People

History: Dance company founded by Marie Rambert. Until the 1960s, the company gave 1930 as the year of its foundation because that year saw the first performances of the Marie Rambert Dancers. With the change of direction in 1966, the company looked back at its choreographic history and changed the year of its creation to 1926, taking Ashton’s ‘A Tragedy of Fashion’ as its founding work. Therefore, four years of the Rambert School’s history (1926-1929) are included as part of the company’s history because programmes in these years credit ‘pupils of Madame Rambert’ and ‘Madame Rambert’s School of Dancing’, not a company.: :In 1931, Rambert’s husband Ashley Dukes partitioned the school’s premises, Horbury Hall in Notting Hill Gate, to create a small theatre. Together, they launched the Ballet Club, initially a private club so that performances could be held on Sundays when the dancers were free. In 1933, the theatre became licensed for public performances and was named the Mercury. When performing at the Mercury, the company was known as Ballet Club. When performing at other London theatres or elsewhere in the UK, the company was variously called Marie Rambert Dancers, The Rambert Ballet, and Ballet Rambert. First used in 1935, Ballet Rambert gradually became the official name. : :In 1940-41, the company was based at the Arts Theatre Club, London, along with Antony Tudor’s London Ballet. Ballet Rambert and London Ballet began to share personnel and resources so that over the course of the two years, their names became amalgamated. In late 1941, the dancers brought in Equity because Harold Rubins, who owned the Arts Theatre Club, did not pay them a living wage. In response, Rubins fired them. London Ballet folded, but Ballet Rambert took Rubins to court because he had leased the sets and costumes and refused to return them. Consequently, the company did not exist in 1942 while the court case ensued. : :In March 1943, the Council for the Encouragement of Music and the Arts (C.E.M.A.) took over management of the re-launched Ballet Rambert. C.E.M.A. toured small ensembles of musicians and actors to armament factories in England and Wales, where they performed to workers during their breaks. With its repertoire created for the small stage of the Mercury, Ballet Rambert was ideal for this ‘home front’ work. Ballet Rambert now became a touring company. Soon, it was pioneering performances in ‘towns without theatres’, dancing for the general public in town halls, miners’ welfare halls, and other spaces. When World War II ended, Ballet Rambert toured Germany in early 1946 with E.N.S.A., performing for British soldiers stationed there. : :In 1947, the association with C.E.M.A., now called Arts Council of Great Britain, ended, and Ballet Rambert undertook a successful 15-month tour of Australia and New Zealand. Around half the dancers stayed in Australia, and so the diminished company was known as Ballet at Eight in its final season at the Mercury in 1949. Although the name soon reverted to Ballet Rambert, The Rambert Ballet was also used during the 1950s.: :In 1966, Ballet Rambert changed direction. It became a small ensemble focusing on contemporary works using a contemporary technique. The dancers were encouraged to choreograph. A resident orchestra, The Mercury Ensemble, was established. Norman Morrice became Artistic Director in 1970, succeeded by John Chesworth in 1974. : :Robert North was appointed Artistic Director in 1980, succeeded by Richard Alston in 1986. In 1987, Alston changed the name to Rambert Dance Company to reflect the contemporary repertoire. The company was without an artistic director in 1993, and The Mercury Ensemble folded. Christopher Bruce relaunched the company in 1994, with the London Musici as its associate orchestra (until 2009). Bruce remained artistic director until 2002, when Mark Baldwin took over. In August 2013, the company’s name became Rambert. Baldwin stepped down in 2018, succeeded by Benoit Swan Pouffer.

Performances as Madame Rambert's School of Dancing

Date ↿⇂	Dance Work ↿⇂	Dance company	Venue ↿⇂
21 Dec 1928 Evening	Menuet	Madame Rambert's School of Dancing	Century Theatre, London
21 Dec 1928 Evening	Warrior	Madame Rambert's School of Dancing	Century Theatre, London
21 Dec 1928 Evening	Flight of Swans	Madame Rambert's School of Dancing	Century Theatre, London
21 Dec 1928 Evening	Colibri	Madame Rambert's School of Dancing	Century Theatre, London
21 Dec 1928 Evening	Danse Chinoise	Madame Rambert's School of Dancing	Century Theatre, London
21 Dec 1928 Evening	Mannequin and her Beau	Madame Rambert's School of Dancing	Century Theatre, London
21 Dec 1928 Evening	Fée Dragée	Madame Rambert's School of Dancing	Century Theatre, London
21 Dec 1928 Evening	Russian Doll	Madame Rambert's School of Dancing	Century Theatre, London
21 Dec 1928 Evening	The Russian Peasant^*	Madame Rambert's School of Dancing	Century Theatre, London
21 Dec 1928 Evening	Nymphs and Shepherds (Suite de Danses)	Madame Rambert's School of Dancing	Century Theatre, London
21 Dec 1928 Evening	La Pomme d'Or (The Temptation)	Madame Rambert's School of Dancing	Century Theatre, London
21 Dec 1928 Evening	Polka^*	Madame Rambert's School of Dancing	Century Theatre, London
21 Dec 1928 Evening	Red Riding Hood	Madame Rambert's School of Dancing	Century Theatre, London
21 Dec 1928 Evening	Variation	Madame Rambert's School of Dancing	Century Theatre, London
21 Dec 1928 Evening	Russian Court Dance	Madame Rambert's School of Dancing	Century Theatre, London
21 Dec 1928 Evening	Cygnets	Madame Rambert's School of Dancing	Century Theatre, London
21 Dec 1928 Evening	Mazurka	Madame Rambert's School of Dancing	Century Theatre, London
21 Dec 1928 Evening	Mazurka - Finale	Madame Rambert's School of Dancing	Century Theatre, London
21 Dec 1928 Evening	Rigaudon^*	Madame Rambert's School of Dancing	Century Theatre, London
21 Dec 1928 Evening	Followers of Night	Madame Rambert's School of Dancing	Century Theatre, London
21 Dec 1928 Evening	Variation	Madame Rambert's School of Dancing	Century Theatre, London
21 Dec 1928 Evening	Gopak	Madame Rambert's School of Dancing	Century Theatre, London
21 Dec 1928 Evening	Variation	Madame Rambert's School of Dancing	Century Theatre, London
21 Dec 1928 Evening	Le Modele Blanc	Madame Rambert's School of Dancing	Century Theatre, London
21 Dec 1928 Evening	Columbine	Madame Rambert's School of Dancing	Century Theatre, London
21 Dec 1928 Evening	Blue Bird	Madame Rambert's School of Dancing	Century Theatre, London

Performance Database

Performances as Madame Rambert's School of Dancing

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