RAMBERT DANCE COMPANY
‘It is not the strongest of the species that survives,
nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is the
most adaptable to change.’ Charles Darwin
The Comedy of Change Tour 2009 /
www.rambert.org.uk
Live music played by Rambert Orchestra
Wed 23 - Fri 25 September, 2009
Press Night: The Lowry, Salford, Wednesday 23 September 2009 at 7.30pm
Having received an Olivier Award nomination for the creation of Constant Speed in 2005, Mark Baldwin, Rambert’s Artistic Director, returns to the world of science to create his third major work for Rambert Dance Company. Celebrating the 200th anniversary of the birth of Charles Darwin and marking 150 years since the publication of his book On The Origin of Species, Mark Baldwin’s Comedy of Change sets sail from Plymouth, where Darwin himself launched his maiden voyage back in 1831 prior to The Lowry in Salford. With critics and audiences united in their praise for Rambert’s Spring Season ’09, Baldwin and his world-class Rambert Dance Company prepare to take you on a journey of discovery with The Comedy of Change, at The Lowry, Salford, on 23 September 2009.
‘There are two London premières in this Sadler’s Wells spring season and they couldn’t be more different, proving yet again - if such proof were needed - just how versatile and dynamic Rambert is under Mark Baldwin’s direction.’
Debra Craine, The Times - May ‘09
As with the Russian impresario Diaghilev and his Ballets Russes 100 years ago, Mark Baldwin predicates his creative choices around collaborations between choreographers, composers and artists. Kick-started by Stephen Keynes, Darwin’s great-grandson and long-standing friend of Baldwin, Comedy of Change includes a specially commissioned score by renowned British composer Julian Anderson, with production design by the multifaceted French-Algerian artist, Kader Attia.
Composer – Julian Anderson. Julian Anderson has a natural connection with Darwin via his father Professor E S Anderson who was a celebrated micro-biologist and Fellow of the Royal Society. Darwin's theory is at the very root of the inspiration for this project - which is that all things change. Comedy of Change is Anderson’s third ballet with Mark Baldwin, The Bird Sings with its Fingers being the winner of the South Bank Show Award for the best New Dance Work of 2001, whilst Towards Poetry was part of a 1999 Royal Ballet tour. A strong interest in devising new forms of melody informs all his work. Influences are folk music of Eastern Europe and Russia, Stravinsky, and the French spectralists, and his mentors have included Alexander Goehr, Messiaen, Ligeti and Oliver Knussen (a particular champion of his music). Since 2002 he has run the Philharmonia's Music of Today series and he has been Composer in Residence at the CBSO as well as more recently the Cleveland Orchestra. His recordings have won prizes - most recently the Gramophone Award in 2007. He is about to embark on an opera for English National Opera.
Production Designer – Kader Attia. Born in Algeria, raised in Paris, and now based in Berlin, Kader Attia is an artist who works in many mediums but focuses primarily on the difficulty of being an outsider in a politically and socially charged environment. His fascination with notions of survival and tenacity manifest themselves through contradiction. Absolute positive against negative - white as opposed to black - Muslim as opposed to Jewish. Reflective materials frequently appear in his work - demanding the viewer judge from their own standpoint first. He forces the viewer to think again about alternating approaches to situations of survival and faith. Spring ’09 saw Attia’s Ghost instillation exhibited at London’s Saatchi Gallery.
Scientific Advisor – Professor Nicky Clayton. Nicky Clayton is a fellow of Clare College and in 2005 became the youngest female professor ever appointed at Cambridge University. Nicky has always been fascinated by birds – by their glamour and elegance, their movement and rituals, their melodies and labours. Her studies focus on members of the crow family, including jackdaws, rooks and jays, challenging common-held assumptions that only humans can plan for the future and reminisce about the past. Her work has led to a radical re-evaluation of animal cognition and the evolution of cognition. Nicky’s expertise has proven an invaluable source of inspiration for the Comedy of Change creative team.
‘A large part of my life is spent dancing – ballet, jazz and particularly Latin dance like salsa and tango. Of course, birds dance too: I have a favourite video clip that I show my students of the Swallow-tailed Manakin – it’s the avian equivalent of tango and, not surprisingly, these birds are found in Argentina!’ Professor Nicky Clayton, Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Cambridge
PAST and FUTURE, SAME but DIFFERENT, REVEAL and CONCEAL. Combining the fascinating and exuberant worlds of evolution and dance, Mark Baldwin creates Comedy of Change, a vigorous and beautiful new work. Courtship dances, display and nature’s use of camouflage are all enhanced with music and design by some of the best contemporary artists.
In addition to Mark Baldwin’s Comedy of Change, Rambert will perform the following repertoire at The Lowry, Carnival of the Animals by Siobhan Davies and A Linha Curva (for further information see editors notes).
‘As Britain’s leading contemporary dance company, Rambert Dance has long had the knack of mounting crowd-pleasing evenings of up-to-the minute work – and their new bill displays all their characteristic verve, charm and exuberance.’
Sarah Crompton, The Daily Telegraph - May ‘09
Rambert Dance Company is proud to announce the launch of its own orchestra. Music Director Paul Hoskins said: ‘In recent years, Rambert Dance Company has seen the role of music become ever more central to our thinking and planning, under Artistic Director Mark Baldwin. After a very long and happy association, London Musici has decided to focus on different kinds of projects. I am very excited that our exceptional players will now come under the same roof as our wonderful dancers, and we all see this new arrangement as a logical and hugely beneficial step in Rambert’s evolution. The existence of Rambert Orchestra leads to all kinds of creative possibilities, and enhances our ambitious plans for the future.’
Rambert Dance, Comedy of Change Tour 2009
Programme at The Lowry:
Comedy of Change Baldwin
Carnival of the Animals* Davies
A Linha Curva* Galili
Posted on Thursday, 13 August 2009 under Press Theatre Press