Quicksilver Nights: Who’s who
Lady Anya Sainsbury CBE
Lady Anya Sainsbury CBE has been closely associated with Rambert School for more than four decades; as a ballet coach for several years, champion of many fundraising drives and most recently as Patron.
Together with her late husband John, Baron Sainsbury of Preston Candover KG, they have worked tirelessly to support and protect the School and their love and passion are deeply entrenched in our past, present and future.
Anya was born in Manchester and started ballet training aged 7 in Berkeley, California with Dorothy Pring and Theodore Kosloff. In 1947 she returned to England with her family and joined Sadler’s Wells Ballet School (now The Royal Ballet School). She joined The Sadler’s Wells Ballet in 1951 (which became The Royal Ballet in 1956) as Anya Linden, where she progressed from the Corps de Ballet and Soloist, to Principal, and danced many Principal roles including Coppélia, Giselle, Cinderella, Sylvia, The Firebird, Sleeping Beauty and Swan Lake. During her career with the Company, she worked with many of the greatest choreographers including Frederick Ashton, John Cranko and Kenneth MacMillan and the wonderful Ballet Master, Harijs Plucis.
Anya is also the vision behind the highly acclaimed Linbury Prize, which she set up 40 years ago which has helped discover, amplify and celebrate some of the country’s very talented young stage designers.
The creation and development of The Linbury Trust in 1973 helped and contributed to the UK’s arts and it’s cultural sector, as well as supporting the natural environment and social welfare. Their 50 years of providing vital financial support to hundreds of charities has helped change the course of many lives and organisations.
Through Lord & Lady Sainsbury (John and Anya), the Linbury Trust, together with other generous charities and individuals, has enjoyed supporting many of Rambert School’s students over the years, as well as the space in which they train, and continues to do so today.
Anya says “I feel very proud to be Patron of this extraordinary school. I want to express how much I admire the constant ability to produce not only wonderful dancers, but creative choreographers and even directors of new companies.”
Christopher Bruce CBE
Christopher studied at Rambert School from 1959 training under Marie Rambert before joining the company (then Ballet Rambert) in 1963, quickly becoming a leading dancer. He was Associate Director of the company from 1974 to 1979 and later performed as a guest with the company as well as serving as Associate Choreographer until 1987. Christopher was appointed Artistic Director of Rambert in 1994 and, after his retirement from the position in 2002, continued to stage work regularly for the company.
In addition to his career with Rambert, Christopher choreographed and staged work internationally. He was Associate Choreographer with English National Ballet from 1986 to 1991 and Resident and Associate Choreographer with Houston Ballet from 1989 to 2021.
Christopher has maintained a close relationship with Rambert School over the years and is deeply committed to nurturing and developing young dancers and choreographers in line with the School’s focus on creating the next generation of innovative, creative and individual dance artists.
“I have been part of the Rambert family for over 60 years and feel deeply honoured to continue my association with the School as a Patron. I very much look forward to contributing to the development of a school that has, for over a century, regularly produced remarkable dancers and choreographers who have, in turn, made an invaluable contribution to the world of dance”.
No one has more ‘Rambert’ in their DNA than Christopher Bruce.’ Amanda Britton
Amanda Britton
Amanda Britton has over 35 years of experience as a dancer, teacher, rehearsal director, mentor and course leader. Having trained at the Rambert Academy, she joined Ballet Rambert in 1984. She went on to become a leading dancer, performing roles in works by Christopher Bruce, Merce Cunningham, Richard Alston, Glen Tetley and Trisha Brown among many others. On leaving Rambert she went on to create and perform a number of works with Siobhan Davies Dance Company.
After retiring from performance Amanda joined the faculty at London Contemporary Dance School, where alongside a full-time teaching role she completed an MA in Dance Education and Training. In 2005 Amanda returned to Rambert School as Head of Undergraduate Studies, assisting with the School’s transition into Higher Education and the delivery of the FD/BA(Hons) in Ballet and Contemporary Dance programmes, validated by the University of Kent.
Amanda was appointed Principal and Artistic Director of Rambert School in July 2015. Since then she has initiated a period of rapid change at the School, both cementing the core philosophies of the training and opening doors for new developments, innovations and research, including the launch of two new postgraduate programmes, the MA Professional Dance Performance/Rambert2, and MA Dance Research for Professional Practitioners.
Amanda is passionate about widening participation and access to dance for all, and the School’s Learning, Participation and Outreach work has developed rapidly since its outset in 2016. In 2020, Rambert School and Rambert (Company) together launched Rambert Grades, a new contemporary dance syllabus for young people, which aims to develop creativity, expression, and wellbeing through a holistic and inclusive programme of technique, performance practice and creative exploration.
Hosted by
Luke Jennings
Luke Jennings trained at the Rambert School of Ballet in the 1970s. He exchanged writing for dancing ten years later. As a journalist he has written for The Observer, Vanity Fair, and The New Yorker, amongst other titles. He is also a best-selling novelist and the author of the Killing Eve trilogy, the basis for the hit TV series.