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Marie Rambert | |
|---|---|
 Rambert in 1948 | |
| Born | Cyvia Rambam (1888-02-20)20 February 1888 Warsaw,Congress Poland, Russian Empire |
| Died | 12 June 1982(1982-06-12) (aged 94) London, England |
| Occupation(s) | Ballerina and dance pedagogue |
| Years active | 1912–1979 |
| Known for | Founder of Ballet Rambert, nowRambert Dance Company |
| Spouse | Ashley Dukes (1918–1959; his death) |
| Children | 2 |
Dame Marie RambertDBE (bornCyvia Rambam; 20 February 1888 – 12 June 1982) was a Polish-born English dancer andpedagogue who exerted great influence on British ballet, both as a dancer and teacher.
Born to a liberalLithuanian Jewish family inWarsaw,Congress Poland, she was originally namedCyvia (Cesia) Rambam. Her father and two of his brothers later changed their last names to make them seemonly children in order to escape military service in theImperial Russian Army;[1][2] and so, while one brother retained the name Rambam, her father changed his toRamberg, another of his brothers went toRambert, and the last changed his name toWarszawski. She changed her name toMyriam Ramberg, and finally left it in theFrench formMarie Rambert. In later years she was known to friends and dancers as Mim.
Her father,Yakov Ramberg (1855–1928), born inVištytis, a small town inSuwałki Governorate (nowadays inLithuania), was a learned merchant and Hebrew publisher and lexicographer, and aZionist. Her mother, Eiga Ramberg (née Lap), born in the town ofSuchowola (nowadays in north-eastPoland), daughter of Rabbi Elhanan Tzvi Lap, was a community worker.[3]
Rambert was the fourth of seven children. The eldest child, Rakhel, was the wife of Hebrew writerMicha Josef Berdyczewski. The second, Ewa Ramberg-Figulla, was aSlavist, the wife of GermanHittitologist Hugo Heinrich Figulla and mother of physicist Johannes Figulla[4] (father-in-law of German writerChristoph Hein and grandfather of German writerJakob Hein).
Rambert met her husbandAshley Dukes, a soldier on leave, at a dinner party in 1917. In Rambert's autobiography she says "after four days of personal meetings, and seven months of correspondence we were married on 3 March 1918."[5] This was done partly as a joke so that Dukes could get four weeks of extended leave instead of two days. Their marriage lasted 41 years, until he died in 1959; the couple had two daughters, Angela (1920–2006) and Helena.[citation needed] The poet, Aidan Andrew Dun, is her grandson.
Rambert began her dance training in her schooling early on. Subjects such as foreign languages and history seemed to come easy; however she was a restless child and ended up getting bad marks because of her endless movements during class. At one point in her early training her dance instructor stated that 'In her, was the true spirit of dance.'[6] She was unimpressed with the structure and performance of ballet, and was not drawn into dance as a passion until she became enthralled byIsadora Duncan when, in 1904,[7] she attended one of Duncan's performances, and was "profoundly moved by the beauty of Duncan's dance".[8]
In 1905, after becoming active in political riots, and the tragic day of May Day, Rambert's parents urged her at one point to move to Paris and take up medicine while safely living with her aunt and uncle who were also doctors. She attended a party where she danced a mazurka and danced it with such liveliness that there was applause afterwards; this was her first performance, whether she thought it or not. She metRaymond Duncan, brother of Isadora, at this same party, who congratulated her on a wonderful performance, and again she was back into her passion for dance. She studied with Madame Rat from theParis Opera, and later studied withÉmile Jaques-Dalcroze, at Dalcroze College who introduced her toeurhythmics.[9]
One day at the Dalcroze College,Sergei Diaghilev, watched a class and then asked her to come back to Berlin and study with him in theBallets Russes. There, Rambert aided them with figuring outIgor Stravinsky'sThe Rite of Spring withVaslav Nijinsky.[10] She hesitantly accepted and collaborated with the Ballets Russes led by Diaghilev from 1912 to 1913.[citation needed] In Ballets Russes she was in the corps de ballet for ballet performances such asSwan Lake,Giselle, andScheherazade. After a tour with Nijinsky and Ballets Russes, Rambert's contract was not continued and she decided it was time for a new chapter. In 1914, she moved to the United Kingdom, and studied underEnrico Cecchetti.[11]
After studying with Cecchetti, she went back to study with Madame Rat at the Paris Opera, and took her studies quite seriously. She began teaching more ballet classes in 1919 and later founded her own ballet school inBedford Gardens. In 1926 she created her own company, originally namedBallet 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 inRiverside Nights at theLyric Theatre, and continued with the nightly revues for a while. She began finding new and promising dancers and choreographers in numerous places, such asFrederick Ashton, to be a part of her company and gave them a chance to grow. FromMarie Rambert Dancers, the company changed toBallet Rambert, laterRambert Dance Company, and from 2014 just namedRambert, acontemporary dance company which tours internationally. It dates its birth to the first performance ofFrederick Ashton'sA Tragedy of Fashion (1926),[12] making it the first ballet company in Britain.
Ashley Dukes, Marie's husband, renovated a building and made it intoMercury Theatre, where the majority of Ballet Rambert's performance occurred. It was said that 'Notting Hill Gate, where the Mercury Theatre stood, was on the slopes of Olympus'.[13] Ballet Rambert has performed such ballets asCoppelia, as well as Balanchine'sNight Shadow.[14]
Rambert was adamant about finding new and upcoming choreographers. Some of her students and later her colleagues included Ashton,Antony Tudor, andAgnes 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".[15] 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 with Millicent Hodson,[16] to restoreNijinsky's choreography ofThe Rite of Spring in 1979. The restoration of choreography was completed in 1987. 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 Rambert andNinette de Valois",[17] the founder ofThe Royal Ballet. She was the subject ofThis Is Your Life in 1962, when she was surprised byEamonn Andrews at theMercury Theatre, Notting Hill Gate.[citation needed]
She died at her home in Campden Hill Gardens on 12 June 1982,[18][19] and was cremated atGolders Green Crematorium on 17 June. Her ashes are within the Cloister Walk in section B.
