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 Rambert-London Ballet

Date ↿⇂	Dance Work ↿↾	Dance company	Venue ↿⇂
7 May 1941 Tea	Valse	Rambert-London Ballet	The Arts Theatre Club, London
29 Jun 1941 After-lunch	The Two Igors	Rambert-London Ballet	The Arts Theatre Club, London
17 May 1941 After-lunch	The Two Igors	Rambert-London Ballet	The Arts Theatre Club, London
17 May 1941 After-lunch	Shepherd's Wooing	Rambert-London Ballet	The Arts Theatre Club, London
7 May 1941 Tea	Shepherd's Wooing	Rambert-London Ballet	The Arts Theatre Club, London
7 May 1941 Tea	Prelude	Rambert-London Ballet	The Arts Theatre Club, London
13 May 1941 After-lunch	Piano Interlude	Rambert-London Ballet	The Arts Theatre Club, London
29 Jun 1941 After-lunch	Pavane pour une Infante Défunte^*	Rambert-London Ballet	The Arts Theatre Club, London
7 May 1941 Tea	Passionate Pavane	Rambert-London Ballet	The Arts Theatre Club, London
7 May 1941 Tea	Pas de Deux	Rambert-London Ballet	The Arts Theatre Club, London
29 Jun 1941 After-lunch	Panaderos	Rambert-London Ballet	The Arts Theatre Club, London
17 May 1941 After-lunch	Panaderos	Rambert-London Ballet	The Arts Theatre Club, London
13 May 1941 After-lunch	Panaderos	Rambert-London Ballet	The Arts Theatre Club, London
7 May 1941 Tea	Panaderos^*	Rambert-London Ballet	The Arts Theatre Club, London
17 May 1941 After-lunch	Overture	Rambert-London Ballet	The Arts Theatre Club, London
15 May 1941 Lunch	Overture	Rambert-London Ballet	The Arts Theatre Club, London
13 May 1941 After-lunch	Overture	Rambert-London Ballet	The Arts Theatre Club, London
7 May 1941 Tea	Overture	Rambert-London Ballet	The Arts Theatre Club, London
2 Jul 1941 Early evening	Mermaid	Rambert-London Ballet	The Arts Theatre Club, London
15 May 1941 Lunch	Mephisto Valse	Rambert-London Ballet	The Arts Theatre Club, London
7 May 1941 Tea	Mazurka	Rambert-London Ballet	The Arts Theatre Club, London
7 May 1941 Tea	Les Masques (ou, Changement de Dames)	Rambert-London Ballet	The Arts Theatre Club, London
29 Jun 1941 After-lunch	Lady into Fox	Rambert-London Ballet	The Arts Theatre Club, London
17 May 1941 After-lunch	Lady into Fox	Rambert-London Ballet	The Arts Theatre Club, London
13 May 1941 After-lunch	La Fête étrange	Rambert-London Ballet	The Arts Theatre Club, London
17 May 1941 After-lunch	Interlude	Rambert-London Ballet	The Arts Theatre Club, London
15 May 1941 Lunch	Interlude	Rambert-London Ballet	The Arts Theatre Club, London
7 May 1941 Tea	Interlude	Rambert-London Ballet	The Arts Theatre Club, London
7 May 1941 Tea	Interlude	Rambert-London Ballet	The Arts Theatre Club, London
2 Jul 1941 Early evening	Florentine Picture	Rambert-London Ballet	The Arts Theatre Club, London
2 Jul 1941 Early evening	Farruca^*	Rambert-London Ballet	The Arts Theatre Club, London
5 Jul 1941 Early evening	Exorcism by Fire^*	Rambert-London Ballet	The Arts Theatre Club, London
5 Jul 1941 Early evening	Death and the Maiden	Rambert-London Ballet	The Arts Theatre Club, London
7 May 1941 Tea	Death and the Maiden	Rambert-London Ballet	The Arts Theatre Club, London
15 May 1941 Lunch	Czerny 2^*	Rambert-London Ballet	The Arts Theatre Club, London
21 Aug 1941 Lunch	Confessional^*	Rambert-London Ballet	The Arts Theatre Club, London
29 Jun 1941 After-lunch	Circus Wings	Rambert-London Ballet	The Arts Theatre Club, London
17 May 1941 After-lunch	Circus Wings	Rambert-London Ballet	The Arts Theatre Club, London
21 Aug 1941 Lunch	Chopiniana	Rambert-London Ballet	The Arts Theatre Club, London
2 Jul 1941 Early evening	Catarina, ou La Fille du Bandit	Rambert-London Ballet	The Arts Theatre Club, London
2 Jul 1941 Early evening	Capriol Suite	Rambert-London Ballet	The Arts Theatre Club, London
5 Jul 1941 Early evening	Cap Over Mill^*	Rambert-London Ballet	The Arts Theatre Club, London
13 May 1941 After-lunch	Bartlemas Dances^*	Rambert-London Ballet	The Arts Theatre Club, London
17 May 1941 After-lunch	Alegrias^*	Rambert-London Ballet	The Arts Theatre Club, London
13 May 1941 After-lunch	A Florentine Picture	Rambert-London Ballet	The Arts Theatre Club, London

Performance Database

Performances as Rambert-London Ballet

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