An e-mail from Colin Mail:

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Rambert at the Lowry, 28.9.02

What a fabulous programme. First has to be best and Kylian 's work was
superbly danced. We've watched for over 20 years now and have never failed to
be amazed, astonished and challenged by music, dance and artistry. An
excellent night.

colin Mail

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<small>[ 10-11-2002, 17:43: Message edited by: Stuart Sweeney ]</small>

Review in the Sunday Herald. (please scroll down article)

MORE

An e-message from Toni Hutchinson to Rambert:

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I've been a fan of the Rambert since I first saw them in Nottingham over 30 years ago. This was when Christopher Bruce was a dancer and was premiering a new routine (sorry the name escapes me).

Over the years I've seen you in many towns and theatres and have travelled up to 2 hours to do just that.

The purpose of this email was to inquire why you no longer include Bristol (where I live ) or Bath in you itinery. It seems years since you have been to either towns, the last 2 times I've watched you has been in Oxford.

Can you see a change to this sometime in the future. It would be wonderfull to see you a little closer to home. This year your nearest venue is Plymouth, and unfortunately I don't think I can make it.

I'm sure many fans ask similar type questions, and I appreciate you can't be everywhere. But please spare a thought to your followers here in Bristol, I know I'm one of many.

Sorry to hear Christopher is moving to other climes, I wish him much success.

A faithful and hopeful fan - Toni Huthinson

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<small>[ 10-14-2002, 06:10: Message edited by: Stuart Sweeney ]</small>

An e-mail from Saiko

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I live in Brighton.

I saw the Ghost Dances last June at Theatre Royal in Brighton.

It was a brilliant and fascinating dance show and I was really impressed.

I'd like to see the photographs of them again on the web page because I lost
the program unfortunately.

I would be grateful if you could let me know how I can see them and when I
can see the next show of your company in Brighton?

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Hi Toni
You'll be glad to hear that we actually have a return trip to Bristol pencilled in for the first week in October next year. We may also be visiting Oxford the week before this.
In both cases we are awaiting confirmation from the theatres.
We are particularly keen to return to Bristol as it has been some time since we visited.
I hope this is of help...

Hi Saiko
Im glad that you enjoyed Ghost Dances in Brighton. You can see some images from Ghost Dances in the Repertoire section of the archive on our website: http://www.rambert.org.uk.
We are next planning to visit Brighton, the week beginning 22 March 2004, although this is yet to be confirmed. You can catch us in London before then in November and May next year. In May, we will be bringing Ghost Dances to London for the last time.
Please visit our website for more information.

<img src="http://www.criticaldance.com/rambert/images/rambert-PAUL-AND-AMY-FINAL.jpg" alt="" />
<small>Amy Hollingsworth and Paul Liburd in Wayne McGregor's "PreSentient"</small>

Pulling power
uncredited in The Scotsman

Hard on its down-at-heels ["Grinning in Your Face" by Christopher Bruce] came the world première of Wayne McGregor’s PreSentient, a fast and furious in-your-face spectacle featuring 11 dancers against a huge screen backdrop which flicked from serene lilac to bright, energetic shafts of light. Accompanied by three string quartets from Rambert’s associate orchestra, London Musici, playing away vigorously at Steve Reich’s Triple Quartet in the orchestra pit, the whole impression was one of beautiful urgency, of discordant harmony. Occasionally the timing slipped, perhaps an indication of lack of rehearsal, but with time, this promises to be an outstanding, energising work, which was over all too soon.

Scroll down for the Rambert review:

click for more

<small>[ 10-16-2002, 05:26: Message edited by: Stuart Sweeney ]</small>

Brian e-mailed his comments on the Edinburgh performance:

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Firstly, there are 2 entirely "abstract" pieces in your programme, which is one too many.

Secondly, the start was delayed last night to allow some people to come in late. It looked as if these people had in fact been enjoying some kind of pre-show talk elsewhere in the theatre. Very poor management and public relations.

Thirdly, the "programme" sold in the foyer did not in fact tell us what we were going to see. I found out later that we should have received an insert, but this was too late for us (and others) to have any idea what was happening in the opening piece. The people next to us had the wrong insert and thought they were watching a completely different piece from the one they were in fact watching.

Fourthly, when we did receive some indication of what the pieces were about, the information was minimal, trivial and in come cases incorrect - were there Bob Dylan numbers in the Martin Simpson programme?

Fifthly, Merce Cunningham's stuff is not at all appropriate for large public audiences. Even those in the audience who knew which piece they were watching (and they were in a minority around us) had no idea what was happening on stage.

Your dancers are marvellous. They deserve better support from the rest of your company.

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<small>[ 10-16-2002, 07:33: Message edited by: Stuart Sweeney ]</small>

Dear Brian

Thank you for your response to Rambert’s recent performances in Edinburgh. Firstly may I point out that any response to works presented by Rambert is always going to be a subjective one? With that said, it is Rambert’s intention to present as wide a range of work as possible and I consider the programme in Edinburgh to have been expansive in its variety.

The proportion of abstract work the Company presents does reflect the fact that Rambert is a contemporary dance company. Information about the content of a performance is available months in advance of a visit to any particular theatre and we try to give potential audience members a good insight into the nature of the works through the publicity material. While I appreciate that Merce Cunningham’s work may not be to everyone’s taste that does not detract from the fact that he is probably one of the world’s most important choreographers and is acknowledged as one of the pioneers of contemporary dance. Rambert was therefore very privileged to be given permission by Cunningham to perform some of his works. For many people this will have been their only opportunity to see a Cunningham work performed outside of London. Christopher Bruce strives not to patronise regional audiences by not including challenging work that we could only show in London.

New work is considered to be the life-blood of Rambert and I know that Christopher Bruce was particularly pleased that Wayne McGregor’s new piece PreSentient received its premiere in Edinburgh, as Edinburgh audiences are normally so receptive to new work. As Director of Marketing, I was also extremely pleased by the very enthusiastic response it received from the audiences at each of its four performances. The Scottish critics have also praised the work. Certainly from the dancers’ perspective they thrive on the challenge that Cunningham’s choreography sets them and they like nothing better than having new work created on them.

I believe that Rambert’s printed programmes provide a significant amount of helpful information about the choreographers, their work and its musical content. Cast sheets are provided each evening which list the order of works being performed and the dancers, I can only apologise if you received a programme that had not been pre-slipped with one of these. As cast sheets are produced for each performance, and checked by a member of the artistic team, I have no explanation as to why the people next to you had one with the incorrect information on it.

As explained in the programme, Christopher Bruce’s work Grinning In Your Face did indeed include a Bob Dylan song – Masters of War, which provides the very moving finale to the piece. All the Martin Simpson songs used in the ballet are either original creations or arrangements of other artists’ work.

With regards to the performance starting late, I can assure you that this was not due to the over-running of the pre-performance talk, which took place in the auditorium and ended promptly at 7pm. Having spoken with the Festival Theatre management, I understand that they took the decision to hold the show for eight minutes to allow a school party to be seated. It is Rambert’s policy not to admit late comers until the interval, but we sometimes have to bow to decisions taken by the theatre’s management.

I hope this provides you with satisfactory answers to your questions and that your experience will not prevent you from seeing Rambert again? Thank you for taking part in Rambert’s discussion forum.

Kind Regards

Susan Coffer
Director of Marketing
Rambert Dance Company

Having attended Saturday evening's performance in Edinburgh I have to say we found it an excellent program - the three pieces being very different - superbly danced - and stimulating to watch. Listening to the comments around us whilst it is true some people found the Cunningham the most difficult they nevertheless appreciated the mastery involved. In any triple bill there will always be pieces people prefere to others -the fascinating thing is that these vary from person to person. I fervently hope that Rambert will continue to provide us with such exciting mixes of programs-we had a great evening!Thank you!

We have an in-depth interview with Bruce Sansom about his new role as Head of Development at Rambert.

Here is the link to the interview.

<small>[ 11-17-2002, 17:27: Message edited by: Stuart Sweeney ]</small>

<img src="http://forum.criticaldance.com/images/cbrucel.jpg" alt="" />

A date for your diaries! We are delighted that

Christopher Bruce will be taking part in a live online chat on londondance.com on Wed. 13 Nov. @ 12.00pm.

Do join us then to ask questions or make comments…. You can also submit them in advance at:

Questions for Christopher Bruce

<small>[ 10-30-2002, 07:13: Message edited by: Stuart Sweeney ]</small>

<big>Rambert Celebrates Christopher Bruce</big>

<img src="http://www.rambert.org.uk/uploads/images/web_res/art_914.jpg?1" alt="" />
<small>Christopher Bruce</small>

Rambert are at Sadler's Wells this week and on 14th November Christopher's huge contribution to the Company will be specially honoured. CriticalDance will be covering the event, but we really want to hear your views about Christopher Bruce's career and the week at Sadler's Wells.

One of the subsidiary events has a special place in my heart. After the performance on the 14th November, Linda Wilkinson, Chair of Amnesty International UK will present Christopher with an award for his service to the cause of human rights.

Here is the Rambert press release:

Christopher Bruce Honoured

On 14 November, Christopher Bruce CBE, Artistic Director of Rambert Dance Company will retire after eight and a half years in post. As a dancer, choreographer and Artistic Director he has been associated with the company for over 40 years. Rambert’s performance at Sadler’s Wells on 14 November is dedicated to Christopher in recognition of his outstanding work and career with the company.

At the end of the performance Christopher Bruce will be joined on stage by all of Rambert’s dancers and current staff, plus a wealth of people who are evocative of his time with Rambert as a performer, choreographer and Artistic Director.

Prudence Skene, Chairman of Rambert’s board of directors, will lead the tribute, which will be given by Lucy Burge on behalf of Glen Tetley the choreographer of Pierrot Lunaire, a role that Christopher made famous. John Chesworth will speak on behalf of Norman Morris, a former Artistic Director of Rambert after Dame Marie Rambert, while Steven Brett, Rambert’s current Associate Artistic Director, will acknowledge Christopher’s most recent achievements. The tribute will be concluded by Mark Baldwin a former Rambert dancer and Christopher’s successor as Artistic Director.

Later that evening, Linda Wilkinson, Chair of Amnesty International UK, will present Christopher with an Honorary Life Membership of Amnesty International, in recognition of his achievements in the field of dance and human rights. Many of his works such as Swansong, Ghost Dances and Hurricane incorporate themes of poverty, persecution and abuse of human rights.

Ms Wilkinson said “The arts have an important role to play in exploring social issues. We consider ourselves very fortunate to have the benefit of Christopher’s brilliant illumination of human rights concerns and would like to thank Christopher and Rambert for their important contribution in the fight for human rights”.


Online Chat
Christopher Bruce will be taking part in an online chat on Wednesday 13 November at 12pm.

Rambert on TV
On Sunday 17 November BBC4 will broadcast two programmes on Rambert to coincide with Christopher Bruce’s retirement:

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Christopher Bruce
From Pierrot To Hurricane: A repeat of Pierrot Lunaire starring the young Christopher Bruce as Pierrot. Plus, Bruce's latest work as a choreographer, Hurricane, which was inspired by Bob Dylan. W/S.

BBC Four, Sun 17 Nov, 20:50-21:50 60mins Stereo Widescreen

and

BBC Four, Mon 18 Nov, 01:30-02:30 60mins Stereo Widescreen

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Rambert at 75

Using performance archive and the memories of its six living artistic directors, Judith Mackrell looks at 75 years of Rambert Dance Company. Featuring footage of Christopher Bruce creating a new work for the company, `Grinning in Your Face', and excerpts from `Pierrot Lunaire' and `Wildlife'.

BBC4
Date: Sunday 17 November Time: 8:00pm to 8:50pm

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<img src="http://www.criticaldance.com/rambert/images/rambert-AMY-WARM-FINAL-DARKER.jpg" alt="" />
<small>The stunning Amy Hollingsworth in Wayne McGregor's "Presentient"</small>

Here is a reminder about the Sadler's Wells programme:

Sadler's Wells, London

Rosebery Avenue
Islington
London
EC1R 4TN

Box Office: 020 7863 8000
Book Online Now

Tuesday 12 – Saturday 16 November, 7.30pm

Programme:
Study from Blackbird, Kylián
Sounding, Davies
Grinning In Your Face, Bruce
PreSentient, McGregor, LONDON PREMIERE

Duration: Approx 2 hours 10 minutes including 2 intervals

Education Matinee: Thursday 14 November, 2pm

Family Matinee: Saturday 16 November, 2.30pm

Grinning In Your Face, Bruce
PreSentient, McGregor

Duration: Approx 1 hour 30 minutes including 1 interval

and here is the link to the relevant page on the Sadler's Wells website.

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The Sadler's programme looks very strong. What is refreshing is that it is the new to the company, "Study from Blackbird" by Jiri Kylian and the new commission "Presentient" by Wayne McGregor which have fired up critics and fans as the Company has toured the country. In addition, "Sounding" by Sue Davies and "Grinning in Your Face" by Bruce himself are fine works.

Rambert have moved to one week rather than two for the Sadler's Wells Autumn season, so be prepared for the performances to be heavily booked and don't leave it to the last minute.

<small>[ 11-10-2002, 15:04: Message edited by: Stuart Sweeney ]</small>

Glad to see Rambert doing well. I thoroughly enjoyed the company's performance here in Singapore -- it was wonderful to see Ghost Dances and Rooster live onstage -- last year, and I hope to see the company again someday

<small>[ 11-14-2002, 05:32: Message edited by: Malcolm Tay ]</small>

<img src="http://www.londondance.com/images/Storypics/M_rambert.jpg" alt="" />
<small>Dame Marie Rambert</small>

On Monday, Radio4’s “Woman’s Hour” had an item on Dame Marie Rambert. Henrietta Otley went to meet Rambert's daughter Angela Ellis and Christopher Bruce at the company's West London studios.

You can [url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/womanshour/11_11_02/monday/info3.shtml]
listen to the conversations here[/url]. This link will be available for around 2 weeks from the date of this posting.

<small>[ 11-12-2002, 11:58: Message edited by: Stuart Sweeney ]</small>