BALLET RAMBERT

oldest existing ballet company in England. Since the 1930s the Ballet Rambert has been an important training ground for young talent; among the famous artists who gained early experience with the company were the dancers Alicia Markova and Margot Fonteyn and the choreographers Antony Tudor, Sir Frederick Ashton, Agnes deMille, Andre Howard, Walter Gore, and Peggy van Praagh. Inspired by Dame Marie Rambert, a former dancer with Diaghilev, the Rambert Dancers (performing from 1926) and the Ballet Club (established in 1930) staged small-scale Sunday afternoon productions that were mainly new ballets by unknown choreographers. During World War II the company toured factories, military camps, and outlying areas and later staged seasons in major London theatres. Its postwar tours include one of Australia and New Zealand (194748) that greatly stimulated interest there in ballet. The Ballet Rambert is a small company; in 1966 its repertoire was reformed to make it almost exclusively a forum for young talent. John Chesworth was appointed artistic director in 1974.