Guide to the Ballet Rambert's Tour of Australia and New Zealand: programs, ephemera, 1947-1949

 

Collection context

Summary

Collection number:
Rambert
Extent:
37 items
Language:
English
Preferred citation:

Acknowledgement of use this material should refer to the Ephemera PROMPT collection.

Citation of items from this collection should include references to author's/organisation's name, date, item title, Publisher and place of publication.

Example: J.C. Williamson (Firm). Theatre Royal (Adelaide, S.A.). 1950, Gilbert Sullivan opera season [theatre program] : The gondoliers J. C. Williamson Ltd [Adelaide]

Availability:
Available

Background

Content Summary:

Printed materials in the PROMPT collection include programs and printed ephemera such as brochures, leaflets, tickets, etc. Theatre programs are taken as the prime documentary evidence of a performance.

The list is based on imperfect holdings, and is updated as gaps in the Library's holdings are filled. Unless otherwise stated, all entries are based on published programs in the PROMPT collection.

Biographical / Historical:

Ballet Rambert (BR) is today the oldest existing dance company in England. It was founded in 1930 by Marie Rambert (MR), whose balletic lineage can be traced back to Isadora Duncan, E. Jacques-Dalcroze, S. Diaghilev, V. Nijinsky, Cecchetti and S. Astafieva. It was from these sources that she created an English ballet company with an understated style. This young, small company of thirty dancers under the personal direction of Marie Rambert arrived in Australia in October 1947 under the entrepreneur D.D. O'Connor in association with the British Council as the first major overseas company to visit Australia after World War II. The Australian public, who had been exposed in the pre-war period to a virtuosic and exuberant Russian style on a large scale, began to appreciate the smaller works presented with such realism. BR introduced a different concept of ballet to Australians -- as art and not spectacle.

Their impact was immediate and significant. Many Australians joined the company on tour, such as Cecil Bates, Ruth Boker, Charles Boyd (a former BR member), Rachel Cameron, June Florenz, Joan and Monica Halliday, Kathleen Lamb, Marita Lowden, Moira Peoples, Ann Somers (or Kathleen Gorham), Basil Truro (or Vassilie Trunoff ) including David Hunt who returned to Australia with BR and they in turn influenced future generations of dancers. Some of the Ballet Rambert dancers remained in Australia and contributed to the development of dance, these being Joyce Graeme, Brenda Hamlyn, Rex Reid and Margaret Scott. When the tour finished some of the Australians went with the company to England to further their careers, Ann Somers being one example.The tour was organised initially for six months but due to public pressure was extended to fifteen months which made Marie Rambert send home on two occasions for more ballets to cope with the demand. The repertoire included contemporary and classical works and introduced a new generation of English choreographers such as Antony Tudor, Frederick Ashton, Walter Gore and Andree Howard and Ninette de Valois. One ballet Winter night was created in Australia and had its world premiere in Melbourne giving designer Kenneth Rowell his first major success. The idea for an Australian work based on the mystic beliefs of the Aborigines, Dhoogar was presented to the company but not taken up by them.

Their itinerary included two Australian seasons interrupted by a four month tour of New Zealand. The first season of 28 weeks took in Melbourne, Broken Hill and Sydney. The second season of 18 weeks began in Brisbane then Sydney, Adelaide, Melbourne and Perth. In that time they gave over 500 performances of 33 ballets, introduced 26 new English creations as well as revived several classics by Coralli Perrot, M. Fokine, Lev Ivanov, Vaslav Nijinsky and Petipa.

For a full alphabetical repertoire please see supplementary material.

Arrangement:

This list reflects the itinerary order of the tour and gives researchers the opportunity to investigate the tour programme by programme as well as the number of performances given per ballet. It identifies additional material like ephemera and reviews. The material is arranged in this order.

Access and use

Preferred citation:

Acknowledgement of use this material should refer to the Ephemera PROMPT collection.

Citation of items from this collection should include references to author's/organisation's name, date, item title, Publisher and place of publication.

Example: J.C. Williamson (Firm). Theatre Royal (Adelaide, S.A.). 1950, Gilbert Sullivan opera season [theatre program] : The gondoliers J. C. Williamson Ltd [Adelaide]

Location of this collection:
Parkes Place
Canberra ACT 2600, Australia
Contact: