On Wednesday night I had the opportunity to watch the Rambert Dance Company at Birmingham Hippodrome. Thanks to Fiona, for giving me her extra press ticket!
I have seen quite a lot of dance shows over the part few years, and have always enjoyed the spectacle and been frequently impressed by the sheer physical effort that the dancers can achieve. But until I saw the Rambert I wasn’t entirely convinced I ‘got’ dance.
Now although my job involves basically finding ways to persuade audiences that all art is accessible, and that you don’t need specialist knowledge to enjoy something, I personally have not found some art forms to be for me. Some visual art leaves me cold, and I’m not a great opera lover. I like music, both classical and modern; most kinds of theatre and live arts; and I love museums and heritage. I think with dance I was a little on the fence. But not anymore! Seeing the Rambert was a fantastic experience- I was completely blown away.
We stayed after the show for a talk from the Artistic Director of Rambert, Mark Baldwin, and he explained how the philosophy of the Rambert company is that they work from the very beginning creating work with a composer, choreographer and designer. This was particularly evident in the first piece, Eternal Light; which was an interpretation of Howard Goodall’s beautiful Requiem, complete with orchestra, soloists and choir. The overall result is both detailed and spectacular.
I can’t do the show justice in words (read Fiona’s brilliant review for West Midlands Dance for more info) but it was an arts experience that has stayed with me, and has made me determined to seek out more great dance performances to go see. It has also reminded me why I like working in the arts- because you never know when and how art can take you someplace else.
14/04/2009 at 5:49 pm Permalink
I can’t agree more – it was an awesome experience. I’ve just downloaded Goodall’s requiem and am listening to it right now to try and re-live the moment! Insanely beautiful stuff.