Who is Sir Frederick Ashton

Defining the English Style

Sir Frederick Ashton (1904–88) was one of the most influential dance figures of the 20th century. He developed the distinctive “English style” and left a vast corpus of works that are regularly performed by companies around the world, among them Marguerite and Armand, La Fille mal gardée, and Symphonic Variations.

Ashton was born in Ecuador to British parents. He first saw ballet when Anna Pavlova performed in Lima in 1917, later claiming, “From the end of that evening I wanted to dance.” In England, Ashton was tutored by Leonid Massine and made his choreographic debut for Marie Rambert in 1926. After working with Rambert and Ida Rubinstein, in 1935 he was appointed Resident Choreographer of Vic-Wells Ballet (later The Royal Ballet) by Ninette de Valois. With De Valois, Ashton played a crucial role in determining the course of The Royal Ballet and The Royal Ballet School.

In 1963 he took over from De Valois as Director of the Company and in addition to choreographing introduced several significant works, including Bronislava Nijinska’s Les Noces and George Balanchine’s Serenade, and commissioned Kenneth MacMillan’s Romeo and Juliet. He retired in 1970 but continued to choreograph throughout his life, producing his last major work, Rhapsody, in 1980.

Artistic Director Tamara Rojo notes, “What is most fundamental to him is his musicality. He had an incredible understanding of the music, and he was also able to tell a clear narrative while using the music. So specifically, Marguerite and Armand is a piece that in just over 40 minutes tells the whole story. It feels perfect and despite the music not being composed for it, Ashton, from the moment he heard the music, knew how it would work to tell this story. He’s really, I think, the first fundamental British choreographer.”

Ashton’s Marguerite and Armand is onstage in British Icons, Feb 9-15.

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Misa Kuranaga and Joseph Walsh rehearsing Ashton’s Marguerite and Armand // © San Francisco Ballet, photo by Lindsey Rallo