Stage: Seven For a Secret
Andrew Kay attends rehearsal at Rambert Dance Company prior to their Theatre Royal appearances
In the world of dance the name Rambert resounds. Founder Dame Marie had met Sergei Diaghilev, worked with him at Ballet Russes and with Nijinsky, and danced for them too. But in 1914 she moved to Great Britain where she eventually created Ballet Club which, in turn, became Ballet Rambert.
The company has been visiting and performing at Brighton’s Theatre Royal since the 1930s so it seemed reasonable enough for me to go see them at their West London headquarters. In fact, it was a privilege and one that will live with me for a long while.
There I met with artistic director Mark Baldwin who has been with company now for ten years in that role but had formerly danced for the company, again for ten years. Mark talks passionately about the company and about the work he does with them. His most recent piece, Seven For A Secret, is an evocative study of play. Working with many of the separate parts that make up the company, he has created from childhood memory and from observation a dance work that explores the notion of play.
Later that day I am allowed to sit in on a full run through of the new work. It’s a joyous experience, even without lights, set and costume. In fact, it helps focus
the mind of the pure physicality of the work, and being so close, the immense strength and exertion of the dancers.
What really came home was the nostalgic nature of the work. Mark is clearly remembering a time when child’s play was just that. A time when kids would roam the countryside freely, exploring, playing and taking risks. It’s a situation almost completely gone now with the oppressive threats of modern life and the worry of modern parental responsibility. But for me he conjured my days of bridging streams, catching minnows and building dens. A world where all was there to be conquered and conquer it we did.
Seeing rehearsals, and I was lucky enough to see several, and sitting in on a costume call, for a new work yet to be programmed for Brighton, gave me a further insight into the way this company works. To describe it as a tight knit family might sound simplistic, but there is that quality to the relationships in the room.
It’s a happy family too, with a great sense of fun running alongside what is clearly a very intense working environment, one that is clearly physically demanding but also intellectually demanding too. Not that you see any of that effort in performance, where the finished effect is one of almost effortless beauty.
Seven For A Secret is at the heart of the programme that Rambert Dance Company will be bringing to Brighton this season. Alongside it we will be seeing Elysian Fields, taken from a passage in the film score of Tennessee Williams’ A Streetcar Named Desire and based on his life and his work.
Choreographed by Javier de Frutos, whose work has achieved international acclaim, this piece is passionate, erotic and intense. The third work will be Roses set to music by Richard Wagner and Heinrich Baermann and choreographed by American Paul Taylor, once described by Martha Graham as the ‘naughty boy’ of dance.
As always, the company tour with live musicians, a rare treat with modern dance companies.
Theatre Royal Brighton has a strong fan base for Rambert and the atmosphere in the always full auditorium will be heady. Dance lovers of all ages will be on the edge of their seats to see these three works and, having seen a sneak preview, their expectations will be more than met.
Rambert Dance Company, Theatre Royal Brighton, 28–31 March. Box office 08448 717 650,
www.atgtickets.com/theatre-royal-brighton
