Sarasota Ballet was the first U.S. company to perform Sir Frederick Ashton’s Marguerite and Armand. Principal dancer Victoria Hulland dives deep into the dramatic title role. Iain Webb, our director, always educates us on the history of the ballets we’re performing, so I knew what a big deal it was to be the first American […]
Ballet is in the very DNA of the Roxander brothers and so, it appears, is the role of Puck. Ashton, 25, and Jake, 21, are sons of ballet dancers David and Elyse Roxander. Trained by their parents at their ballet school, Studio Roxander, in Medford, Oregon, both are now enjoying successful professional careers; Ashton is […]
Every year, the Princess Grace Foundation–USA recognizes emerging artists in dance, theater and film—a huge honor and often a predictor of future career success. This month, the Foundation announced its 2021 Princess Grace Award winners, including one dancer from a ballet company: 18-year-old Ashton Edwards, who joins Pacific Northwest Ballet this season as an apprentice. […]
While most ballet casts are 100 percent human, it’s not unheard of for live animals to appear onstage, providing everything from stage dressing to supporting roles. Michael Messerer’s production of Don Quixote features a horse and a donkey; American Ballet Theatre’s Giselle calls for two Russian wolfhounds; and Sir Frederick Ashton’s La Fille Mal Gardee […]
Photo by Nobby Clark/Arena PAL via The Royal Opera House on Flickr. Sir Frederick Ashton created his 1980 ballet Rhapsody in honor of Elizabeth The Queen Mother (mother of Elizabeth II) for her 80th birthday. I’d say this serene, elegant pas de deux is fit for a queen—and for the strengths of its lead dancers, […]
Have a question? Send it to Pointe editor in chief and former dancer Amy Brandt at [email protected]. Sarasota Ballet artistic director Iain Webb approached Tony Dyson—owner of Sir Frederick Ashton’s Enigma Variations—about obtaining choreographic rights without knowing the historic 1968 ballet had only ever been performed by The Royal Ballet and Birmingham Royal Ballet. Fortunately, […]
Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival audiences are accustomed to seeing sleek contemporary ballets by choreographers like Jiri Kylian and Alexei Ratmansky. But while the State Ballet of Georgia will perform works by both of those artists at this year’s festival, it will also present some far more classical, and contextually far more unusual, repertoire: four rarely-seen […]
It turns out that Queen Elizabeth was quite a fan—and friend—of Sir Frederick Ashton. A new book is publishing many of her private letters, including the one at right to the Royal Ballet choreographer. Check out her sketch of “ballet on a pinnacle”!