also refer to the design itself. A choreographer is one who cr ...

s such as

Siobhan Davies Dame Siobhan Davies DBE (born Susan Davies; 18 September 1950 in London), often known as Sue Davies, is an English dancer and choreographer. She was a dancer with the London Contemporary Dance Theatre during the 1970s, and became one of its lead ...

Christopher Bannerman Christopher Bannerman is a British academic, choreographer, and former dancer. He is professor of dance and head of the School of Dance at Middlesex University. Bannerman started his career with the National Ballet of Canada but left in the 1970s ...

and Micha Bergese, worked alongside composers like

Barrington Pheloung Barrington Somers James Pheloung (10 May 1954 – 1 August 2019) was an Australian composer based in the United Kingdom. He composed several television theme tunes and music, particularly for ''Inspector Morse'' and its follow-up series, ''Lewi ...

to create new works which were performed at the

Sadler's Wells Theatre Sadler's Wells Theatre is a performing arts venue in Clerkenwell, London, England located on Rosebery Avenue next to New River Head. The present-day theatre is the sixth on the site since 1683. It consists of two performance spaces: a 1,500-seat ...

and toured the UK and internationally. Well-known works created by the company include: * ''Cell'' (1969) * ''Troy Game'' (1974) * ''Forest'' (1976) * ''Nympheas'' (1976) * ''Stabat Mater'' (1976) * ''Sphinx'' (1977) * ''Rainbow Bandit'' (1979) * ''Run Like Thunder'' (1983) LCDT won the 1975

Evening Standard Award The ''Evening Standard'' Theatre Awards, established in 1955, are the oldest theatrical awards ceremony in the United Kingdom. They are presented annually for outstanding achievements in London Theatre, and are organised by the ''Evening Standa ...

for Outstanding Achievement In Ballet and

Olivier Award The Laurence Olivier Awards, or simply the Olivier Awards, are presented annually by the Society of London Theatre to recognise excellence in professional theatre in London at an annual ceremony in the capital. The awards were originally known as ...

s on three occasions: in 1978, 1989–1990 and 1994. The company closed in 1994 when The Place refocused its work, creating the

Richard Alston Dance Company The Richard Alston Dance Company was a medium size, British contemporary dance company that was formed in 1994 after the demise of the London Contemporary Dance Theatre, based at The Place in London London is the capital and largest city o ...

, and developing a bigger presenting programme for the Robin Howard Dance Theatre.

London Contemporary Dance School London Contemporary Dance School (informally LCDS) is a contemporary dance school located in London, England and a part of the Conservatoire for Dance and Drama. It was founded by Robin Howard in 1966 to train new dancers for his company, Londo ...

was originally conceived to train dancers for the company, and awarded its first degree in practical dance in 1982. The School is still in operation as part of The Place.

References

External links

* * Contemporary dance in London Dance companies in the United Kingdom Arts organizations established in 1967 Organizations disestablished in 1994 1994 disestablishments in England 1967 establishments in England {{UK-theat-stub