Do we need an Ashton Society?

[Rina]

As someone new to the Forum, I've been intrigued by the sense of bereavement felt by many about the state of the Ashton canon – too few performances, of too few of his ballets etc. It's like football fans who love the game, and care about their club, but feel unrepresented. I can see there is a lot of history and politics involved. My question is: is there scope for an Ashton Society? If not, could there be a Friends of the Ashton Foundation? Either initiative could foster a sense of involvement and enhance the profile of Ashton's work. Obviously, it's possible to donate to the Foundation, but it might be easier to raise money for specific projects if Ashton enthusiasts from the audience side could have an input. What do people think?

[Jeannette]

Excellent points, Rina. Not sure what we could do other than to intelligently discuss...bend the ears of Board members on troupes, who think mostly about bottom lines & pulling-in paying audiences with full-length Draculas & Peter Pans (speaking for regional troupes in the USA).

[Rina]

Thanks Jeannette. Sounds great! As far as I can see, under-performance of Ashton is a matter of policy, which is reinforced by the close connections between the institutions (the ballet companies, the Foundation, the Ballet Association) and the lack of a members' organisation devoted to Ashton. There is no process whereby the policy can be challenged. A society could bring together lovers of Ashton's work who are independent of the institutions, and who could breathe some fresh air into the situation. For example, I can imagine some research being done into the effects of under-performance. This could form the basis of a report which could generate publicity beyond the ballet world. Maybe the cost could be crowdfunded. It would be a constructive way of holding up a mirror, and indirectly addressing the powerlessness which unites fans of both Ashton and football!

 

Maybe I'm wrong, but ballet and dance seem the poor relations among the arts. I doubt whether many people have even heard of Ashton, and yet I would rate him as one of the greatest English artists, and one of the few with an international standing. I am wondering whether, thirty years after his death, it's now possible to re-vision his work in all its breadth and depth as a source of life-giving images. He was in touch with deep well-springs of imagination, going well beyond the dance world. Could a society help to place his work in a much wider context? Streaming could be very beneficial with this. It democratises the work, and, by allowing the flow to be paused, enables us to catch for a moment the fleeting gestures and the hints of meaning they embody. There seems so much to say. Thank you Forum for hosting these initial thoughts.

[Two Pigeons]

These are all excellent points.  Ashton suffers because of the rather patchy view of our major companies and for the lack of an energetic and powerful champion of his work.  This situation is becoming more urgent as the people he actually worked with and created his ballets, frankly, die off.  Sorry, cannot think of a more tactful way of describing it.  ENB have had very few of his works, although Peter Schaufuss had a very valiant effort to revive both Apparitions and his Romeo and Juliet while Ashton was still alive.

 

At the RB Ashton will always come second to Macmillan's works.  Every young aspiring soloist wants to dance Juliet and Manon but Lise seems to be less sought after.  Please the dance gods Cinderella is not lost forever.  Ondine and Sylvia have their bursts but a number of one acts seem to be disappearing in the balletic quicksand of time.

 

Ashton seems to be pretty popular in Europe, but mainly for aging ballerinas who queue up to dance Marguerite and Armand with zero appreciation of the required style.  The change of directorship at BRB does seem to herald a diminishing appreciation of the Ashton works.  When I say this I mean absolutely no disrespect to Carlos Acosta as he has barely had time or opportunity to set out a clear direction for the company, apart from the indication to take the repertoire in a completely different direct from David Bintley's tenure.  It also needs to be admitted that the Ashton rep was failing to sell in Birmingham despite some excellent performances.  His ballets are no longer so familiar to local audiences.

 

Time for the familiar gratitude to Iain Webb and Margaret Barbieri for preserving a power house of accurate productions if the Ashton works.  

 

I do feel that if current directors do not recognise the dangers of losing the Ashton repertoire soon so much of it will be lost.  This is something else which happens in bursts.  Kevin brought back Two Pigeons to great acclaim while there were still repertoire experts to mount it.  Added to this was a knowledgeable audience to appreciate it.  However, if the RB gets to be better known for the classics, the Macmillan blockbusters and the work of Wayne McGregor I fear for the long term future of the Ashton rep.

 

I think there is a salutary lesson in the precarious situation of another great choreographer and his works.  The Royal Danish Ballet and the works of August Bournonville were introduced to the eiderBallet World in the 1950s.  The company treasured and preserved its unique style for decades.  A change of company director and it is all being diluted to the point of total loss.

 

Please don't let the Ashton heritage go the same way.  There is still time to act and can Ashton Society sounds a very sensible start.

[Rina]

So eloquent, Two Pigeons. I imagine that mortality is also claiming the Ashton audience. Under-performance prevents regeneration of the audience, which reduces the prospect of challenge to the policy. Isn't there something Orwellian in the rhetoric? At the same time as praising the Ashton legacy, management disinherits future generations by restricting performances.

 

I am wondering what an Ashton Society might look like. In a sense it already exists in this Forum, or at least this thread! It could be virtual – you don't have to have a constitution or a formal membership. Is there anything to prevent a body of people writing to The Times calling themselves the Ashton Society? Or holding placards outside the Royal Opera House saying “Save the Ashton ballets”?

[jmhopton]

Slightly off topic but I just noticed that ENB Schools summer programme includes a performance of Ashtons Les Rendezvous, staged by Christopher Carr. It said details are to follow shortly but I hope it will be streamed. I cant remember if I've ever seen Les Rendezvous or if I have it's years ago so it will be a real treat. Thank goodness some UK company is performing rare Ashton while there is someone familiar with the original around to stage it.

Incidentally, my answer to the original topic question is YES!

[Two Pigeons]

17 hours ago, jmhopton said:

Slightly off topic but I just noticed that ENB Schools summer programme includes a performance of Ashtons Les Rendezvous, staged by Christopher Carr. It said details are to follow shortly but I hope it will be streamed. I cant remember if I've ever seen Les Rendezvous or if I have it's years ago so it will be a real treat. Thank goodness some UK company is performing rare Ashton while there is someone familiar with the original around to stage it.

Incidentally, my answer to the original topic question is YES!

 

 

Hear, hear.  Hope the ENB dancers have the proper, floaty frocks!

[Odyssey]

I favour the idea of a ‘Friends of the Ashton Foundation’ which Rina suggests in her initial post. Mainly because I think with the Foundation already in existence, it makes sense to focus the energies in one place. I don’t know much about theFoundation, but have found it a useful tool. 
I’d be interested to know whether people here think having multiple owners of Ashton’s work is a good thing in  terms of a ‘voice’  for the choreographer as say compared to Deborah Macmillan .

[Two Pigeons]

38 minutes ago, Odyssey said:

I favour the idea of a ‘Friends of the Ashton Foundation’ which Rina suggests in her initial post. Mainly because I think with the Foundation already in existence, it makes sense to focus the energies in one place. I don’t know much about theFoundation, but have found it a useful tool. 
I’d be interested to know whether people here think having multiple owners of Ashton’s work is a good thing in  terms of a ‘voice’  for the choreographer as say compared to Deborah Macmillan .

No, as it has turned out, multiple owners were not a good thing.  I can understand fully giving works to the dancers most closely associated with them, Ondine and Daphnis and Chloe going to Fonteyn for example, but they were passed on to legatees when she died who had considerably less involvement with the works.

 

I hope it is not too controversial to say that in some cases this was near disastrous.  Cinderella has not coped well since Michael Somes died.

 

Sir Kenneth Macmillan has been well served by his widow who is both forceful and an artist who was very involved with the creation of many of his works.  Ashton does not seem to have given serious thought to the long term future of his works and we are reaping the results now.

[alison]

On 08/05/2021 at 22:34, jmhopton said:

Slightly off topic but I just noticed that ENB Schools summer programme includes a performance of Ashtons Les Rendezvous, staged by Christopher Carr. It said details are to follow shortly but I hope it will be streamed. I cant remember if I've ever seen Les Rendezvous or if I have it's years ago so it will be a real treat.

 

I think you'd remember it if you'd seen it, Joan - the women in white sundresses (think Dior New Look or similar) with huge polka-dots, and wearing what looked like Marigold gloves in various colours   I think the men were in boaters and striped jackets, rather in the traditional British holiday-camp style, but I may be hallucinating that bit.

[Two Pigeons]

No Alison.  No hallucination.  The redesigns really were that bad and the revised set meant that the basic concept of people meeting in a park was completely lost. 

[Ian Macmillan]

Alison:  I think this (Anthony Crickmay, circa 1962/3) is what you're trying to recall:

 

 

[zxDaveM]

Les Rendezvous curtain calls, from 2005....

 

 

[Jeannette]

I also far prefer the “gate, blue skies & white chiffon” designs to the “dark backgnd/polka dots”! 

 

If memory serves, Sarasota Ballet rented the BRB “gate/white chiffon” production for the 2014 Ashton Festival...so I’m guessing that it’s all in a warehouse somewhere in Birmingham? Or maybe it’s been shipped elsewhere...

 

Les Rendezvous is my absolute-fave Ashton...every moment...every note of music....it’s on my top-10 ballets list that I keep in my wallet (along with Sleeping B A3, Napoli A3, Symphony in C). 

 

Perhaps my fave bit within Les Rendezvous  is the Pas de Trois. It’s on my Desert-Island DVD!

 

 

 

 

Edited May 10, 2021 by Jeannette

[Fonty]

Goodness, what was the designer thinking of with those ghastly primary coloured outfits for Les Rendezvous? 😵  Those huge, bright polka dots must have been so distracting.  The original outfits were elegant and charming.  Frankly, the new ones look more appropriate for something like the Kingdom of Sweets. 

On the subject of an Ashton Society, what would be the chances of getting all the Ashton repertoire under one roof, as it were, and owned by such a Society or Foundation or whatever?  Would the costs of buying them back be prohibitive?  Do they actually have that much value now to the current owners if they are not being shown?

Edited May 10, 2021 by Fonty

[Rina]

Yes Fonty, I've only seen Les Rendezvous once (at the Everyman, Cheltenham) but all I can remember is those dots! I saw a great Ashton triple bill at the Theatre Royal in Plymouth once (I think it was Dante Sonata, Scenes de ballet, Enigma Variations). I like the smaller venues BRB tours at. Again, though, as Two Pigeons says, if Carlos doesn't programme Ashton, local audiences for his work will also dwindle.

 

Coming back to the Society/Friends question, topics like re-designing and ballet ownership are the sort of things the Foundation would know about, which might make the Friends idea more worthy of consideration. I would favour the approach of “If you want a friend, be a friend”, and ask first: If I had the opportunity, in what ways could I be a friend to the Foundation? Putting things that way round seems constructive. How could the Foundation benefit from having audience input?

[Two Pigeons]

When the redesigned version of Les Rendezvous first premiered by the RB I sat in the stalls feeling as though I had been punched.  As I remember it the production was given on the occasion of Markova's 90th birthday.  I did wonder what she thought of it but, of course, the original designs which she would have known were yet a third version.  The photographs of it do not given me any great confidence and I can see why William Chappell was called in.

 

For reasons utterly beyond me, the lead girl was danced by Darcey Bussell, about as far removed from Markova as you could get.  I think her cavalier was Roberto Bolle, who was at least a good match height wise.  However, as he danced I kept thinking of Clement Crisp's review when had said that Bolle had discarded his boater just before his big solo.  Clem comment that this 'was a shame as it was the single most interesting part of his performance'.  As always Clem had hit the nail on the head.

 

Back to the redesigns.  I cannot tell you how much the marigold type short gloves for the corps girls irritate me.  They make absolutely no artistic sense to me at all.

[jmhopton]

Yes I think I would have remembered those dresses and striped blazers! I hope ENB don't borrow them for their students. It might put them off Ashton for life, having to wear outfits like that!!

 

To return to the idea of an Ashton society I have been looking at the Foundation website and noted their aims:-

 

The Frederick Ashton Foundation aims to realise its objectives through coordinating and encouraging the work of Associates working in a broad range of areas, including:

 

a) creating opportunities to identify and develop future Ashton repetiteurs to ensure the continuation of performances of Ashton's rich choreographic legacy around the world to the highest standard.

b) establishing an online Ashton Archive to include the filming of relevant work in the studio, master classes, and interviews with those who worked with Ashton; cataloguing film archive material in connection with Ashton and his work; and making the catalogue and as much of the original material as possible available to the dance sector and the wider public through the Archive.

c) writers and archivists carrying out research and publishing material in connection with Ashton and his work; cataloguing written and photographic material; and making the catalogue and as much of the original material as possible available to the dance sector and the wider public through the online Ashton Archive.

d) organising and arranging exhibitions, conferences, seminars, lectures and lecture demonstrations on Ashton and his work and other events promoting the Foundation's aims.

 

They are a registered charity so I suppose anyone who wants could donate to them. There seems little sense in creating a competing society, especially as there is no obvious way to fund it.  The lack of a single repository for his ballets, such as the Foundation created by Balanchine, seriously hampers any effort to maintain standards in new productions of his ballets, unless they are staged by someone with personal knowledge of the ballets and Sir Fred's wishes. It also hampers staging not so well known works if research has to be done to even locate the ballets and who owns them and negotiate with different owners. Sadly, people who know the ballets well enough to authentically stage them will be increasingly fewer which is why the first aim; 'to identify and develop future repetiteurs' is so important.  I can't see how anyone can do this better than the Ashton Foundation with their impressive list of Patrons and Trustees, and also being based at the ROH with Kevin O'Hare, Monica Mason and David Bintley among the Trustees. The annual Ashton days where a rare work is rehearsed and filmed is also an invaluable way of preserving his works and legacy and indeed was used by Iain Webb in his Sarasota Ballet staging of Walk to a Paradise Garden. What we really need is a regular Ashton programme of such works being performed, even if it's just at the Linbury, so the dancers can become more used to the Ashton style which is probably increasingly different to the majority of the works they perform. Also, if younger people can be involved in the staging then the chain of continuity will be maintained.  If it could be an annual event in the main house this will also raise Ashton's profile and introduce him to new balletgoers who may never have heard of him. I'm sure this idea would be very welcome for the Forum's many Ashton supporters. I have mentioned something similar to Kevin O'Hare in emails a couple of times but just had a noncommittal reply. I know the dancers have a very full schedule and many of the principals also guest all over the world but it would be worth it to promote our founder (and greatest) choreographer.

 

 

 

 

[Jane S]

37 minutes ago, Two Pigeons said:

When the redesigned version of Les Rendezvous first premiered by the RB I sat in the stalls feeling as though I had been punched.  As I remember it the production was given on the occasion of Markova's 90th birthday.  I did wonder what she thought of it but, of course, the original designs which she would have known were yet a third version.  The photographs of it do not given me any great confidence and I can see why William Chappell was called in.

 

 

 

In fact William Chappell designed the original (1934) set and costumes as well - I never saw them but from photos, Markova's costume was pretty but Idzikowsy's striped tights and frilled and furbelowed shirt might meet with some consumer resistance these days.

 

Chappell then revised/redesigned the ballet 3 times and I think one of the last two is probably the one most people remember.

 

On youtube there's a bit of a performance by the ENB school a few years ago - nice to see they've got the essentials of the set right! Also some of  BRB showing the polka dots in motion

 

(Do agree with you about Bussell!)

[Two Pigeons]

Terrific and very knowledgeable reply Jane.

 

Thank you, I really enjoyed it.

[Fonty]

2 hours ago, Two Pigeons said:

 

For reasons utterly beyond me, the lead girl was danced by Darcey Bussell, about as far removed from Markova as you could get.  I think her cavalier was Roberto Bolle, who was at least a good match height wise.  However, as he danced I kept thinking of Clement Crisp's review when had said that Bolle had discarded his boater just before his big solo.  Clem comment that this 'was a shame as it was the single most interesting part of his performance'.  As always Clem had hit the nail on the head.

 

 

 

🤣 Ah, how I miss Mr Crisp's reviews. 

I really like @jmhopton's idea of Ashton being performed on a regular basis in the Linbury.  

 

 

[SheilaC]

Although I used to greatly enjoy watching SWRB dance Les Rendezvous, and treasure my video of them doing it, with Marion Tait, especially, the performance I enjoyed most was ABT at the Met in the '80s, with Gelsey Kirkland. She was the absolute epitome of elegance, making me realise how special Markova must have been in the role, even though they were such different dancers. Gelsey was a wonderful Ashton dancer and I've always regretted that she didn't dance Ondine which, if my failing memory isn't letting me down, Dowell was hoping she might do when she guested at the Royal. I have always admired Dowell for inviting her to dance with the Royal, when he was AD, as he knew what a risk he was taking. But when she was on form, and not under the influence, she was incomparable.

Some years back I saw Leo Staats's Soir de Fete at the Paris Opera, a lovely ballet- but with very many similarities to Les Rendezvous, in design, structure, atmosphere. It premiered in Paris in 1925 and Ashton must have seen it when he was working in Paris in 1928.  The influence may have been unconscious- but influence there was.

[bridiem]

1 hour ago, Fonty said:

 

🤣 Ah, how I miss Mr Crisp's reviews. 

I really like @jmhopton's idea of Ashton being performed on a regular basis in the Linbury.  

 Me too!

 

I wouldn't want Ashton to be 'relegated' to the Linbury too much of the time, though; it would give the message that he is a small-scale, niche choreographer. Besides which it's a very small theatre with some terrible sightlines!

[Pas de Quatre]

Many of Ashton's early ballets were choreographed for smaller theatres and actually don't work that well on ROH main stage. So some performances in the Linbury might be worth trying.

[jmhopton]

1 hour ago, bridiem said:

 Me too!

 

I wouldn't want Ashton to be 'relegated' to the Linbury too much of the time, though; it would give the message that he is a small-scale, niche choreographer. Besides which it's a very small theatre with some terrible sightlines!

 

No I wouldn't want Ashton to be totally relegated to the Linbury either for those reasons, that's why I said it would be great if more of his more unusual work could be seen on the main stage where it would be seen and enjoyed by a wider audience. It was only if the option was either to see

more unusual works in the Linbury or not at all that I thought of the Linbury as an option. 

Incidentally, I have emailed ENB and asked them if there is any chance of the school performance with Les Rendezvous being streamed. I'll let you know when I get a reply. 

[alison]

13 hours ago, zxDaveM said:

Les Rendezvous curtain calls, from 2005....

 

 

 

I immediately thought "Spot on" - and then thought better of it

[Fonty]

16 hours ago, bridiem said:

 Me too!

 

I wouldn't want Ashton to be 'relegated' to the Linbury too much of the time, though; it would give the message that he is a small-scale, niche choreographer. Besides which it's a very small theatre with some terrible sightlines!

Oh, I agree.  My thought was that perhaps some of the younger members of the company might be given the opportunity to test themselves with his choreography in the smaller space.  Personally, I would rather see Wayne McGregor's stuff permanently scheduled in the Linbury, leaving the main stage for a bit more Ashton. 🙂

[alison]

 

Regardless of what you think of the relative merits of the two choreographers, though, you'd have to admit that McGregor's are designed for the newer, enlarged, stage of the ROH, whereas quite a few of Ashton's would have been designed to fit the old Sadler's Wells stage, or even smaller.  I do think that's part of the problem, that the ROH has perhaps got a bit big for some of his more intimate works.

[Rina]

jmhopton's idea of an annual Ashton Day to introduce his work to newcomers is great. A friends group might be able to put weight of numbers behind it. According to the charity commission's website, the charitable objects of the foundation are: “To utilise the legacy of the distinguished English choreographer, the late Sir Frederick Ashton, to advance the education of the public in and the appreciation and performance of the art of ballet and its allied arts in the United Kingdom and throughout the world, and for the public benefit to pursue a broad range of activities and programmes, including ballet reconstructions and revivals, publications, and lectures and videos, and to promote research in all aspects of the subject and to publish the useful results.”

 

This is quite oddly expressed but it occurs to me that, if it can fit into the charity's structure, a friends group could be of assistance to the Foundation in carrying out its objectives, especially that underlined. For example it could provide constructive feedback from the public on its activities and suggest ideas for additional activities or priorities. It could assist by providing an audience perspective, input from outside the world of professional ballet. The trustees are not paid, nor I imagine are the others listed as associates (who include Margaret Barbieri and Iain Webb). A friends group could enlarge the pool of willing volunteers. If a way could be found to include it without imposing administrative burden.

[jmhopton]

Well said Rina. I'd be more than happy to help out in any of the ways you mentioned (travel permitting as I don't live near London).

[Lizbie1]

I just came by chance across his Nursery Suite, created for the Queen's 60th.

 

I wouldn't claim it as a masterpiece, but even this very late pièce d'occasion, made for RBS students, strikes me as having so much more invention, skill and sheer quality than almost anything commissioned in recent years by the RB that it's left me wondering whether Ashton's real handicap is his charm. (I don't think charm is fashionable, and it often gets mistaken for superficiality.)

[Jan McNulty]

I think you've hit the nail on the head there Lizbie!

 

The first time I saw Fille I loved it, the second time I loved it, the third time I decided I was Fille'd out.  Fortunately for me, I have always done BRB subscription tickets so I had no choice but to see it.  I think it was about my 6th viewing that I realised I had been a total idiot and it was a MASTERPIECE!!!!!  Now, I can't get enough of Fille (or indeed most of the other Ashton works I have been very privileged to see).

 

Perhaps we should start small and set up an Ashton Appreciation Society as a group of individuals.  Then perhaps a great oak will grow from our acorn.  What does anyone think?

[Fonty]

On 07/05/2021 at 16:51, Two Pigeons said:

At the RB Ashton will always come second to Macmillan's works.  Every young aspiring soloist wants to dance Juliet and Manon but Lise seems to be less sought after.  Please the dance gods Cinderella is not lost forever.  Ondine and Sylvia have their bursts but a number of one acts seem to be disappearing in the balletic quicksand of time.

 

Please don't let the Ashton heritage go the same way.  There is still time to act and can Ashton Society sounds a very sensible start.

 

Could one of the issues be that performing Ashton requires a level of pin sharp technical accuracy, particularly with regard to footwork, that is not quite so necessary for Juliet and Manon?  I have heard it said that the role of Juliet is not technically that difficult.  

Plus R & J, Manon and Mayerling have such terrific plots, allowing the dancers to display their dramatic skills.  A girl pouting at her lover to catch his attention in Two Pigeons, or sneaking off behind her mother's back to enjoy a romantic tryst in Fille, requires a much more subtle approach.  It doesn't capture the imagination in the same way from a performing point of view as Manon dying in the swamps, I would imagine.  For some reason, someone who excels in comedy is never given the same credit for their acting skills as a tragedian.  When was the last time someone won Best Actor for a comedy role in the Oscars, I wonder?  

Edited May 26, 2021 by Fonty