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Ballet Choreographer Research Paper – Fredrick Ashton
Fredrick Ashton biography
Fredrick Ashton was a choreographer and ballet dancer from the United Kingdom.

Although he was also a film and opera director and a professional dancer too, he is most

famously known for his choreography work. He was born in September 1904 and passed away in

August 1988. Despite early resistance from his family who never wanted him to become a dancer

or choreographer, but, rather, pursue other careers they considered more lucrative, Ashton

auditioned and was accepted at Leonide Masine school where he developed and thrived under

the tutelage of Marie Lambert (Kavanagh 6). Ashton was influenced and encouraged to be a

professional dancer by two main events. His love for ritual was brought to the fore during his

stint serving as an altar boy for the Roman Catholic Archbishop. Another influence stemmed

from Anna Pavlova (Raskaukas 10). After seeing her dance in Lima in 1917, Ashton was

determined that he is also going to become a dancer despite it not being an accepted career

among most conventional English families at the time.

Ashton started taking dance lessons from Leonid Massine after three years in boarding

school and where he was a student of Marie Lambert. Although he did not possess natural

technique and strength, Marie saw his true potential and directed him to choreography where he

eventually perfected his craft. The choreographer’s works are still widely used today since he left

most of his rights to a number of ballet colleagues and friends. Some of the friends and

colleagues include Antony Dyson who performs the Enigma Variations and Monotones, Dowell

with The Dream and a Mouth in the Country, Michael Somes with Cinderella, and Brian Shaw

(Les Patineurs and Rendezvous). Ashton’s major influence on ballet as an art from was the

creation of ballet that was specifically of English genre.

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The era of Ballet history

Fredrick Ashton is usually associated with both the classical and romantic ballet eras but

in reality, he was a romantic whose works often elicited supernaturalism and exoticism, and often

hovered around the borders of etherealism and fantasy. This confusion is understandable

considering the fact that romantic ballet is actually a period of time within the classical period.

The romantic period started in early 19th century and was mostly characterized by romanticism

ideas. In addition to the wide use of fantasy themes such as fairies and ghosts, this period is also

attributed with the rise of female ballerinas (Banes 12). The main costumes used were the

‘romantic tutus’ which were full white skirts that were multilayered and completely covered with

tulle.
The romantic movement came about as a reaction to the mechanics and challenges of

industrialization. Through the composition of light and airy ballet dances, the choreographers

aimed to provide people with a reprieve from the daily hassles of life that were majorly

characterized by reductionist science. The only difference between the classical and the romantic

period in terms of costumes was the length of the tutus. The tutus were slightly shorter in the

romantic period the ballet still revolved around the use of classical techniques such as the turn

out, feet positions, and the use of pointe shoes. Romantic ballet rejected the classical notions of

balance, harmony, and order, and instead urged people to return to natural life (Wulff 4). The

main venues used during this period were theatres and music halls where opera and pantomime

were the main attractions. It is hard to pinpoint exactly when this era ended or what caused its

demise (Ballet in the Romantic Era).

Analysis of works
Cinderella
One of the main works for Fredrick Ashton, Cinderella brings to the fore the idea of the

realization of dreams, particularly Cinderella’s own. This was a full-length narrative ballet where

costumes, lights, décor, choreography and sets forms a full theatrical production (Theodores 13).
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She is just any other dancer who dreams of being a ballerina and dances with a broom in the

kitchen. She magically appears as a ballerina dancing en pointe to the stage where he meets the

prince and finally, in his arms, discovers her true identity as a ballerina hence realizing her

dreams. The ballet is slow and sharp, and incorporates elements of both melancholy as well as

happiness. Feelings of sadness are brought about by the fact that Cinderella has a passion and a

dream but the dream is out of reach. However, it is a happy moment when she finally discovers

herself while in the Prince’s arm. The ballet is danced en pointe. She walks en pointe down the

stairs and across the stage after magically appearing, Also, she recalls her pointe shoes when

back in the kitchen. Several elements of this work further assert the Fredrick Ashton’s era. The

ballet has elements of fantasy through the use of magic, it is performed in a magic hall, uses

pointe shoes, romantic mice designed tutus, and a female ballerina.

Façade
This was the first major work by the choreographer in 1929 (Riley 142). The ballet used

William Walton’s music and was based on Façade-Entertainment which were a series of poems

recited by Edith Sitwel with background music by Walton. The ballet has no real plot but is

simply a one-act ballet that incorporates many different divertissements. There was a total of

seven items from the ballet and two from the initial entertainment performed by six players. The

seven numbers danced in the ballet are the Polka, the Rhapsody (royal ballet), the jodelling song,

the valse, the popular song, the tango, and the tarantella sevilliana. The ballet is fast and happy,

lacks a story, is danced en pointe, and is both feminine as well as masculine. The use of the tutus

skirts, and the pointe shoes reinforces the classification of Ashton’s era as the romantic ballet era.
Thoughts and opinions
Fredrick Ashton is a legendary ballet choreographer who contributed immensely to the

development of English ballet, and, as, a result, enhanced the position of ballet as an art. He was

a creative and innovative choreographer who produced many exciting and fascinating ballet
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choreographies that transformed the dance landscape then, and continue to transform ballet

dancing even today. He is an inspirational figure who continues to inspire and motivate young

dancers who carry the belief that they too can succeed and make a difference in society. His

works were genius pieces of art which provided the first infant steps of British ballet dancing and

entertained thousands of people. As part of the present global ballet repertoire, Ashton’s works

complements past classics as well as today’s choreographies. They are easy to perform since he

created them with the intention of allowing the dancers to enjoy themselves. He did not want

them to worry too much about the skills and techniques involved but to just dance and tell a

story.
The romantic period was an important period in the history of ballet dancing. It is during

this time that ballet dancing put more emphasize on the ballerina, and, therefore, popularizing the

pointe. Struggles between man and nature and the supernatural were the major themes of this

period. Other advances that were brought to ballet dancing during the romantic period are stage

lighting (moved from candle lighting to gas lighting) and new costumes such as the tutu

shortened dresses. Generally, this was a period that contributed positively to ballet as a whole.
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Works Cited
“Ballet in the Romantic Era.” California’s Ballet Company Blog.

https://californiaballet.wordpress.com/2010/06/04/ballet-in-the-romantic-era/
Banes. Sally. Dancing Women: Female Bodies on Stage. Routledge. 2013. Print.
“Façade: Popular Song.” YouTube. Uploaded by Quillerpen, 12 July, 2008.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1w2JuGflRj8
“Frederick Ashton, Kenneth MacMillan and Alexander Grant - Excerpts from 'Cinderella'

(1957).” YouTube. Uploaded by John Hall, 17 July, 2014.

Kavanagh, Julie. “Fredrick Ashton Biography.” The Fredrick Ashton Foundation.

http://www.frederickashton.org.uk/biog.html. Accessed Oct 21, 2016.

Raskaukas, Stephen. “10 Facts About Legendary Choreographer Sir Frederick Ashton That

Every Dance Lover Should Know.” 98.7wfmt.

http://blogs.wfmt.com/offmic/2016/05/11/10-facts-about-legendary-choreographer-sir-

frederick-ashton-that-every-dance-lover-should-know/ Accessed Oct 21, 2016.

Riley, Matthew. British Music and Modernism, 1895-1960. Farnham, Surrey: Ashgate, 2010.

Print
Theodores, Diana. First We Take Manhattan: Four American Women and the New York School of

Dance Criticism. Choreography and dance Series. Routledge. 2013. Print.

Wulff, Helena. “Ethereal expression: Paradoxes of ballet as a global physical culture.” Health

Informatics Journal, vol. 9, no. 4. 518-535. 2008.

http://eth.sagepub.com/content/9/4/518.short. Accessed Oct 21, 2016.