<center><big><big><big>Rambert Spring Tour 2003 - News and Feedback Forum</big></big></big>

<img src="http://www.criticaldance.com/rambert/images/rambert-Blackbird-4.jpg" alt="" />
<small>Study from Blackbird, Megumi Eda and Simon Cooper, chor: Kylián</small></center>



Perhaps in an attempt to bring warmer weather our way, Rambert Dance Company's Spring 2003 Tour gets underway on 12th February and continues through to the end of May.

We are delighted to be working with Rambert again and this this is where we will post all the latest news and newspaper coverage. We also hope to get comments from dance fans around the country and would love to have your feedback. See the next posting for details of what you need to do.

Among the tour highlights are new commissions:

21

Rambert dancer and choreographer Rafael Bonachela collaborates with Kylie Minogue's creative team to produce a work that explores pure physical expression.

See 21 in Mold (9 - 12 April) and London (20 - 24 May).

Living Toys

Receiving its world première, Karole Armitage's first creation for Rambert, Living Toys transports us into that precarious and surreal state where dreams and consciousness merge.

Inspired by Thomas Adès’s dark and somewhat sinister score, this large-scale dance work promises to be a sensual and physically virtuosic spectacle. The ballet will be further enhanced by the live performance of the score by Rambert’s Associate Orchestra, London Musici.

See Living Toys in Glasgow (29 - 31 May).

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And a work new to the Company:

Visions Fugitives

Prokofiev’s score, Visions Fugitives, comprises of 15 miniatures, each lasting between 20 and 60 seconds.

This score was the inspiration for Dutch choreographer, Hans van Manen to create a suite of dances that range from the sinister to the playful.

See Visions Fugitives in Woking (27 - 29 March) and London (20 - 24 May).

Other works on show are:


Study from Blackbird by Jirí Kylián

Ghost Dances by Christopher Bruce

Grinning In Your Face by Christopher Bruce

Ground Level Overlay by Merce Cunningham

Hurricane by Christopher Bruce

The Parades Gone By by Lindsay Kemp

PreSentient by Wayne McGregor

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Here are the tour details:

<img src="http://www.rambert.org.uk/uploads/images/web_res/art_919.jpg?1" alt="" />

Hall for Cornwall

Back Quay
Truro
TR1 2LL

Box Office: 01872 262466

Wednesday 12 & Thursday 13 February, 8pm
Matinee: Wednesday 13 February, 2.30pm

- Ground Level Overlay, Cunningham
- The Parades Gone By, Kemp
Duration: Approx 1 hour 50 minutes including 1 interval

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<img src="http://www.rambert.org.uk/uploads/images/web_res/art_946.jpg?1" alt="" />

<big>Snape Maltings Concert Hall, Suffolk</big>

Nr. Saxmundham
Suffolk
IP17 1SP

Box Office: 01728 687110

Friday 21 & Saturday 22 February, 7.30pm

- Ground Level Overlay, Cunningham
- Study from Blackbird, Kylián
- Hurricane, Bruce
- Grinning In Your Face, Bruce
Duration: 2 hours 15 minutes including 2 intervals and 1 pause

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<img src="http://www.rambert.org.uk/uploads/images/web_res/art_920.jpg?1" alt="" />

Lyceum Theatre, Sheffield

Tudor Square
Sheffield
S1 2LA

Ticket Office: 0114 249 6000

Wednesday 5 - Saturday 8 March, 7.45pm

- Study from Blackbird, Kylián
- Hurricane, Bruce
- PreSentient, McGregor
- Ghost Dances, Bruce
Duration: Approx 2 hours 10 minutes including 1 pause and 2 intervals

Education Matinee: Thursday 6 March, 2pm

- PreSentient, McGregor
- Ghost Dances, Bruce
Duration: Approx 1 hour 40 minutes including 1 interval

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<img src="http://www.rambert.org.uk/uploads/images/web_res/art_921.jpg?1" alt="" />

His Majesty's Theatre, Aberdeen

Rosemount Viaduct
Aberdeen
AB25 1GL

Box Office: 01224 641122
Book Online Now

Thursday 13 - Saturday 15 March, 7.30pm
Matinee: Saturday 15 March, 2.30pm

- Study from Blackbird, Kylián
- Hurricane, Bruce
- Grinning In Your Face, Bruce
- PreSentient, McGregor
Duration: Approx 2 hours 10 minutes including 1 pause and 2 intervals

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<img src="http://www.rambert.org.uk/uploads/images/web_res/art_922.jpg?2" alt="" />

New Victoria Theatre, Woking

The Ambassadors
Peacocks Centre
Woking
GU21 6GQ

Box Office: 01483 545900

Thursday 27 - Saturday 29 March, 7.30pm

- Visions Fugitives [RAMBERT PREMIÈRE], van Manen
- Grinning In Your Face, Bruce
- PreSentient, McGregor
Duration: Approx 2 hours including 2 intervals

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<img src="http://www.rambert.org.uk/uploads/images/web_res/art_923.jpg?1" alt="" />

Theatre Royal, Newcastle

Grey Street
Newcastle Upon Tyne
NE1 6BR

Box Office: 0870 905 5060

Tuesday 1 - Saturday 5 April, 7.30pm

- Study from Blackbird, Kylián
- Hurricane, Bruce
- Grinning In Your Face, Bruce
- PreSentient, McGregor
Duration: Approx 2 hours 10 minutes including 1 pause and 2 intervals

Education Matinee: Thursday 3 April, 2pm

- Grinning In Your Face, Bruce
- PreSentient, McGregor
Duration: Approx 1 hour 40 minutes including 1 interval

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<img src="http://www.rambert.org.uk/uploads/images/web_res/art_924.jpg?1" alt="" />

Clwyd Theatr Cymru, Mold

Clwyd Theatr Cymru
Mold
Flintshire
CH7 1YA

Box Office: 0845 330 3565

Wedensday 9 - Saturday 12 April, 7.30pm
Education Matinee: Thursday 10 April, 1.30pm
Matinee: Saturday 12 April, 2.30pm

- 21 [WORLD PREMIÈRE], Bonachela
- Grinning In Your Face, Bruce
- PreSentient, McGregor
Duration: Approx 2 hours including 2 intervals

Education Matinee: Thursday 10 April, 1.30pm

- Grinning In Your Face, Bruce
- PreSentient, McGregor
Duration: Approx 1 hours 20 minutes including 1 interval

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<big><big>Sadler's Wells, London</big></big>

Rosebery Avenue
Islington
London
EC1R 4TN

Box Office: 020 7863 8000
Book Online Now

Tuesday 20 - Saturday 24 May, 7.30pm

- 21 [LONDON PREMIÈRE], Bonachela (More information soon)
- Visions Fugitives [LONDON PREMIÈRE], van Manen
- Ghost Dances, Bruce
Duration: Approx 1 hour 50 minutes including 2 intervals

Family Matinee: Saturday 18 May, 2.30pm

Programme to be confirmed shortly.

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<big>Theatre Royal, Glasgow</big>

282 Hope Street
Glasgow
G2 3QA

Box Office: 0141 332 9000

Thursday 29 - Saturday 31 May, 7.30pm
Matinee: Saturday 31 May, 2.30pm

- Study from Blackbird, Kylián
- Hurricane, Bruce
- Living Toys [WORLD PREMIÈRE], Armitage
- Ghost Dances, Bruce
Duration: Approx 1 hour 50 minutes including 2 intervals and 1 pause

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More details about the works, the creative teams involved and booking arrangements are on the Rambert website.

<small>[ 09 April 2003, 04:44 AM: Message edited by: Stuart Sweeney ]</small>

<big>How To Post on CriticalDance</big>

Now it's your turn. We will be delighted if you want to post a comment about the Spring Tour or anything else to do with Rambert.

To post a comment you will need to register, which is easy and free. Click here and follow the steps to register, including agreeing to our Rules, Policies and Disclaimers. You must give a valid e-mail address.

When you have registered, you will be sent a password by e-mail, which enables you to log in. Then to make a posting, you need to click on the "Post Reply" button at the top right of the Rambert page; type or copy and paste your comments into the posting box; when you are ready, then press the "Add Reply" button. If you want to edit your posting, you can do so by clicking on the "paper and pencil" icon at the right above your post.

Don't worry if you've never written about dance before. Just tell us your reaction to any aspects of the evening, whether good or not. The Rambert staff are keen to have your feedback and, if appropriate, will reply here.

A few words would be great, but if you want to write more you might like to look at our beginners' guide to reviewing.

Any problems or queries, don't hesitate to contact stuart@criticaldance.com

Don't delay - have your say.

<small>[ 02 February 2003, 08:24 PM: Message edited by: Stuart Sweeney ]</small>

<img src="http://www.criticaldance.com/rambert/images/rambert-Blackbird-7.jpg" alt="" />
<small>Angela Towler and Paul Liburd</small>

It’s survival of the fittest
Technique isn’t everything in dance. All-round physical fitness is becoming increasingly important for companies trying to keep up with the demands of modern performance, as Senay Boztas discovers when she visits the rehearsal rooms of the Rambert company. In The Sunday Times (Scotland)


Angela Towler is making a “fake neck” — left arm stretched high and face tilted, she is trying to capture the attitude of a wife who is unhappy in her marriage but who lifts up her head and smiles through her teeth.
There are another 21 bodies around her in the same pose, loose Lycra dance clothes draped around taught muscles. Renato Peroni, their Brazilian instructor, who likes to describe ballet moves with stories such as the “fake neck” wife, looks on approvingly.

Every day begins for dancers at Rambert Dance Company with a 90-minute class, at the top of their 1970s studio in west London. Britain’s oldest and largest contemporary dance troupe regularly sells out in Scotland and around the world with its repertoire of new and established modern pieces, showing off their eye-watering flexibility, speed, beauty and power.

click for more

<small>[ 02 February 2003, 09:37 AM: Message edited by: Stuart Sweeney ]</small>

<img src="http://www.rambert.org.uk/uploads/images/web_res/art_944.jpg?1" alt="" />
<small>Mark Baldwin; image by Hugo Glendinning</small>

The Spring tour will be the first with Mark Baldwin at the helm, although I believe that the repertory was selected when Christopher Bruce was AD.

Here is a BBC Radio3 series of short programmes as Baldwin rehearses a work for his own Company in 2001:

February 2001: The choreographer Mark Baldwin on his ballet, 'The Bird Sings With It's Fingers', a collaboration with the composer Julian Anderson, based on Jean Cocteau's film noir, 'Orphee'.

click for audio links

Here is the link to our interview with Mark Baldwin in the week that he was appointed as Rambert's new AD.

And here is the link to details about Mark Baldwin's career on Rambert's excellent website.

<small>[ 02 February 2003, 08:28 PM: Message edited by: Stuart Sweeney ]</small>

<img src="http://www.dancing-times.co.uk/Pics/dancingtimes/200302/cover.jpg" alt="" />

A Tribute to Christopher Bruce
By Norman Morrice for Dancing Times

After eight and a half years in the post, Christopher Bruce formally retired as Artistic Director of Rambert Dance Company on November 14. He had been associated with the company for over 40 years and the performance that night, at Sadler’s Wells, was dedicated to him. Afterwards, Bruce was joined on stage by colleagues from every department of Rambert to honour him while Linda Wilkinson, Chair of Amnesty International UK, presented him 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, most notably Ghost Dances, incorporate themes of poverty, persecution and abuse of human rights. We publish here the message which was sent by Norman Morrice, who was unable to be present, and which traces Bruce’s career from the time when Dame Marie, with typical foresight, recognised “a very special boy”.

click for more

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Here is the link to our extensive coverage of the farewell evening to Christopher Bruce at Sadler's Wells last November.

<small>[ 21 March 2003, 11:36 AM: Message edited by: Stuart Sweeney ]</small>

Here is some useful information about the Company:

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From the Rambert website, here are is the link to the home page for all the latest news.

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CriticalDance Interviews with:

Christopher Bruce, July 2002

Mark Baldwin on his appointment as Rambert AD

Bruce Sansom on his appointment as Rambert's Head of Development

Christopher Bruce on dance and human rights

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Other news:

[url=http://forum.criticaldance.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=17;t=000291[b]Rafael Bonachela's choreography for Kylie Minogue[/url]

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Our coverage of the most recent Rambert tours:

Autumn tour 2002

Spring tour 2002

Autumn tour 2001

Spring tour 2001

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And perhaps most important, you can play a role in the future of the Company through the various Rambert Supporters' Schemes

If you want even more information on Rambert, then click on "search" at top right and you'll find enough to keep you out of mischief for a long time to come.

<small>[ 12 February 2003, 07:52 AM: Message edited by: Stuart Sweeney ]</small>

<img src="http://www.chycor.co.uk/art/listings/hfclogo.jpg" alt="" />

Very best wishes to all at Rambert Dance Company as they kick off their 2003 Spring tour today in Truro's Hall for Cornwall. The latest news from this 1000 seater theatre is that there are very few tickets left for Wednesday and Thursday evenings and limited availability for the Thursday matinee. So if you want to see Rambert in Truro, the message is - pick up the phone now.

Here's a reminder of the details:

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Hall for Cornwall

Back Quay
Truro
TR1 2LL

Box Office: 01872 262466

Wednesday 12 & Thursday 13 February, 8pm
Matinee: Wednesday 13 February, 2.30pm

- Ground Level Overlay, Cunningham
- The Parades Gone By, Kemp
Duration: Approx 1 hour 50 minutes including 1 interval

And here is the link to the relevant page on the Hall for Cornwall website.

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I enjoyed both these contrasted works when I saw them in London. "Ground Level Overlay" is a striking, abstract work. Here's what Judith Mackrell thought about it in The Guardian:

and her comments on Lindsey Kemp's "The Parade's Gone By":

But much more important, do tell us what you think.

Saw the performance at the Hall for Cornwall last night. From the website I now realise it was the first performance of the tour.

Rather disappointing. Not the sort of programme we've come to expect from Rambert.

Hope they'll visit us again next year, with a more serious programme.

Jay

Many thanks Jay for kicking off our Spring feedback forum. It's always good to have the first comment in the bag.

Anyone else catch the Truro performances?

<small>[ 13 February 2003, 05:39 AM: Message edited by: Stuart Sweeney ]</small>

It's difficult to imagine two more different ballets than these. Ground Level Overlay has amazing music and I liked the variety of the groups of dancers, although I was a bit puzzled by it. It looks very hard to do.

The Parade's Gone By was an over-the-top riot with lots of good laughs and brilliant costumes. It looked as though the dancers had as much fun as we did.

The Rambert tour moves on to Suffolk this Friday and Saturday with a bill of two longer ensemble works and two shorter pieces. As far as I understnad this will be the last performance for a while of Cunningham's "Ground Level Overlay". I met Mark Baldwin at the Akram Khan performance at Laban and Mark told me that he considers "Ground..." a masterpiece. Difficult to argue with that in my view, as long as one doesn't expect narrative or overt emotion. It's all about geometry and pure movement. Rambert are one of the few companies, outside of Cunningham's own, who perform his technically challenging works.

Here's a reminder of the details for the Suffolk venue. If anyone sees the performances, do drop us a line. See the second post at the top of this topic for details of our easy and painless registration process.

<img src="http://www.rambert.org.uk/uploads/images/web_res/art_946.jpg?1" alt="" />

<big>Snape Maltings Concert Hall, Suffolk</big>

Nr. Saxmundham
Suffolk
IP17 1SP

Box Office: 01728 687110

Friday 21 & Saturday 22 February, 7.30pm

- Ground Level Overlay, Cunningham
- Study from Blackbird, Kylián
- Hurricane, Bruce
- Grinning In Your Face, Bruce
Duration: 2 hours 15 minutes including 2 intervals and 1 pause

I was curious, jfoote, as to why you thought it wasn't a serious program? I haven't seen Rambert since they last came to the US, but it sounded like an interesting bill with "Ground Level Overlay" on it.

I do find it interesting that Mark Baldwin isn't bringing much of his own work into the rep for now. His comment in the CD interview about finding the direction for the company rep and then beginning to work from there seems unusual. On the other hand, it's nice to see an artistic director taking over who doesn't feel he has to immediately bend the company to his own will.

Hi mehunt! Good to see you here. This Spring tour was planned under Christopher Bruce, so the Autumn tour will be the first with Mark Baldwin's selection of repertoire. It will certainly be interesting to see his choices, but as you point out from his interview, it may well be some time before we see his own work danced by the Company.

An e-mail message from Pam Candler:

Brilliant!
Years since I've seen Rambert live. I couldn't be more excited.
Please come back to Snape again.

Pam

I noticed on the Rambert web site there are tentative plans to take the tour to Chile, Spain and somewhere else, does any one know if they will come to the US this year?