Rambert Spring Tour 2007 - News and Feedback Forum


Mark Baldwin © Hugo Glendinning

Welcome to Rambert Dance Company's new tour.

This season, we present an exciting new work by Canadian choreographer André Gingras, Anatomica #3. It is about something we all own - the body. André's work has the trademark of breakneck speed and athletic movement. Equally exciting, Fabrice Serafino, ex-Rambert dancer, has designed the costumes and set for this exhilarating project.

For your enjoyment and pleasure, we also have a significant line-up of acclaimed Rambert works, invigorated with the inclusion of four new dancers, Malgorzata Dzierzon, Gemma Nixon, Eryck Brahmania and Kirils Burlovs. I am certain the Company will take your breath away with their amazing skill.

Our gratitude and thanks to Arts Council England, London for its substantial support. As well as relying on your generosity to realise our new building, many of the activities we undertake are supported by trusts, foundations, companies and supportive individuals.

To find out how you can help ensure the continuing development of this important Company please click here.

Mark Baldwin
Artistic Director


This Season's Repertoire

Anatomica #3
Canadian choreographer André Gingras creates his first work for Rambert.

Constant Speed
Mark Baldwin’s Constant Speed, has Rambert’s dancers whizzing around the stage like molecules, in a joyous & athletic frenzy of movement.

Gran Partita
Karole Armitage creates her second work for Rambert Dance Company

Lady into Fox
A revival for the Company’s 80th anniversary year, Lady into Fox is inspired by Andrée Howard's 1939 seminal Rambert production.

Pond Way
Rambert perform acclaimed choreographer Merce Cunningham's work, Pond Way.

Stand and Stare
Darshan Singh Bhuller's 2006 work for the Company, commissioned by The Lowry, Salford

Swamp
Michael Clark's Swamp was first performed in 1986 and employs classical dance movements imaginatively in a thoroughly contemporary way.

Transit
Transit was created by Melanie Teall for the Workshop Season 2006.

Verge
Verge was created by Cameron McMillan for the Workshop Season 2006.

More details on the repertoire here:

http://www.rambert.org.uk/whats_on/repertoire/index.asp

To watch excerpts from this season's repertoire see the Video Clips page:

http://www.rambert.org.uk/whats_on/venu ... p?art=1601


This Season's Venues

Hall for Cornwall, Truro
Wednesday 14 & Thursday 15 February 2007

Theatre Royal Brighton
Friday 23 & Saturday 24 February 2007

Swansea Grand Theatre
Thursday 8 - Saturday 10 March 2007

Clwyd Theatr Cymru, Mold
Tuesday 13 – Friday 16 March 2007

Theatre Royal, Newcastle
Tuesday 27 – Saturday 31 March 2007

Sadler's Wells, London
Tuesday 22 – Saturday 26 May 2007


Full details of the performances and booking details can be found here:

http://www.rambert.org.uk/whats_on/venues/index.asp

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Any problems or queries, don't hesitate to contact Stuart Sweeney at ballettlover@hotmail.com

Don't delay - have your say.

Audience comments Thursday 15th February, Truro - 2nd interval
John and Sue- “We are thoroughly enjoying the performance. It’s so great to have live music and the costumes are fantastic. Lady into Fox was interesting because it has a story and the interaction between the two main dancers was at times electrifying and they made what is quite a strange concept believable. We liked the group pieces too. We thought this was a good piece of theatre. We also liked the serenity of Pond Way. You could imagine all sorts of things related to pond and shore life and we thought the movements of the dancers was very graceful and must have been quite difficult to do. We are looking forward to the Michael Clarke one. “

I got into a conversation about other things with this couple so didn’t get time to talk to anyone else. However listening to the comments all around and the enthusiasm with which the audience reacted I think this was a great reception for the company. We thought the company are looking in great shape.

Rambert Dance Company Media Bulletin: March 2007


Now 80 years old, Rambert Dance Company is the oldest dance company in the UK. It is also Britain’s flagship for modern dance, touring throughout the UK and internationally with a wide spectrum of large-scale repertoire, including both new commissions and works from the Company’s heritage. Formerly known as Ballet Rambert, the Company was transformed into a modern dance company in 1966, and has been instrumental in bringing modern dance, the country’s most exciting and fastest growing art form, to a continuingly expanding audience all over the UK.


BULLETIN HIGHLIGHTS

Company News – Chief Executive Sue Wyatt to leave Rambert.


Repertoire – New details released for Karole Armitage’s new work which premières at
Sadler’s Wells in May 2007.

Touring – Repertoire alterations for Sadler’s Wells 2007.

Education – Rambert Education’s project Fused is funded a further £5,000.


COMPANY NEWS


Sue Wyatt resigns as Chief Executive

Sue Wyatt has announced that she will be stepping down as Chief Executive of Rambert Dance Company, following six highly successful years in the post. On declaring her resignation, Wyatt commented “I feel I have achieved everything I aimed for when I joined the Company, and can leave content in the knowledge that Rambert is in an excellent financial state, with a very exciting future to look forward to”.

When Wyatt joined in July 2001, Rambert had suffered several years of serious annual deficit and was in dire need of rescue. One of her key priorities in taking on the post was to make certain that Rambert returned to a sound financial footing, without compromising its artistic integrity – ensuring that any surplus went directly back into the commissioning of new works. Her achievements since then have turned the Company around and, although sad to see her go, Rambert is very grateful for her remarkable work.

Chairman of the Board, Prue Skene commented:
“Sue's contribution to Rambert has been immense. Her prudent financial management has meant a substantial investment in Mark Baldwin's artistic policy as well as the re-building of Rambert's reserves. She has gained great respect through her negotiations with a wide range of partners – funders, presenters and commissioners – and, together with Mark, has given real leadership to the company. She has been a joy to work with and we will miss her very much.”

Rambert Dance Company has already begun recruiting for the post of Chief Executive and hopes to make an announcement in the near future.


REPERTOIRE AND TOURING NEWS

Rambert announces more details for Karole Armitage’s new work

The stylish American choreographer Karole Armitage returns to Rambert Dance Company this spring to create the luminous Gran Partita, set to four movements from Mozart’s exceptional piece of the same name. Gran Partita premières at Sadler’s Wells, London on Tuesday 22 May 2007.

Capturing the verve and beauty of the music in movement, this emotional and dramatic piece complements Mozart’s heart-melting sound. Jean Marc Puissant’s scenery and costumes help to create a poetic world that allows the audience to dream. Gran Partita is set to movements 1, 2, 3 & 7 of Mozart’s 'Gran Partita', and will be Karole’s second collaboration with Rambert, after her work Living Toys premièred to high acclaim in Glasgow in 2003.

Sadler’s Wells May 2007 – Repertoire Alteration

Please note that Rambert’s programme at Sadler’s Wells between Tuesday 22 and Saturday 26 May 2007 will now include the return of Merce Cunningham’s highly acclaimed Pond Way, alongside Anatomica #3 by André Gingras and Karole Armitage’s new work Gran Partita.

Extra dates for Rambert’s tour abroad announced for April/May 2007

Rambert Dance Company is delighted to announce new dates for its Spring tour in Germany. In addition to its most recent performance in Dessau the Company will now be visiting the Theater im Pfalzbau, in Ludwigshafen on 29 and 30 April, and the Stadttheater, in Fürth between 3-5 May.

The programme for both Fürth and Ludwigshafen features the highly regarded Swamp (Clark) the ‘ancestral treasure’ Dark Elegies (Tudor), and Rambert’s extremely popular Constant Speed (Baldwin).

The Company has already toured in Germany this spring, performing at the Kurt Weill Festival in Dessau on Sunday 4 March 2007, where they presented their recent revival of Antony Tudor’s Judgment of Paris, which is set to extracts from Kurt Weill’s Threepenny Opera, Pond Way (Cunningham), Divine Influence (Joyce) and Swamp (Clark). The Company is extremely pleased to be extending its German tour.
Rambert also visits the Gaiety Theatre, Douglas on the Isle of Man on 22 and 23 March 2007 with a programme that includes Divine Influence (Joyce), Judgment of Paris (Tudor), Constant Speed (Baldwin) and Stand and Stare (Bhuller).

Rambert Dance Company takes great pride in the ability to represent and champion UK dance abroad, and recent foreign touring has included visits to Venice, Hungary, Moscow, Shanghai, Beijing, Florence, Valencia and Rome.

World premiere of Anatomica #3 in Brighton

André Gingras’ new piece for Rambert premièred to rapturous applause in Brighton, on 23 February, to celebrate the Theatre Royal Brighton’s 200th anniversary. The Canadian-born choreographer has worked all over the world, basing himself mainly in Holland, and the piece was Gingras’ first collaboration with Rambert Dance Company. There will also be a chance to see the Anatomica #3 in the Company’s programme at Sadler’s Wells in May 2007.


EDUCATION

Fused receives extra funding to extend work with Pupil Referral Unit

After the success of Rambert Dance Company’s pilot educational project, Fused, in November 2006, Rambert Education has been given the chance to continue developing the project until July 2007. Fused received funding of a further £5000 from Southwark Education council to continue its work with young people from Porlock Hall, a Pupil Referral Unit in Southwark.

Building on the high level of work and involvement achieved with the students in 2006, the next stage for Fused takes place between March and July 2007. In the first five weeks the students will experience a variety of Rambert repertoire. Following the Easter break they will focus on one work, enabling the students to develop their dance and choreographic skills as well as their self esteem and aspirations for their futures. In May the students will attend the Family Matinée performance by Rambert at Sadler’s Wells. The group are working towards a performance as part of the Southwark Dance Festival in July.

Fused will also enable the students to work towards achieving their Young People’s Arts Awards Scheme, which will award them points towards further education. They receive a DVD of their work, as well as a Rambert uniform and will write journals of their progress throughout the project. There will also be an INSET session available for teachers, which Rambert’s Animateurs (professional dancers and teachers) will lead in order to maintain a long lasting benefit for the young people in Southwark.

The project promises to be extremely exciting and beneficial for the young people involved and the receipt of the renewed funding demonstrates the exceptional standard of Rambert Education’s current project. Rambert’s extensive work in Southwark and Lambeth anticipates the Company’s move to its proposed new building in Coin Street, where Rambert Dance Company will be an important asset to the Southwark and Lambeth communities.

Update on Moved project

Moved, Rambert’s three-year dance development project in five Lambeth secondary schools is now in its second year.

The current phase of the project has given students an additional opportunity to meet and work with pupils from the other participating schools, building cross-school relationships. Three students from each of the schools worked intensively during February half term to create a new work inspired by Mark Baldwin’s Constant Speed. They worked with Rambert JADE Fellow Simon Cooper, Rambert Animateur Kate Mummery, Kate Scanlan (Rambert Director of Education) and Laura Harvey (Rambert Project Manager). The students were selected for their excellent achievement in various aspects of the workshops, from attendance to capability.

Year 2 of Moved will culminate in a performance of work by all the schools and the half term residency group at the Lilian Baylis Theatre, Sadler’s Wells on 22 March 2007 at 7.15pm.

Associates Night at Sadler’s Wells Connect Festival

Rambert Dance Company is delighted to announce that two of its youth groups will be performing in the Associates Night in the Connect Festival at Sadler’s Wells on Tuesday 20 March at 7.15pm, in the Lilian Baylis Theatre.

Rambert’s youth dance company Generation 2, young dancers aged 14-17 year olds, will be performing On the Edge choreographed by Laura Harvey. The Moved half term residency group will also perform their work that evening.

Summer 2007 Evening Classes

Rambert Dance Company’s popular adult evening class programme will resume on Monday 16 April. The summer term runs until Wednesday 11 July, with a half-term break in the week commencing 28 May. Enrolment begins on Monday 5 March.

The classes are taught by experienced dancers and teachers and will take place from 6.30- 8pm and cost £85 for 12 weeks. They include four levels of contemporary classes – with former Rambert dancer and JADE Fellow Simon Cooper teaching the level four group – and one ballet course for intermediate level participants.

Youth Evening Classes

Rambert’s youth evening classes are divided into two groups – Young Movers (10-13 years) and Generation 2 (14-17 years). Both classes are taught by Rambert Animateur Laura Harvey and are high energy, fun and an excellent introduction to contemporary dance for young people. Both classes are £70 for the term. With Wednesdays being Young Movers (11-13 yrs) and Thursdays being Generation 2 (14-17 yrs).

To enrol on any of the above courses, contact Louise Jardine, Education Administrator on +44 (0) 208 630 0615 or email education@rambert.org.uk.


RAMBERT STAFF

Rambert welcomes new PR Administrator

Rambert Dance Company is delighted to welcome Daisy Bowie-Sell into the new post of part- time PR Administrator. Daisy joined the Company on 2 February 2007 and will form an integral part of the marketing team, working closely with Francesca Eyles, PR and Communications Manager to deliver and expand Rambert’s press and media campaigns.

Daisy can be contacted on 020 8630 0603 or email daisy.bowie-sell@rambert.org.uk.

New Development Account Manager begins

Rambert’s Development department gains a new member of the team on 5 March 2007. Poppy Ben-David will be the key contact for three of Rambert Dance Company’s important stakeholders: corporate sponsors, individual donors and those assisting Rambert with fundraising, including board members. Her work will be vital to the Development department and the continuing work on the new building project in Coin Street. Rambert welcomes Poppy to the Company.


DEVELOPMENT

Rambert Dance Company is currently fundraising for its New Home Appeal. Coin Street Community Builders has generously given the Company a plot of land worth £5million on the South Bank of London. Rambert needs to raise £11.5million in order to facilitate this exciting prospect and realise its full potential for the next 80 years and beyond.

The new centre, designed by award-winning architects, Allies & Morrison, will enable Rambert to develop even more innovative and exciting productions, dancers and choreographers; provide full access for the first time to Rambert’s unique and extraordinary archive; and enhance Rambert’s community and education programme, providing opportunities for people to experience for themselves the thrill of modern dance in a welcoming, inclusive environment. The location of the new building will place Rambert at the heart of London’s artistic cultural quarter, in the company of such illustrious creative spaces as the National Theatre, the South Bank Centre and Tate Modern.

Rambert has already raised £3.8million through a variety of sources including Arts Council England, The Foyle Foundation, two lead gift pledges of half a million pounds each from very generous individual donors, plus other private donations, leaving £7.2million still to raise.

I’ve lost count of the times I’ve seen the Rambert Dance Company perform, but I’m still to walk away feeling anything less than 100% satisfied. Fulfilling company ethos, the spring touring programme is packed to bursting with a diverse selection of some of the best quality and most innovative dance on offer. Not only is there something in it for all tastes, it also represents exceptional value for money. In addition to two of the latest ‘home-grown’ works from Rambert’s established choreographic workshop series, and reputed British dance-artist Darshan Singh Bhuller’s 2006 contribution, Stand and Stare; Brighton audiences were the first to experience André Gringras’ humorous, thought-provoking and exhilarating new work Anatomica #3.

Full review to follow.

I'll look forward to that, Annie, especially first thoughts about "Anatomica #3" by André Gringras.

Rambert Dance Company
Theatre Royal, Brighton
Friday, February 23, 2007
By Richard Amey for The Brighton Herald

AN ASTONISHING world premier of Anatomica 3 brought Rambert's 2007 visit to Brighton to a storming climax and close. The enthusiastic and knowledgable audience were entralled by the company of 10 girl dancers and eight boys in a whirlwind work on the theme of the human body and what it can achieve in movement, while commenting on its unceasing exhibitionary use by the commerical and media worlds.

click for more

Rambert Dance Company - Transit/Verge/Stand and Stare/Anatomica
By William McEvoy for The Stage

Rambert Dance Company style has a jagged edginess to it. Bodies are angular, sometimes inhuman-looking, often in conflict. Powerful images and a tough athleticism are the hallmarks of all four pieces in their latest show.

A solo work, Transit, choreographed and performed by Melanie Teall, kicks things off. Teall collapses oppositions between male and female as her muscular, jerky movements undercut the excessive femininity of her costume and blond wig. Her limbs turn from graceful to crab-like, her gaze is confrontational.

click for more

Rambert Dance Company with London Musici, Spring Tour 2007
Theatre Royal Brighton, 24th- 25th February


I’ve lost count of the times I’ve seen the Rambert Dance Company perform, but I’m still to walk away feeling anything less than 100% satisfied. Fulfilling company ethos, the spring touring programme is packed to bursting with a diverse selection of some of the best quality and most innovative dance on offer. Not only is there something for all tastes, it also represents exceptional value for money. In addition to two of the latest ‘home-grown’ works from Rambert’s established choreographic workshop series, and reputed British dance-artist Darshan Singh Bhuller’s 2006 contribution, Stand and Stare; Brighton audiences were the first to experience André Gingras’ humorous, thought-provoking and exhilarating new work Anatomica #3.

Although always open to what outside artists can bring to its repertoire, Rambert has long recognised the importance of nurturing and developing talent from within its own ranks. Through commitment to providing members with the opportunity and support to develop their dance careers in someway beyond the inevitably brief physical phase; the company has ensured its own longevity and produced some of the dance world’s most significant figures. These include not only the obvious number of top dance directors and choreographers, but, crucially also, many behind-the-scenes contributors such as costume and set designers, academics, educators and administrators.

The tour acknowledges this by providing showcase spots for company dancers’ early ventures into choreography. In this respect Melanie Teall’s Transit, a solo about real and symbolic journeys, seemed aptly named and themed. The dance’s basic shape in space was plotted to follow Venus’s pathway across the night sky. The device underpinned the work with an uncomplicated linearity and gave it a satisfyingly firm foundation. It also reminded me of how early ballet was designed. The solidly grounded and strongly sculpted movement lexicon used to build on this base evolved coherently from Teale’s Olympian body. This body and its motion were thrown into further relief by Roland Mouret’s sparing costume of bra, black pants, and platinum-blond wig. Elastic bands accentuating the elbow and knee joints gave a further reason to liken the immensely toned and pliable dancer to either a ‘Barbie’ or sculptor’s mannequin

Would it be safe to say that there is a Rambert school of choreography? If so, I‘d dare assert that second workshop choreographer Cameron Mcmillan showed clear indications of becoming a member. The pure movement patterns of Verge developed artlessly from the eight bodies on which made and explored the themes of conflict, change, excitement and anticipation in the characteristically non-clichéd, Rambert fashion. Imaginatively mixed from the sound of the dancers in rehearsal; it seemed natural that their live motion should blend as it did with Elspeth Brooke’s score. Angular but yielding, Mouret’s black-panelled costumes visually complemented the subtle details of the dance. Striking white, smouldering grey, billowing black, the dancers realised the physical monochrome in all its tonal beauty.

Inspired by the paintings of Mancunian artist Lowry, Darshan Singh Bhuller’s Stand and Stare, ran with the notion that something apparently simple can be under-laid with complexity. Nineteen dancers made for a compelling matchstick crowd. Reflective of Lowry, individual colour and character teased below the surface of their uniformly-muted costumes and choreography. With the corps movement established, Bhuller panned in for snap-shots of the emotions and intentions that may have driven both the artist and his subjects. In various combinations dancers burst out from the understatement with an exquisite glimpse of private being. One duo stood out in particular when, in momentarily un-shadowed green, she stepped on his palms to lift spread-eagled towards the sky. Though the work was undoubtedly empowered by the force of nineteen Rambert dancers giving their all, I’d still argue that in the deconstruction of one masterpiece Bhuller comes close to producing another.

A consistently strong evening came to an invigorating climax with the premier performance of Angré Gingras’s Anatomica #3. It was interesting that this Canadian choreographer should bring the image of the Queen into his work in such a big way. By the end of opening sequence the audience are faced by eighteen caricatured ‘Elizabeths’ robotically, repeating a bizarre crowd-acknowledging jig. A serious point lies under the strangeness and the humour. Gingras sets out to examine how contemporary society has established the human-body as a site of display. He looks at both the positive and negative aspects of its transformation into an object to be altered and consumed at will, and also at how it has come to be valued both below and above its true worth.

Someway beneath the pomp of one of the world’s most objectified bodies, a group of cargo-panted youths fling themselves frenetically about Fabrice Serafino’s universally urban set. (Serafino is incidentally, another Rambert ex). Every now and again the dancers break mechanically from their gravity-defying stunting to over-expose a buttock or a breast. Each breath-taking leap from the perilously high ramp is located ambiguously somewhere between ecstasy and desperation. As Anatomica #3 thus communicates the paradox of an all-permitting social culture which allows for great liberty and but also imposes considerable limits; Gingras succeeds in leaving the spectator with a head full of powerful images and a lot of challenging thoughts.

An overseas trip has left me very late in responding, but thanks a bunch, Annie, for your detailed thoughts on the Rambert visit to Brighton and the delightful, if tiny, Theatre Royal.

Anatomica #3 by André Gingras, image by Chris Nash

Press Release 28 March

Rambert presents prominent international line-up
SADLER’S WELLS, LONDON – 22-26 MAY 2007

Rambert Dance Company, now 80 years old, returns to Sadler’s Wells between Tuesday 22 and Saturday 26 May 2007 with a triple bill of work from some of the world’s finest established and emerging international choreographers. Rambert’s exceptional 22 dancers display their much-admired versatility, strength and dramatic prowess in works by Merce Cunningham, Karole Armitage and André Gingras.

Rambert’s May 2007 programme contains the world première of Karole Armitage’s luminous Gran Partita, the London première of Anatomica #3 by André Gingras and the return of Merce Cunningham’s beautifully cool Pond Way.. Rambert Dance Company is accompanied by its award-winning Associate Orchestra London Musici, conducted by Paul Hoskins.

Rambert is delighted that stylish American choreographer Karole Armitage returns to work with the Company following her previous collaboration with Rambert in 2003, Living Toys. Karole’s new work Gran Partita is set to four movements from Mozart’s exceptional piece of the same name. Capturing the verve and beauty of the music in movement, this emotional and dramatic piece complements Mozart’s heart-melting sound. The celebrated designer Jean Marc Puissant’s fresh scenery and costumes create a dreamy poetic world.

After nearly 30 years of dance-making, Karole has developed a reputation for her highly technical and unique movement language, which blends ballet and modern dance to great dramatic affect. Her varied and dynamic dance career has included dancing with Balanchine’s Geneva Ballet and The Merce Cunningham Dance Company; working as Director of the Ballet of Florence; creating work for Paris Opera Ballet and American Ballet Theatre as well as her own company Armitage Gone!; and working with the pop star Madonna, painter David Salle, and fashion designers Christian Lacroix and Jean Paul Gautier.

Rambert Dance Company is the only British dance company for which Karole has created work and she expresses her enthusiasm for the Company in the following statement: “I love working with Rambert as it is in the unique situation of having a visionary director and wonderful dancers who are able to combine the refinement and virtuosity of ballet with the innovation and daring of modern dance."

Receiving its London première is Anatomica #3 by Canadian-born choreographer André Gingras. André has been working in Holland since 1999 and is described as one of the country’s most innovative and daring young choreographers, having developed a highly physical and visual personal language. His first work for Rambert has been inspired by the concept of the body as an exhibition site – looking at how the human form is perceived in the public eye, from both positive and negative viewpoints. With a striking set and costume design by ex-Rambert dancer Fabrice Serafino and original live music by young British composer Joseph Hyde, this new work is a vigorous, and edgy addition to Rambert’s repertoire.

Merce Cunningham, now 87, remains one of the most contemporary and progressive creative artists of our day. Rambert is one of the few companies permitted to perform his more technical work and Pond Way is the eighth Cunningham work to enter the Company’s repertoire. Pond Way can be described as one of his ‘nature studies’. It is a lyrical, contemplative, often sensuous piece, with the movement, according to Cunningham, being reminiscent of the game of skimming stones over a pond, which he loved to play as a child. The production is further enriched with a backcloth from the visual artist Roy Lichtenstein and a soundscape by Brian Eno.

Rambert Dance Company prides itself on the scale and variety of music offered within the repertoire, and its award-winning Associate Orchestra, London Musici will perform live for Gran Partita and Anatomica #3. In 2004, Rambert’s Music Director Paul Hoskins and London Musici won the Time Out Live Award for Outstanding Achievement in Dance.


RAMBERT DANCE COMPANY – SADLER’S WELLS, LONDON*

BOX OFFICE: 0870 737 7737 or online www.sadlerswells.com

Tuesday 22 – Saturday 26 May 2007 at 7.30pm
Family Matinée** on Saturday 26 May at 2.30pm

Gran Partita Karole Armitage WORLD PREMIERE
Anatomica #3 André Gingras LONDON PREMIERE
Pond Way Merce Cunningham

* Rambert Dance Company is an Associate Company of Sadler’s Wells
** Family Matinée will include Anatomica #3 and Gran Partita only

Rambert Dance Company Media Bulletin:
May 2007


Gran Partita by Karole Armitage
Image by Carl Fox

BULLETIN HIGHLIGHTS
Company News – Nadia Stern welcomed as new Chief Executive.
Touring – Rambert premières two new works at Sadler’s Wells in May 2007.
Education – Plans for Rambert’s Summer Schools announced.


COMPANY NEWS

Nadia Stern welcomed as Rambert’s new Chief Executive

Rambert Dance Company is delighted to welcome Nadia Stern as the Company’s new Chief Executive. Nadia takes up her role on 8 May and brings with her a wealth of arts management experience, including vital expertise in capital projects.

Nadia’s impressive background spans 20 years in the arts sector. She spent 13 years at Sadler’s Wells Theatre, London – 10 of those as Theatre Administrator – before turning to consultancy work in arts management. Her recent freelance assignments include Interim Chief Executive for Talawa and Interim Executive Director for Hampstead Theatre. In addition to her notable management and administration abilities, Nadia has demonstrated a successful track record in various stages of building relocation projects, which is a particular asset to Rambert in its current plans for development.

Rambert’s capital campaign, which aims to move the Company to a new home on the South Bank of London, is a crucial phase in Rambert’s long-term growth and survival. Nadia will play a vital role in driving this project forward and leading the Company through the transition process.

Nadia expressed her thoughts on the appointment in the following statement:

“I am very excited at the prospect of joining Rambert Dance Company. I have long been an admirer of the Company and of course, know it well from my time at Sadler’s Wells when it played a key role in opening the new theatre. I look forward to working with Artistic Director, Mark Baldwin, the staff and the board, to develop further Rambert’s role as the UK’s leading modern dance company, and to secure new premises to house the full range of its activities.”


REPERTOIRE AND TOURING NEWS

Rambert completes its spring tour with a performance at Sadler’s Wells.

Rambert Dance Company concludes its spring tour with a visit to Sadler’s Wells between Tuesday 22 and Saturday 26 May 2007. The final dates for the tour include the world première of American choreographer Karole Armitage’s new piece Gran Partita, the London première of Anatomica #3 by André Gingras and Pond Way by contemporary master Merce Cunningham.

Gran Partita is set to movements 1, 2, 3 & 7 of Mozart’s serenade of the same name, and will be Karole Armitage’s second collaboration with Rambert, after her work Living Toys premièred to high acclaim in Glasgow in 2003. Capturing the verve and beauty of the music in movement, this emotional and dramatic piece complements Mozart’s heart-melting sound. Jean Marc Puissant’s scenery and costumes help to create a poetic world that allows the audience to dream.

Gran Partita will be shown alongside the London première of Anatomica #3 by Canadian-born André Gingras. Debuted at Theatre Royal Brighton in February 2007, Anatomica #3 uses Gingras’ extremely physical and visual language to great effect. His first work for Rambert is inspired by the body as an exhibition site, and how it is perceived in the public eye.

Merce Cunningham’s highly acclaimed Pond Way completes this inherently international line-up, and boasts the agility and capability of Rambert’s dancers. Rambert brings back the much loved performance of Pond Way, being one of the only UK companies permitted to perform Cunningham’s more technical pieces.

Rambert’s successful international tour draws to a close

Rambert Dance Company’s thriving international spring tour comes to an end at the beginning of May, with its visit to Fürth in Germany. The Company is delighted to have taken its tour to Dessau, Ludwigshafen and the Isle of Man. Rambert visited Ludwigshafen on 29 and 30 April, and will visit the Stadttheater, in Fürth between 3-5 May. The pieces performed at the Stadttheater are Dark Elegies by Antony Tudor created in 1937 for Rambert Dance Company, Constant Speed by Rambert’s Artistic Director Mark Baldwin, and Swamp by icon of modern dance, Michael Clark.

Rambert Dance Company takes great pride in the ability to represent and champion UK dance abroad, and recent foreign touring has included visits to Venice, Hungary, Moscow, Shanghai, Beijing, Florence, Valencia and Rome.

Rambert performs for the reopening of the Royal Festival Hall in July.

The Company is delighted to have been chosen to perform as part of the celebrations for the opening of the Royal Festival Hall, in July 2007. Rambert will perform a section of Constant Speed Mark Baldwin’s colourful and witty piece about Einstein’s theories at the RFH on the South Bank, London on Sunday 15 of July, to show its support for the building which has been undergoing extensive refurbishment.


EDUCATION

Rambert Youth Dance Summer School, London

The popular Rambert Youth Dance Summer School will run from 30 July to 3 August. The young dancers from the Company’s two youth dance classes invite other young dancers to join them on this dynamic week of dance. The Young Movers level is for 10 to 13 year olds and the Generation 2 level is for 14 to 17 year olds.

To apply contact Rambert Education on 020 8630 0615 / education@rambert.org.uk or www.rambert.org.uk

Rambert Adult Summer School

The highly acclaimed Rambert Summer School returns for another year from 6 to 10 August 2007. The Summer School is a wonderful opportunity for dancers, dance students and teachers aged 17 years and over to work with members of Britain’s flagship contemporary dance company. The intensive course will run at Rambert’s Chiswick studios and is taught by Rambert dancers and members of the Artistic Team.

The summer school is offered on two levels; Intermediate and Advanced. Participants will cover daily contemporary dance technique class, one additional ballet class, an opportunity to learn current Company repertoire, including Darshan Singh Bhuller’s Stand and Stare, and the opportunity to develop new choreography in the intensive afternoon sessions.

To apply contact Rambert Education on 020 8630 0615 / education@rambert.org.uk or www.rambert.org.uk

Rambert’s first Summer School for young people in Newcastle

Rambert has a strong relationship with the Theatre Royal Newcastle and is delighted to announce its first summer school in collaboration with the venue between Monday 30 July and Friday 3 August. The Youth Dance Summer School is an opportunity for young people to immerse themselves in dance, to develop their skills and to have fun. Led by a Rambert Animateur (professional dancer and teacher) young dancers will take part in daily contemporary dance classes and creative workshops. Drawing on current Rambert repertoire, this is a great opportunity to dance, create, perform and to be inspired!

See below for more information:
Dates: Monday 30 July – Friday 3 August
Time: 10:00 – 16:00 daily
Cost: £50 for the full week
Age: 14 – 18 years

Participants must have previous dance experience either in or out of school time and be able to attend for the whole week.

For more information please contact Rose Harrison on 0191 244 2508 or rose.harrison@theatreroyal.co.uk

Simon Cooper’s JADE development continues

Rambert dancer Simon Cooper is working full time in the Education department until December 2007. Simon is team teaching Level 4 Advanced Contemporary Dance on the evening class programme with Rambert Animateur Marie Lawrence. He is also teaching with Laura Harvey on Fused –the Company’s project with Porlock Hall, a pupil referral unit in Southwark.

Simon is accompanying Rambert Animateurs on workshops across the country and is developing a series of projects that draw on his experience as a Company dancer and explore how best to translate that into a school based programme.

Moved –Year two of the Company's successful project culminates in a performance

The second year of Rambert’s successful three year dance development project in Lambeth secondary schools culminated in an impressive performance at the Lilian Baylis Theatre, Sadler’s Wells on March 22. The autumn will see the launch of the third and final year of this project and several new initiatives guaranteed to develop dance provision and the project legacy in the borough.

RAMBERT STAFF

Rambert welcomes new Web Administrator

Rambert Dance Company is delighted to welcome David Watson into the post of part-time Web Administrator. David joined the Marketing department on 5 March 2007 and is currently developing Rambert’s new website for 2007 as well as processing online orders and enquiries.

DEVELOPMENT

Rambert’s fundraising for its new home continues

Rambert Dance Company is currently fundraising for its New Home Appeal. Coin Street Community Builders has generously given the Company a plot of land worth £5million on the South Bank of London. Rambert needs to raise £11.5million in order to facilitate this exciting prospect and realise its full potential for the next 80 years and beyond.

The new centre, designed by award-winning architects, Allies & Morrison, will enable Rambert to develop even more innovative and exciting productions, dancers and choreographers; provide full access for the first time to Rambert’s unique and extraordinary archive; and enhance Rambert’s community and education programme, providing opportunities for people to experience for themselves the thrill of modern dance in a welcoming, inclusive environment. The location of the new building will place Rambert at the heart of London’s artistic cultural quarter, in the company of such illustrious creative spaces as the National Theatre, the South Bank Centre and Tate Modern.

Rambert has already raised £3.8million through a variety of sources including Arts Council England, The Foyle Foundation, two lead gift pledges of half a million pounds each from very generous individual donors, plus other private donations, leaving £7.2million still to raise.

SPRING 2007 TOURING SCHEDULE

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Tue 22 – Sat 26 May
Sadler’s Wells, London
Performances at 7.30pm. Family matinée on Sat 26 May at 2.30pm*
Sign Language-interpreted performance and pre-performance talk on Fri 25 May at 7.30pm
Box Office: 0870 737 7737 or online www.sadlerswells.com
Gran Partita (World première), Pond Way, Anatomica #3 (London première)
*Family matinée includes Gran Partita and Anatomica #3 only

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I caught the opening night and it was a fine evening with lots of positive vibes from the audience.

Merce Cunningham's "Pond Way" is one of his most accessible works with a large cast, soothing Brian Eno score and even periods of unison movement - not so common in Merse's output. "gran partita"by Karole Armitage is elegant and witty; if it wasn't my favourite on the programme, then it pleased a lot of people greatly with its off-pointe ballet aesthetic. The big hit was "Anatomica #3" by André Gingras with an extraordinary mix of styles, always inventive and stretching the dancers physically "more than somewhat".

I may try to see it again on Friday and there seem to be seats available for most or all performances.

Here are the booking details again:

Thurs 24 – Sat 26 May
Sadler’s Wells, London
Performances at 7.30pm. Family matinée on Sat 26 May at 2.30pm*
Sign Language-interpreted performance and pre-performance talk on Fri 25 May at 7.30pm
Box Office: 0870 737 7737 or online www.sadlerswells.com
Gran Partita (World première), Pond Way, Anatomica #3 (London première)
*Family matinée includes Gran Partita and Anatomica #3 only

The critics are divided on the latest visit of Rambert to Sadler's Wells: Judith Mackrell and Debra Craine were delighted. Although some ballet critics didn't get Gingras's "Anatomica #3", everyone I spoke to was impressed and the audience cheered it to the rafters. I consider myself fortunate that I will see more work by Andre Gingras at the Bytom Festival next month.

Sarah Crompton's comments surprised me:



Those I spoke to all agreed that the mix of styles provided a varied programme, precluding boredom. Much better in my view than triple bills with similar works, especially back to back, such as we saw in the most recent ENB visit to Sadler's.

Rambert Dance Company, Sadler's Wells
By Judith Mackrell for The Guardian

To open an evening with Merce Cunningham's Pond Way is to set an unfeasibly high standard for any work that follows. This 1998 classic scatters a haze of ambrosial endorphins around the theatre as, accompanied by Brian Eno's gently buzzing soundtrack, its choreography unfolds with an unselfconscious and exquisite complexity.

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Happiness in the abstract
By Luke Jennings for The Observer

Rambert's latest programme offers us a trio of works by North American choreographers, and, while unrelated, these combine to tell us a fourth story: that of the progress of abstract dance over the last half century.

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Overcooked and underwhelming
Sarah Crompton reviews Rambert Dance Company at Sadler's Wells for The Daily Telegraph

The dance triple bill is a bit like a three-course meal. When you are planning it, you want to tantalise tastes, and provide the perfect balance.

The danger - if you are trying to show your range and cleverness as a chef - is that the flavours vary too wildly. You veer from a delicate starter to an overcooked curry, and in the process confuse and overload the taste buds.

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Rambert at Sadler’s Wells
By Debra Craine for The Times

Rambert may be Britain’s leading contemporary dance company, but the flavour is strictly North American for its London spring season. A trio of choreographers from across the Atlantic are in the spotlight as Rambert unveils two new works and the revival of a much-loved third. Success on the commissioning front may not be an unqualified rave, but there’s no doubting the spectacular dancing.

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From sublime to ridiculous
Rambert’s triple bill was going swimmingly – until the third act
By DAVID DOUGILL for The Sunday Times

Rambert Dance Company is a very fine troupe – an ensemble of superb dancers who, under Mark Baldwin’s directorship, look more impressive at each appearance. But my enthusiasm for last Tuesday’s triple bill at Sadler’s Wells was severely undermined by the close.

While their artistry was put to splendid use in Merce Cunning-ham’s Pond Way and the world premiere of a bright new creation, Gran Partita, by Karole Armitage, it was, to my mind, deplorably abused in the recent acquisition Anatomica #3, by André Gingras, which, if it had gone on any longer (and it felt interminable), would have left me a broken man being led off to therapy.

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An uncredited review from the FT website, but almost certainly Clement Crisp, who had yet another unpleasant evening at contemporary dance. Why does the FT continue to torture him this way?

Rambert Dance, Sadler’s Wells
From The Financial Times

Spinoza said that he had “laboured carefully not to mock, lament, and execrate, but to understand”. His help would have been welcome in dealing with the programme with which Rambert Dance marks its spring season at Sadler’s Wells. All too easy to lament the lost opportunities in Karole Armitage’s new Gran Partita, and not least the indignities to which Mozart’s wind writing was subjected by her dances. (London Musici to the rescue.)

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