Royal Ballet 1956-77

[Pointytoes22]

Im studying the A-level dance question 'Choreograph a solo based on The Royal Ballet 1956 –1977' and I'm finding it hard to find a list of the choreographers they worked with and the ballets they performed during this time period - can anyone help? Thanks!

[Lisa O`Brien]

Hello Pointytoes. Do you have any old ballet books from that era? There are loads of them really cheap on Ebay. You would be looking at works by Sir Frederick Ashton and latterly Sir Kenneth Macmillan. Ashton`s repertoire is huge and spans decades. Although a lot of his works are from earlier than you are looking for. Try Googling him and see if it lists his pieces of choreography and the dates they were choreographed. Good luck.

[Lisa O`Brien]

Just Googled it myself for you. On wikipedia,if you go on to "List of Ballets Choreographed by Sir Frederick Ashton", it lists the ballets he choreographed and next to this the year that particular ballet was choreographed. Then i`m sure it will just be a matter of searching for excerpts of a particular ballet on You Tube, finding out it`s story,if any,who the music was by,who the set designer was[if needed] who the original cast were[if needed]. Although maybe all of that will be too much detail.

Edited June 24, 2014 by thequays

[Jan McNulty]

The obvious choreographers are Frederick Ashton and Kenneth MacMillan plus (if it falls within the remit) Petipa (for the classics) but there are obviously many more.

 

Zoe Anderson has written a history of The Royal Ballet.  It may be worth trying to borrow from a library or buying.  Here is a link to Amazon:

 

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Royal-Ballet-75-Years-ebook/dp/B004P1J8G2/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1403598039&sr=1-1&keywords=the+royal+ballet

[Pointytoes22]

Great thanks, I'll have a look

[John Mallinson]

You may find the ROH performance database to be useful. I think the best chronological list is Bob Kimber's Ballet Chronicles which you may be able to get free. 

[Pointytoes22]

That database is great! I have a huge list of possibilities now

[Pointytoes22]

The only thing I wasn't sure about when searching the performance database was the difference between a 'work' and a 'production'?

[swanprincess]

I'm kind of guessing here but I'd say that the work is the choreographer's raw material (ie the choreography) whereas the production involves costume, lighting, orchestra etc? Hopefully someone will be able to give a more reliable explanation!

[invisiblecircus]

I'm guessing too, but I was thinking a production was a full length ballet whereas a "work" would be a shorter piece. A triple bill would be 3 "works" on the same evening.

[Wulff]

Other choreographers working with the RB during the period in question were John Cranko, Andrée Howard and Peter Wright.

[Ian Macmillan]

I'm slightly curious about the timeframe quoted, ie 1956 -1977, and wonder if there's a hint there about where to look.  In 1956 the Sadler's Wells Ballet became the Royal Ballet, and in 1977 Kenneth MacMillan resigned as Director, bringing to an end the historic De Valois/Ashton/MacMillan continuum.  I hardly think those dates were set by accident, and I'd not bother looking too much further as far as choreographers go.  (That said, I think Madam was too busy running things to create anything new after 1956, but I stand to be corrected if that's not the case.)