A guide to Sir Frederick Ashton

Margot Fonteyn, Michael Somes and Frederick Ashton in rehearsal for Ondine © Roger Wood/ROH 1958

Frederick Ashton was inspired to dance at the age of 13, when he saw a performance by the legendary Anna Pavlova. He went on to become one of the most distinguished choreographers of the 20^th century, creating more than 100 ballets over an illustrious 60-year career.

His most celebrated works include La Fille mal Gardée, recently screened live around the world as part of the Royal Opera House Cinema Season. A quintessentially English ballet based on Ashton’s beloved Suffolk, it is famous for its clog dance and choreography involving ribbons.

Although his choreography is often said to embody the elegance and lyricism of English ballet, Ashton was actually raised in South America. Born in Ecuador in 1904, he spent his childhood in Lima, Peru, until he was sent to an English boarding school at the age of 14. He started dancing at 20, attending classes on Saturday afternoons with renowned dancer and choreographer Léonide Massine. He went on to train with Marie Rambert and Bronislava Nijinska, choreographing his first ballet, A Tragedy of Fashion, when he was just 21.

View our gallery of production images from Ashton’s works, past and present:

Over the following years, he created numerous works for both Rambert and Royal Ballet Founder Ninette de Valois, becoming principal choreographer of the de Valois’s Vic-Wells Ballet in 1933. He also distinguished himself as a mime and character dancer in productions such as Cinderella and The Sleeping Beauty.

Ashton choreographed his first ballet for the Covent Garden main stage, Symphonic Variations, in 1946, and went on to create numerous ballets for the famous partnership of Margaret Fonteyn and Rudolf Nureyev, such as Marguerite and Armand. In 1970, his last year as Director of The Royal Ballet, he created the popular The Tales of Beatrix Potter:

The Frederick Ashton Foundation was launched in 2011 to preserve the legacy of Ashton, and his work continues to form a key part of The Royal Ballet repertory. View our archive gallery of Royal Ballet events featuring Frederick Ashton.

Birthday Offering, created in 1956 to celebrate the silver jubilee of The Royal Ballet, will open in a triple bill on 30 June. It will be performed alongside A Month in the Country, one of the last works Ashton created for The Royal Ballet, and Nijinska’s Les Noces on 30 June.

Ashton ballets to be performed in the 2012/13 season include La Valse and Monotones I and II.