Rambert Dance Company is delighted to return to the Grand Theatre, Swansea between 8 and 10 March 2007, after an absence of 10 years. At 80 years old, Rambert continues to lead the way in creative innovation and artistic excellence, making it truly worthy of its status as Britain's flagship for modern dance.
Rambert's 2007 visit to Swansea includes the LS Lowry-inspired Stand and Stare by Darshan Singh Bhuller; the Olivier Award-winning Swamp by Michael Clark and Mark Baldwin's delightful Constant Speed, which has been wowing audiences across the country. Rambert is accompanied on tour by its Award-Winning Associate Orchestra, London Musici, conducted by Music Director, Paul Hoskins.
Commissioned in 2006 by The Lowry, Salford, Stand and Stare by Darshan Singh Bhuller explores the reoccurring images and themes from LS Lowry's life and work. Performed to Béla Bartók's Sonata for Two Pianos and Percussion, this powerful and exhilarating work draws on the strength and physicality of Rambert's exceptionally versatile dancers. Darshan comes fresh from his artistic leadership of Phoenix Dance Theatre, and this is his first work for Rambert Dance Company.
Constant Speed by Mark Baldwin was commissioned by the Institute of Physics and has been inspired by three of Einstein's key 1905 theories. The result is Rambert's full company of dancers whizzing around the stage like hyperactive molecules, in a joyous and athletic frenzy of movement. Performed to sparkling waltzes by Franz Lehár, with colourful designs from Michael Howells, this ingenious and witty piece succeeds in making physics intriguing and fun. In October 2005, Mark Baldwin received a TMA Theatre Award for Achievement in Dance for the creation of Constant Speed and the high calibre of his artistic directorship of Rambert Dance Company.
Swamp, by the icon of modern dance, Michael Clark, was originally created for Rambert in 1986, and this 2004 revival has been showered with praise. It received the Olivier Award for Best New Dance Production in 2005 and has been described by The Times as "amazing, simply amazing". Clark's movement clearly shows the influence of his classical background, but this only acts as a foundation for his originality and inventiveness. The structure of the work is loosely concerned with relationships and the title comes from Edward Albee's film "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" in which Martha refers to her husband George as 'Swampy'.
From its birth in 1926, by visionary Polish dance teacher Marie Rambert, Rambert Dance Company has survived as Britain's oldest dance company. Not only has the Company's creative vision and commitment to excellence led the way in the development of British dance, but today, under the inspired artistic leadership of Mark Baldwin, Rambert is proud to be the UK's flagship for modern dance - still innovating, still touring the UK and still entertaining audiences. Rambert is, truly, one of Britain's national cultural treasures |
