The red shoes

By Hu Bei Source:Global Times Published: 2012-8-26 16:55:03

A full year before the first Chinese version of a Western ballet was staged in the country (Swan Lake in 1958), a British ballet company was already delighting local audiences. The Ballet Rambert, now known as the Rambert Dance Company, was the first UK troupe to be invited to perform in China after the formation of the People's Republic of China. And now the troupe will be performing a one-off show in Shanghai next month. The company was founded by Polish-born Marie Rambert (1888-1982) who later became a teacher to Dai Ailian, the pioneer of Chinese ballet and the first president of the Beijing Dance School.

During the company's tour of China in September 1957, Rambert and her dancers performed in Beijing, Tianjin, Wuhan, Nanjing and Shanghai. According to the troupe's current artistic director Mark Baldwin, the company performed Coppélia, a classic comic work choreographed by Arthur Saint Leon, and Giselle choreographed by Jean Coralli.

Stage photos of performances by Rambert Dance Company. Photos: Courtesy of Shanghai Oriental Art Center
Stage photos of performances by Rambert Dance Company. Photos: Courtesy of Shanghai Oriental Art Center





Oriental influence

"These two were well-received by Chinese audiences, but they were less enthusiastic about Winter Night (Rambert's original ballet dance work from the 1940s), which was generally considered to be too abstract," Baldwin said. "The settings and backdrops for these particular performances reflected an oriental influence. The then premier, Zhou Enlai watched one of our performances and he and Marie Rambert were photographed together."

Founded in 1926 the Rambert Dance Company is now the oldest dance company in Britain. And in September, the company will embark on its third China tour (the second was in 2004 in Beijing). On the night of September 9, the company will perform in Shanghai, staging four separate dance works at the Shanghai Oriental Art Center.

During its 86-year history, the Rambert Dance Company has established relations with dancers and choreographers from around the whole world. With a team of 22 full-time dancers, the company is also Britain's largest contemporary dance company, and is the only UK contemporary dance troupe always to tour with its own orchestra.

Marie Rambert herself, and the first generation of her dancers, were heavily influenced by Russian classical ballet. Before establishing her own company, Rambert was an assistant to Vaslav Nijinsky (1889-1950) often referred to as the greatest male ballet dancer of the 20th century. She also danced for the Russian impresario Sergei Diaghilev's Ballets Russes.

"In 1966, Rambert took the bold step of reducing the company's size, returning to its creative roots as a choreographers' company and adding contemporary dance to its classical ballet repertoire. Since that time, the company has maintained the style of marrying classical and contemporary choreography," Baldwin said.

Baldwin has performed with the Rambert Dance Company for 10 years and became the artistic director of the company in 2002. For one of the pieces to be performed in Shanghai, What Wild Ecstasy, Baldwin has adapted Nijinsky's iconic ballet, L'Après-midi d'un faune (The Afternoon of a Faun). And alongside this modern adaptation, they will also present Nijinsky's original version.

Stage photos of performances by Rambert Dance Company. Photos: Courtesy of Shanghai Oriental Art Center
Stage photos of performances by Rambert Dance Company. Photos: Courtesy of Shanghai Oriental Art Center





Exquisite piece

"L'Après-midi d'un faune is an exquisite piece and our version is the purest I have seen," Baldwin said. "I especially enjoy watching the movements of the female lead, whose strict profile, held shoulder line and aloof beauty is key. It is a work in which nothing much happens, yet everything happens. The discipline of it is so powerful so that it remains a wonderful lesson to young choreographers."

When talking of the inspiration of What Wild Ecstasy, Baldwin said: "I was born in Fiji and the first dancing I remember seeing was Polynesian tribal dancing. Gavin Higgins, the composer of What Wild Ecstasy was brought up in the Forest of Dean in England, where as a child he remembers illegal raves happening in the forest with their basal beats on one side of the house and barking, mating foxes on the other. We thought it might be interesting to somehow bring these ideas together. The dance itself probably can be called 'sexual selection' or 'sexual competition' - men and women want different things."

The other two works in Shanghai are Hush and Monolith. Choreographed by Christopher Bruce, Hush is a light-hearted and affectionate celebration of family life. Critically acclaimed in America and the UK and set to music by Bobby McFerrin and Yo-Yo Ma, this brilliant 2006 creation will "lift your spirits and keep your toes tapping," according to a press release by the company.

Monolith was devised by Tim Rushton, artistic director of Danish Dance Theatre, and was inspired by the "mystical energies which haunt sites of man-made gathering places," according to the company.

Baldwin told the Global Times that Rambert is a publicly funded organization, receiving money from the Arts Council of England. "This accounts for 69 percent of our total income," he said. "We also run a prolific learning program with participants from all over the country and offer several opportunities for artist development."

Stage photos of performances by Rambert Dance Company. Photos: Courtesy of Shanghai Oriental Art Center
Stage photos of performances by Rambert Dance Company. Photos: Courtesy of Shanghai Oriental Art Center



 

Date: September 9, 9:15 pm

Venue: Shanghai Oriental Art Center 上海东方艺术中心

Address: 425 Dingxiang Road

丁香路425号

Tickets: 80 to 880 yuan

Call 6854-1234 for details

 



Posted in: ARTS, Metro Shanghai

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