Details

Britain's biggest and most exciting touring dance company who often tour two programmes at a time. Dancing to a mixture of musical styles they provide enormously watchable evenings. Set to extracts from Kurt Weill's Threepenny Opera, Antony Tudor's Judgment of Paris is a sardonic take on the classical myth. In this black comedy, the three women are no longer goddesses but tired, tawdry floozies competing for the attentions of a drunken client in a seedy night-club. This little Tudor gem was first performed by Rambert in 1940 and has been revived on several occasions since. Divine Influence, by Rambert dancer/choreographer Martin Joyce, was originally created for the 2005 Rambert Workshop Season and is an intimate duet, performed to the third movement of Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata. Divine Influence is a fast-moving, passionate encounter that bristles with comic tension and moments of real tenderness. Merce Cunningham is one of world’s most revered and enigmatic choreographers and Rambert is one of the few companies permitted to perform his work. Pond Way can be described as one of Cunningham's ‘nature studies’ where the movement evokes birds, animals or landscapes. It is a lyrical, contemplative and sensuous piece, with the movement, according to Cunningham, being reminiscent of the game of skimming stones over a pond, which he loved to play as a child. The production is further enriched with a backcloth from the visual artist Roy Lichtenstein and a soundscape by Brian Eno. Constant Speed, Baldwin’s first choreographic work as Artistic Director for Rambert, has been widely acclaimed for its novel and charming approach to physics. Commissioned by the Institute of Physics, Constant Speed has been inspired by three of Einstein’s key 1905 theories. The result is 19 of Rambert’s dancers whizzing around the stage like hyperactive molecules, in a joyous and athletic frenzy of movement. Performed to sparkling waltzes by Franz Lehár, this ingenious and witty piece succeeds in making physics intriguing and fun. Rambert Dance Company website.

Creatives/Company

Company: Rambert Dance Company
Choreographer(s): Antony Tudor (Judgment of Paris), Martin Joyce (Divine Influence), Merce Cunningham (Pond Way), Mark Baldwin (Constant Speed)