CriticalDance Forum

<P>One of the works featured in the Autumn tour.<P><BR><B>News from Rambert</B><P>Details of the Rambert Summer School are up on their site. It runs from Monday 12 - Friday 16 August 2002 and here is the link to the <A HREF="http://www.rambert.org.uk/education/summer_school/detail.asp?art=637" TARGET=_blank><B>Summer School page</B></A><P>Also just posted are the details of the <A HREF="http://www.rambert.org.uk/whats_on/venues/index.asp" TARGET=_blank><B>Autumn tour</B></A> this includes a new work by Wayne McGregor, "PreSentient" and a piece new to Rambert from Jiri Kylian, "Study from Bluebird" from a full-length work of the same name.

<BR><small>Brendan Faulls</small><P><BR>Deirdre Chapman and Branden Faulls are leaving Rambert. Both came from San Francisco Ballet four years ago and have made an impact at Rambert. <P>Deirdre is moving to the Royal Ballet as a First Artist, not as a Principal as has been reported in a Rambert Newsletter. She told me today that she originally came to Rambert because she was attracted to the rep and she has enjoyed touring with the Company. However, Christopher Bruce's resignation announcement prompted her to re-evaluate her position. The Royal Ballet repertory under Ross Stretton is appealing and she is looking forward to performing in the MacMillan works, which she hasn't danced before and also the works of the choreographers who are being introduced to the Royal. An added bonus will be a more settled life-style based in London. <P>Deirdre has certainly been one of the most eye-catching Rambert dancers including this year an amazingly sinuous performance as the first woman in Mats Ek's "She was black", the emotional intensity of the Mother in Christopher Bruce's "Land" and Columbine in "Pierrot Lunaire". There have ben many instances of dancers moving from leading ballet companies to Rambert, but I wonder if this is the first ever from Rambert to the Royal Ballet?<P>Branden Faulls is retiring from dancing to concentrate on website design. Some of you may recall his web pages from the Rambert tour of Australia with off-stage images and reports. He has always looked very good in the Rambert rep. My first memory of him is when he enlivened the end of Christopher Bruce's "God's Plenty" with a humourous jig and more recently his convincing portrayal of the sinister figure in "Pierrot Lunaire".<P>Everyone here at CriticalDance wishes them both of them well in their new career directions. <P><p>[This message has been edited by Stuart Sweeney (edited July 20, 2002).]

Fascinating news from Rambert today:

PRESS RELEASE 27/8/02

FORMER ROYAL BALLET STAR JOINS RAMBERT AS HEAD OF DEVELOPMENT

Rambert Dance Company is delighted to announce that Bruce Sansom, former principal dancer with the Royal Ballet, has been appointed as its new Head of Development. His role at Rambert, which is initially for one year, will include the organising of the farewell performance dedicated to departing Artistic Director Christopher Bruce at Sadler’s Wells on 14 November and a fundraising gala to be held in the first half of next year.

Bruce Sansom retired from the Royal Ballet in the summer of 2000 and since then has completed two arts-management programmes in America. In 2000-2001 he spent a year with the San Francisco Ballet under artistic director Helgi Tomasson, gaining managerial experience as an artistic director in all aspects of running a major dance company. In 2001-2002 he was accepted as a fellow for the inaugural year of the Vilar Institute for Arts Management, at the John F. Kennedy Center, Washington DC, led by Michael Kaiser, previously Chief Executive of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. The Vilar Institute provides theoretical and practical administrative training for current or future managers of non-profit arts institutions.

On his appointment Bruce said ‘This is a wonderful opportunity for me, returning to the United Kingdom to a position where aspects of my two years’ training can be put into immediate practice. I’m looking forward to working with Rambert Dance Company’s dancers and staff over the coming year to help ensure the Company’s continued success.’

Prudence Skene, Chairman of Rambert’s Board said. ‘We are extremely pleased that Bruce is joining Rambert and, given his recent management experience in America, we are confident that he will bring a fresh approach to this important position.’

<img src="http://www.kennedy-center.org/education/vilarinstitute/fellows/images/sansom.jpg" alt="" />
<small> Bruce Sansom from the website of the Vilar Institute of Arts Management</small>

This is quite a coup for Rambert. Bruce Sansom’s 2-year period in the US learning about arts administration which will have included raising money from the corporate and high-worth individual sectors, which is a little developed art over here with a few notable exceptions. For instance Pacific Northwest gets less than 10% of its funding from public sources, as opposed to the 40-60% which is typical for the larger companies here. The new Rambert AD Mark Baldwin said in our interview with him that stronger development and fund raising was one of his goals for Rambert, in order to finance new work more easily.

In addition, having a Head of Development who has strong name recognition, as Sansom does, must be a bonus.

From Sansom’s point of view the post also seems a good choice as it gets him back to the UK in a senior position in one of the most important dance companies here. It is interesting that he has applied for a post which does not involve direct contact with the creative dance process. In some ways I am reminded of the career path followed by Kevin O’Hare of Birmingham Royal Ballet after he left the Company.

So congratulations to both Rambert and Bruce Sansom. It should be an interesting year.

<small>[ 08-28-2002, 10:39: Message edited by: Stuart Sweeney ]</small>

I thought of Bruce as the artistic staff type and not necessarily a devo director, but he will probably learn some amazing skills and maybe he has found he has a talent for asking people for money.

My understanding is that he worked in virtually every administrative department at SF Ballet (including stuffing envelopes for the Marketing Department ). So I am sure he learned a lot about the non-artistic functions of running a ballet or dance company.

A good friend with SF Ballet wrote to me, "He was an excellent worker and strategic thinker. He did much more than send out mailings and I think really learned the ins and outs of the business while he was with us."

Well, I won't argue with that. I guess it just came as a surprise to me that he would want to chain himself to a phone instead of being more involved in studio life. However, it is always good to get a taste of everything to find out what you like best and what likes you.