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Ohn 15 June 1926, the Lyric theater in Hammersmith played a “little ballet” called A Tragedy of Fashion, “a little thing” according to the press, which was created for the first time on the West London stage. Yet it became a pivotal moment in British dance. The show was created by Marie RambertA Polish émigré who performed with Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes, it was the beginning of a dance company that is still going strong 100 years later.
Marie Rambert was a force of nature. She has been called “an inspired talent show and troublemaker”, with “intelligence, taste and a keen sense of the situation”, and with her company was born (which became known as the Marie Rambert Dancers, then Ballet Club, then the Ballet Rambert), introduced the art of British ballet masters of the period, including Frederick Ashton and Antony Tudor. “This woman was a pioneer,” said Benoit Swan Pouffer, the company’s chief technology officer. “He was really ahead of his time.” However, fast-forward 100 years and Marie Rambert would not have recognized the company that still bears her name, written in capital letters under a beautiful building behind the National Theatre, on London’s South Bank.
Britain’s oldest dance company, Rambert has been reinvented several times. In the 60s he switched from ballet to modern dance and changed his name to Rambert Dancing Company in 1987 (now going by the name Rambert). And in celebration of his centenary, instead of revisiting classics from his extensive archives, Rambert is taking a list of the most danceable acts on the road. It’s in line with the company’s DNA, says Pouffer, “pushing the boundaries, democratic dance, giving space to new voices to create new work, taking risks – not being afraid to move forward”. There will be work from the French group (La) Horde, inspired by the culture of lindy hop and rave, and from Bobbi Jene Smith and Or Schraiber who are reworking their piece Fugue in Crimson for the company. In addition, there is a piece by the Dutch music artist Emma Evelein.
When the Frenchman Pouffer arrived at Rambert in 2018, after running the Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet in New York very well, he ruffled a few feathers saying that the British organization needed to be reformed, and to implement changes in staff, dancers and culture. Pouffer is passionate about the process and what it takes to keep a dance company alive for 100 years, and hopefully the next 100 years. It’s very important as a director, he says, not to get too attached to your interests as dancers.
“You must have spies all over the world, ears and eyes.” I collect information,” he says, sitting in his office, dressed in black, with his French bulldog Brooklyn watching the office door. “The environment has changed a lot.” People who saw the company 15 or 20 years ago “were disappointed or excited about what was coming”, but he also mentions Marie Rambert. He said: “She was fearless and stubborn, and she expected the audience to go with her.
“In the early 2000s when I was in America, there were young people Hofesh Shechteryoung people Crystal Pite,” says Pouffer, referring to two of the century’s most talented choreographers. Rambert’s four-day set at London’s Southbank Center last September was one of those. A collaboration with the choreography group (La) Horde, We weren’t supposed to walk on the moon they had 80 dancers throughout the building and out, and the audience wandered through the halls between them, filming and sending videos as it happened. It felt fun, a real event, and gritty, experimental dance with a great team.
The boundaries between different styles and styles – ancient and modern, theatrical and commercial, stage and screen – have collapsed. Dance is everywhere on the internet. “Some good and some bad,” says Pouffer. “I don’t know if I should say it, but creating a choreography for two minutes on TikTok – does it make you a choreographer? This is just a question. For me, choreography is a concept of time, space, a journey for the audience, raising questions, poetry. It’s not just steps.”
With all the talk of pushing the limits of technology, one of the biggest changes Pouffer has overseen at Rambert is a shift to more commercial products. First, TV dance version Peaky Blinders, who has just returned from a tour in China (“We had a huge fanbase following us from city to city”) and next, a show based on Russell T Davies’ hit drama. It is Sinabout friends living through the AIDS crisis in the 80s, with the Pet Shop Boys as the main producers.
It’s a very smart move, using existing IP and selling populism on TV to get people to come see the dance, but Pouffer insists it’s not a gimmick. There is a direct connection between the world of Ndilo Tchimo, for example, and Rambert, whose dancers were lost to Aids. “In our area, it was disgusting,” says Pouffer. “We lost a great talent. And I always wonder what she would have done and how the dance world would have changed.”
However, with these changes, is there a danger that dance is only related to other arts, that it is not enough on its own? “I’m being honest with you,” says Pouffer. “After a few years of being in Rambert, changes were made with singers and dancers. And we had people in the theater, but not too many. Not (enough) as I wanted Rambert to celebrate.” He decided that he would have to act boldly. Peaky Blinders has now been seen by 250,000 people, 65% of whom are new to Rambert and 21% new to dance. All arts organizations talk about attracting new audiences; it seems that Rambert has been doing it. Pouffer is adamant that no prior knowledge of dance is necessary. “I really believe that someone who has never seen a dance has the right opinion like me.”
All dance companies also talk about the cost of traveling. Is it possible to visit the UK without losing money? “No, it’s not. We’re losing money,” admits Pouffer. “But touring is part of our job, it’s very important. The visual, touring company of the mixed business often dances in silence, in a static place, he says, especially outside the UK. “So what do we do? We talked about it once: you know, the old ballet company does The Nutcracker for three months. A show like Peaky Blinders, he says, is “our Nutcracker”. It’s true, the big ballet companies rely on their annual Christmas Nutcracker to fund all the rehearsals they want to do. Why shouldn’t today’s dance company work the same way?
It is impossible to have this discussion about the popularity and importance of dance, or not, without Timothée Chalamet raising his twisted head, and his famous words nobody cares about ballet. “I shake my head because he’s a boy,” says Pouffer, pointing out that he also has dancers in his family. “I hope he didn’t mean as much as he thought.” Chalamet’s no-nonsense tone sent the dance world into a frenzy, but he wasn’t wrong. Few people care much about dance, but for most people, Rambert’s interests are not on their radar. “That’s right. I agree with you,” said Pouffer. “It’s a small part of the entertainment industry’s diet.”
His dismay is the amount of talent out there (and one of Pouffer’s strengths has been blindly finding good performers) that people don’t know about or will never see, because so many entertainment genres dominate the screens and talk shows. Pouffer will continue to push. “My main goal with Rambert is a brand,” he says, and under that umbrella can be all kinds of different projects: stage, digital, commercial, populist, experimental. She volunteered for the company and lives in London (she married a firefighter in London), and said: “I like it here. I like the British – they’re funny.”
For the next 100 years, there is AI to think about, without fail. With AI, everything I look at is always in doubt. says Pouffer. “The only way to prove it is to see yourself with your own eyes, live it, maybe it will be our time, maybe we will be fun not to lie.” He thinks there can be different ways to dance: the Southbank event was “an experiment” he says, “where you don’t have to sit and watch. You create an environment where the audience is working.”
In the short term, he wants to bring back Rambert2, the graduate company he ran a three-year pilot, with amazing young players and exciting music. It’s just a matter of money, as always. You need a generous donor, I say. Maybe Timothée Chalamet can… “Help, right?” laughs Pouffer. “I think he should do it and dance. Then he can shut this up!”
This is Rambert and to Sadler’s WellsLondon, 10 to 13 June; visiting until 16 September.
