Rambert at the Festival Theatre Edinburgh Review
Rambert
Festival Theatre, Edinburgh
23-25 November 2016
Reviewed by Juliana Headley
I was very excited to go and see one of the most famous dance troupes in the world. Rambert is a British company established by Dame Marie Rambert and this year they are celebrating their 90th year of being on stage! Originally the main genre was ballet with elements of new dance forms. But from 1960 Rambert diverted completely into contemporary style and since then developed a worldwide reputation as being one of the best in this field. Nowadays it is a compulsory requirement to study Rambert for any aspiring dancer in the UK wishing to pass their GCSE and A-levels in Dance. One of characteristic features of Rambert is that they have their own orchestra, called Rambert Orchestra, and also as per Marie Rambert’s founding principle that every dance work should be a collaboration between a composer, choreographer and an artist, have their own in house composers, not just choreographers.
Last night’s show started with a piece called “Tomorrow”, inspired by Shakespeare’s “Macbeth”. The stage was divided into 2 parts by a massive beam and on one side elegant, airy dancers in golden outfits performed their piece and on the other side a group of “dark” dancers dressed in black, had their own performance. With very futuristic music and 14 dancers doing their own thing, I was mesmerized for the whole piece, trying not to breathe thinking I might have missed something out! A very intense and fascinating performance!
The second piece was called “Frames” and was danced in a huge box. Dancers had metal poles as props, used at first as swords and the dancers were Chinese warriors and then the poles got cleverly joined together into flexible frames, constantly changing shapes and positions, “dancing” with the dancers. Another breathtaking performance! All the dancers were so light on their feet, sliding and flittering across the stage to the beats of the music, with only occasional sound of poles touching each other!
The third, and my favourite piece, was “Ghost Dancers”, the most requested work from Rambert catalogue. It’s danced to a more traditional music and the only piece that had words to the music. It was a contrast between the world of the dead and a celebration of live and how they interconnect.
An incredible night! Absolutely loved all three performances! Very innovative and quirky! Already checked tour dates and planning on seeing other pieces!
Rating: 5/5 
Rambert is currently on tour around the UK, for more information and tour dates visit www.rambert.org.uk.
For other shows at the Festival Theatre in Edinburgh visit www.edtheatres.com.
Festival Theatre, 13/29 Nicolson Street, Edinburgh, EH8 9FT | 0131 529 6000
