| Biography | She began teaching more ballet classes in 1919 and later founded her own ballet school in Bedford Gardens. In 1926 she created her own company, originally named Ballet Club. It has been through many name changes, much like Rambert herself. The company began performing at night revues in London. The first informal show was performed in Riverside Nights at the Lyric Theatre, and continued with the nightly revues for a while. She began finding new and promising dancers and choreographers in numerous places, such as Frederick Ashton to be a part of her company and gave them a chance to grow. From Marie Rambert Dancers the company changed to Ballet Rambert and is now called Rambert Dance Company, a modern dance company. It was the first ballet company in Britain . Ballet Rambert really kicked off its company performance with Frederick Ashtons A Tragedy of Fashion in 1926. Ashley, Marie's husband renovated a building and made it into Mercury Theatre, where the majority of Ballet Ramberts performance occurred. It was said that Notting Hill Gate, where the Mercury Theatre stood, was on the slopes of Olympus.[5] Ballet Rambert has performed such ballets as Coppelia, as well as Balanchine's Night Shadow. Marie Rambert was adamant about finding new and upcoming choreographers. Some of her students and later her colleagues included Frederick Ashton, Antony Tudor, and Agnes de Mille, to name a few. In 1965 Rambert, with the help of Norman Morrice, her newest discovery, completely reorganized the company to stress modern dance [6] The repertoire of the company eventually came back to more contemporary ballets, but still has a vast list of pieces that the company has performed throughout the years. She cooperated in Millicent Hodson to restore Nijinsky's choreography of The Rite of Spring in 1979. The restoration of choreography was completed in 1987.
Marie Rambert is known for helping to create and keep the ballet community strong in Britain. The creation of Ballet in Britain is one of the grandest achievements in the artistic annals of our century. It is owed absolutely to the idealism which fired Marie Rambert and Ninette de Valois who was the founder of what became The Royal Ballet. |