Key Dates in Rambert Dance Company's History
1914 At the outset of the War Marie Rambert settles in England. She came to London with a wide background in dance a having been inspired by seeing Isadora Duncan dance, trained in ballet and in eurhythmics and spent a season with the Ballets Russes in 1913 primarily to assist Vaslav Nijinsky on his creation of The Rite of Spring.
1920 Marie Rambert received her certificate from Enrico Cecchetti with whom she studied ballet, and opened her first school in Bedford Gardens, Kensington Church Street. Cecchetti, the great Italian teacher who had been ballet master for the Ballet Russes, had taught in London since 1918.
1926 Under the guidance of Marie Rambert Frederick Ashton choreographed A Tragedy of Fashion to a synopsis by Ashley Dukes.
1931 Ballet Club opened.
1936 The Company appeared on television on its third day of transmission.
1940 Ballet Rambert is acquired by Harold Rubin to be one of three dance companies based at the Arts Theatre.
1943 Ballet Rambert re-launched by the Council for the Encouragement of Music and the Arts as primarily a touring company.
1947 Ballet Rambert goes to Australia.
1953 Marie Rambert appointed Commander of the British Empire (CBE) in the Coronation Honours.
1957 Ballet Rambert arrived in Peking, the first British ballet company to tour China.
1958 Norman Morrice choreographs Two Brothers.
1966 Revitalised Company launched with a return to the creativity of the early years and began alternating classical and modern dance techniques for their daily class.
1967 Glen Tetley works with Ballet Rambert mounting three works (including Pierrot Lunaire) and creating Ziggurat.
1977 Cruel Garden choreographed by Christopher Bruce in collaboration with Lindsay Kemp.
1979 Richard Alston was invited to work with Rambert, first as a teacher then as a choreographer.
1982 Death of Marie Rambert.
1985 Release of the first educational video the company produced commercially. Called Different Steps it illustrated the work of Ballet Rambert through three choreographers: Richard Alston (Wildlife), Christopher Bruce (Sergeant's Early Dream) and Robert North (Death and the Maiden).
1986 Richard Alston appointed Artistic Director.
1987 14 August: Ballet Rambert became known as Rambert Dance Company. In a statement Alston said:
In 1966 at the time of the major change of this Company from classical to modern, a change of name was openly discussed - and indeed supported by Rambert herself. It would seem appropriate, therefore, to choose the moment of this modern Company's coming-of-age to bring its name up to date, reflecting its current work more accurately.
1993 Siobhan Davies received the Olivier Award for the Most Outstanding Achievement in Dance for the choreography of Winnsboro' Cotton Mill Blues, created for Rambert and first danced in 1992.
1994 Christopher Bruce appointed Artistic Director.
2002 Mark Baldwin appointed Artistic Director.