It’s been a long time since I last saw this company, then named Ballet Rambert after their illustrious founder Dame Marie Rambert, one of the pioneers of British ballet. Now they’re Rambert Dance Company, young, vibrant and full of energy. This exciting quadruple bill (great value for money) ticked all the boxes in demonstrating their freshness, their youth, and a little of their all-important heritage too.
Their first offering Labyrinth Of Love was a new piece by Marguerite Donlon inspired by writing by or about women over two thousand years. Visually it’s a multi-media fest with back projections (the sea, the universe, a burning orchid) while a soprano sings the required lyrics. Physically demanding, at times rather dangerous-looking and occasionally very funny with clapping, jumping and high lifting it drew an appreciative reception from the mainly young audience.
Monolith by Tim Rushton was the quintessence of a certain type of modern dance. Endlessly inventive it showed these young artists at the peak of physical perfection grouping and regrouping to Peteris Vasks’ Shaker Loops-style minimalist score.
But the highlight of the evening for me was the rare opportunity to see a restaging of one of Nijinsky’s legendary masterpieces L’Apres-midi d’un Faune. Nijinsky himself taught it to Madame Rambert, and here Miguel Altunaga perfectly captures the complete strangeness of this attempt to recreate Greek dance as portrayed on ancient vase-paintings. Exactly a hundred years old this 12 minute work still appears to be ahead of any modern fashion.
The evening ended with 2012 work What Wild Ecstasy by Mark Baldwin a wonderfully vibrant celebration of nature and its creative implulses. At the climax the releasing of hundreds of yellow pollen spheres provoked loud laughter and resounding applause. Not to be missed.
