Marie Rambert (1888-1982)
I have received several suggestions about dancers that I have not yet written about. Think about it Diaghilev's Ballets Russes existed for twenty years (1909-1929) during which time many dancers came and went. Dancers that are often forgotten by today's dancers are the ones I want especially to bring to your attention.
Marie Rambert (Cyvia Rambam, then Miriam Ramberg, 1888-1982), a Polish dancer was working with Emile Jacques-Dalcroze when Diaghilev hired her in 1913 to help the dancers with Igor Stravinsky's complicated rhythms in Le Sacre du Printemps. She also studied with Enrico Cecchetti, and danced in the corps de ballet. She soon left to settle in London. Rambert opened a London ballet school in 1920. Which produced some of the finest dancers and choreographers of this century. Among of her famous students were Frederick Ashton, Antony Tudor, Walter Gore, Agnes de Mille, and Andr e Howard. She founded her own company. Her company, the Ballet Club, was the first permanent ballet company in England. Rambert also published her memoirs in Quicksilver.
(First published October 1995)