Diving into Archives at Rambert

Our A Level Dance cohort was thrilled to spend an inspiring and informative day at Rambert Archives, exploring one of the most significant collections documenting the evolution of British dance.

The Rambert Archive traces the history of the UK’s oldest dance company, from its classical ballet origins through its embrace of American modernism and beyond, culminating in its identity today as a leading 21st-century contemporary dance company. The archive boasts over 500 costumes, 700 posters, thousands of images and objects, alongside dance notation, music, and performance footage; invaluable resource for our student dancers!

Students had the privilege of working with Rambert’s archivist, Daniel Albon, who guided them through a rich collection of materials. Highlights included archival content from iconic works such as Rooster and Ghost Dances by Christopher Bruce, Wildlife by Richard Alston, and Embarque by Siobhan Davies. These resources will enable students to reference specific movement examples in their written exams, greatly enriching their understanding and analysis of Rambert’s legacy. Viewing choreographer notes, costume design and memoirs from artistic directors of the company were particularly inspiring.

The day of outside the classroom extra support has enabled our students to feel confident in their abilities to ace their exams. Immy (Upper Sixth) expressed: “I have been so enriched through this live experience at Rambert rather than solely revising from my own notes and resources. It was so personalised to us at LP”.

Charlotte (Upper Sixth) and Eliza (Upper Sixth) also added: “I was able to learn new facts from Daniel that I couldn’t have accessed from a book”. “Being able to access the archives was deeply informative and ultimately will be so useful for my forthcoming exam”.

Interested in Dance as an A Level at our Sixth Form? Click here to find out more about the subject and here to book to visit Leighton Park and see our fantastic Dance Studio!