The Royal Ballet celebrates its Founder Choreographer, Frederick Ashton, with a mixed programme of some of his finest works, including Scènes de ballet, Five Brahms Waltzes in the Manner of Isadora Duncan, Symphonic Variations and A Month in the Country.
Frederick Ashton's SCÈNES DE BALLET was one of the choreographer's favourite works. He described its 'distant, uncompromising beauty, which says I am here, beautiful, but I will make no effort to charm you'. Its icy glamour was inspired by Stravinsky's neoclassical score, itself both an impertinent and strictly formal take on the classical Tchaikovsky pas de deux. Ashton adapted the romantic choreography of Tchaikovsky's dance counterpart, Marius Petipa, while matching Stravinsky's hard-edged geometry to create a ballet with breathtaking floor patterns.
Margot Fonteyn and Michael Somes created the central couple in the ballet's premiere on 11 February 1948. French artist André Beaurepaire designed the sets and costumes, creating devastatingly chic takes on classical tutus and tunics decorated with geometric patterns. Ashton insisted on pearl bracelets and chokers for the women, highlighting them in his choreography with wrist flicks and coquettish nods. Patterns pile on patterns towards an increasingly elaborate climax in Ashton's most modernist work, as much a celebration as a witty reworking of ballet's traditions.
At London's Royal Opera House from 18 October until 12 November 2014, book your SCÈNES DE BALLET tickets today!
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