In this ground-breaking study of style in six ballets by Sir Frederick Ashton, Geraldine Morris examines the contribution they have made to twentieth century dance and art. Central to the discussion are questions about performance and its connection with style. What do we mean by style in dance? How do we identify it? How can it be retained? Can choreographed movement be distinguished from the danse d'ecole? Does any of this matter? Having considered the nature of style and its relationship to early twentieth century training in Britain, Morris goes on to discuss the six works: A Wedding Bouquet, Illuminations, Birthday Offering, Jazz Calendar, Daphnis and Chloe and A Month in the Country. Delivered with verve and enthusiasm, her analysis and examination of Ashton's role, together with that of the dancers, designers, writers and musicians, is both innovative and thought-provoking. The book is intended for dancers, students and dance enthusiasts who have enjoyed these great works and wish to understand them more fully. Having danced with the Royal Ballet during the years when Ashton was the company's Director, the author brings inside knowledge, informed and enlivened by years of studying the dances. The result is exhilarating and enlightening but also controversial. Geraldine Morris is a Senior Lecturer in Dance Studies at the University of Roehampton.

This revised edition of Vaughan's seminal work includes a new final chapter and an updated chronology of work. It should be useful for both historians of 20th-century ballet and for lovers of Ashton's work.

"I only like ballets which give an opportunity for real dancing, and after all that is what the whole thing is about. A re-statement of one's own personal idiom of the classical ballet is all I ask to be able to achieve. It was typical of Frederick Ashton to put dance at the centre of his works. Whilst he used the danse d'âecole as a basis for his choreography, his comment clearly shows that he was alert to the difference between it and choreographed movement. Translating that difference into his personal idiom is at the heart of his choreography. But, how do we separate the two, what can and cannot be considered style and how much can the style change and still be recognisable as that of Ashton? In the following chapters I investigate these questions. I explore the movement sources and consider the diverse strands which contribute to the movement, the choreography and the meanings. We must not forget though that the works had multiple creators, so there is no single element which is just the work of Ashton alone. Yet, it is Ashton who draws the elements together and makes specific, identifiable choices, so I will continue to refer to the dances as Ashton ballets. My aim in writing this book is to promote greater understanding of both dance move- ment style and choreographic style, so that the book is not only interesting and useful for performers but also for dance academics and committed dance audiences"--

A biography of the choreographer Frederick Ashton which traces his progress from Peruvian childhood and unhappy schooldays, through initiation into a homosexual artistic coterie, to a varied career in dance, culminating in public and royal acclaim.

2004 marks the centenary of the birth of Frederick Ashton, Founder Choreographer of The Royal Ballet, whose work defined the English style of ballet. Inspired to dance by Anna Pavlova, encouraged by Ninette de Valois (Founder of the Royal Ballet), Ashton's career as dancer, choreographer and director, spans the Company's history from its earliest days. His influence is still seen today in the repertory and style that informs the Company, with ballets such as La Fille mal gardée, Ondine and Façade. This is the first of a series of books in the Royal Opera House Heritage Series, featuring a unique collection of images from the Royal Opera House Archives. The Series celebrates some of the legendary figures from the world of ballet and opera who have been associated with the Royal Opera House and its resident Companies, The Royal Ballet and The Royal Opera.