Rambert School of Ballet and Contemporary Dance invited a variety of very special guest artists to work with them during their Research Week in April 2009. This gave students the possibility to explore different ways of approaching dance in an intensive week, which was rich in performance related studies and creatively based workshops.
One of the highlights was the opportunity to invite students from the Central School of Ballet to join in with various workshops that held a great mutual interest. Students from both schools were bowled over with the powerful presence and intimate insight that Esther Balfe gave into the work of William Forsythe. She spoke of Forsythe’s method of creative development in a workshop where students danced phrases of repertoire that were to be performed at Sadler’s Wells Theatre and Tate Modern over the course of the week.
Students from both affiliates also had the opportunity to delve deeply together into the study of dance solo work with Antonia Grove, in an initiative supported throughout the course of the year by the Joint Artistic Project Fund. A solo by the late Jeremy James was danced and studied in great depth as students were encouraged to find an individual performance quality drawing upon elements of the tangible, the obscure and the light and shade of human experience.
A wonderfully exciting and stimulating week was enjoyed by all, as students now work toward integrating their various experiences into their ongoing dance practice.