Rambert- Establishment Of The New Company Flashcards
What was the 1960s like in Britain?
- The 1960s was a time of optimism, change, excitement and hope for Britain= just come out of Second World War so society was full of joy
- Many changes including music (Beatles), fashion (miniskirt= women’s liberty), use of recreational drugs and alcohol increased=happy hippie movement, technological advancements (microwave and coloured tv)
- London transformed into the centre of excitement, freedom and promise
- Feminism became more influential
What were the 5 main reasons for the reform? Include any other reasons too.
1) Constant touring in poor conditions (35 weeks a year)= lowers morale of dancers which therefore affects quality of their work, also no time/ money
2) Repertoire dominated by the popular larger classical ballets (preference)= means new works can’t be made due to time and space dominated by the larger companies
3) Too high a change (turnover rate) in the dancers= dancers had a sense of insecurity whilst touring and so moved to other companies
4) Dancers weren’t maintaining a high enough level of technique and training to execute large scale ballets= had too many non-performing, non training and non teaching periods
5) Not performing/ collaborations with choreographers, composers and designers = Young creative dancers weren’t developing and producing experimental work which ensures artistic progress
- Norman Morrice’s Dance ‘Two Brothers’ catalysed the change to Morrice choreographing one modern dance work a year, and initiated the learning of the Graham technique (abstract expressionism)
- Marie Rambert watched NDT successfully make the same change from classical to modern focused, reassuring her it was possible
- Morrice whilst studying out in America with Martha Graham, witnessed the American Modern Dance model, which had no hierarchy which inspired them
After identifying the following reasons for the reform, what was Rambert’s plan of action to go about this/ what practical changes occurred?
- Provincial (small town) touring but leaving out the larger theatres. Targeted provinces with young people/ universities to engage the youth
- Frequent sessions in smaller theatres in London
- Occasional foreign touring
- Making contact with the theatre of design department for the central school of Art and Design
- Ballet’s with pointe work, large scale classical works and most of the earlier ballet were all phased out of the rep
- Downscale the company from 33 dancers to 17 + - 2 dancers, got rid of mercury ensemble (orchestra)
- Moved to performing at a small church hall in Acton
- Anna Price and Clover Roup were hired to teach Graham technique
- Nadine Baylis (designer= new key feature of works, changed original painted backdrops to bigger designs/ structures to impact the movement on stage) and John B. Read (lighting designer= first to use side lights to illuminate body) were the new design team, along with Glen Tetley (USA modern choreographer) who together epitomised (peaked) the new Ballet Rambert.
What was Ballet Rambert’s artistic policy of 1966?
- Rambert had an aim to create their new company but not forget where they came from
- they will strive to preserve works from the past which add to its artistic heritage
- it’ll also encourage the creation and presentation of new works by established and apprentice choreographers, composers and designers
- the new group will become the means where by choreographers may explore traditional ballet and other movement techniques which have a direct bearing on the present and future developments of dance theatre
What key works marked the new direction of the company?
- That is the show (1971) and Blind sight (1969)by Norman Morrice
- Pierrot Lunaire (1967 in rep) by Glen Tetley
- Bertram Batell’s sideshow (1970) =this was an innovative programme designed for children/ young people to introduce the work of the new company. Publicity gives audiences more of an understanding to the new Ballet Rambert’s aims
- Collaborations 1 and 2 (1967)= a search for talented designers, composers and choreographers to provide a forum of new work
- The Dance Unit (1972)= an introduction to company’s new work aimed at adults. Some dancers went on ahead of the company to provinces to do some promotional work to encourage an interest for the upcoming performances.
- Dances for new dimensions= works were designed to fit into a greater variety of different spaces/ locations. This enabled them to tour to a variety of different theatres and gave an experimental opportunity for choreographers to explore with no pressure.
How were Marie Rambert’s aims/ visions realised in subsequent years?
- In a BBC interview, Rambert started that if the Royal Balket was like a gallery, she and her company was going to be the Tate gallery= new, exciting, and different works
- Nurturing choreographers through collaborations and dance for new dimensions project
- she preserved the best from the past but embraced the new works
How was Rambert’s change received from critics and the public?
- An article from the Times stated how Rambert’s change benefitted them more then anyone could have imagined
- Downscaling and having much more of a forward thinking focus helped in the companies reform massively
- Many works have been produced, and shown at premieres as well as old works being restored and added to the rep
- New works have a greater freedom of both movement and ideas
- Standard of dancing improved= soloists matured, new young people and a group of new boys
- Provided an intellectual content and stimulus that is found in contemporary dance
Who was Glen Tetley and why was he so instrumental in the change?
- An American modern dance choreographer who had studied with the Martha Graham Company in New York
- invited to join the company in 1967 to help develop a new repertoire
- gave the dancers a clear insight into Graham and the specifics of her technique.
- Integrated his clear blend of ballet and contemporary style into Rambert’s works
Who was Norman Morrice?
- Norman Morrice began at Rambert as a dancer after receiving a scholarship at age 21, in 1953
- In 1958 he choreographed ‘Two Brothers’ which was the company’s first modern dance work and ended up being a catalyst for change into modern dance in the 1960s.
- The success of ‘Two brothers’ after being performed at Jacob’s Pillow Festival with Ted Shawn, lead to Morrice being offered to go study with Martha Graham and learn her technique of contraction and release and abstract expressionism.
- Once returning to Rambert he began teaching the new contemporary style to his pupils, and lead the change from the large-scale, classical ballet company to a smaller, creative contemporary company
- he was appointed associate director of Rambert in 1966, and began actively working on the company. He did this by inviting Glen Tetley to help teach the contemporary technique
Why is Norman Morrice such an important name when talking about Ballet Rambert’s reform?
- Due to the pressure of changing tastes and a lack of sufficient dancers and funding, in order to survive they were forced to make a change
- It was Morrice who decided to lead Marie Rambert and her company in the change, and he began so by suggesting they downsized (33 to 17 + - 2 dancers) and returned to their creative roots to which they’d combine with a more contemporary approach.
After Norman a Morrice studied with Martha Graham, what was his ideas when returning to Rambert from his experience?
- Rambert can’t compete so they had to change, but it was a risk
- They were going to keep the best of their current rep but combine it with a new modern approach
- Reduce the amount of touring
- Adopt the American model of dance, which has no hierarchy
How was the Royal Ballet developing in the mid 1960s?
- Had changed its name from Sadlers Wells ballet to Royal ballet after receiving the royal charter from the queen in 1956
- Flourished under the directionship of Frederick Ashton in 1963
How was London Festival ballet (English National Ballet) developing in the mid 1960s?
- had been rescued by the arts council in 1962
- staged prestigious ballets eg coppelia + had regular performances at London Coliseum
- Arts council founded pilot project: small presentation of classical ballets when full company unavailable
How was London Contemporary Dance School developing in the mid 1960s?
- Founded by Robin Howard
- quality training of Graham technique by Anna Price and Clover Roup?
- Doubles in size in 1979
- professional touring company, with Graham company performing in Britain in 1954
In the mid 1960s, how does Ballet Rambert compare to the other companies at the time?
Other companies:
- growing in size
- performing regularly at large, popular venues
- has a high standard of training to ensure the best technique was being taught
- being funded by arts council etc
- royal status increases audience size and receive massive grant
Baller Rambert:
-under pressure from changing tastes
-had a lack of sufficient dancers
-no funding being given
-could not compete with the bigger companies
=resulted in Rambert making their change
-using the best of their past works but combining it with contemporary approach
-down sized company from 33 to 17 dancers
-reduced weeks touring to create time to make and perfect new works
-actively tried to improve company; invited Glen Tetley to work with dancers
-began developing choreographers from inside the company eg Christopher Bruce
