The Royal Ballet's Francesca Hayward in Stunning Slow Motion

November 28, 2001

Choreography is filled with tricky moments, and sometimes even the simplest steps or sequences can cause the most trouble. (Think of the countless hours you spend perfecting your pliés.) Whether you’re trying to capture just the right accent or refine a technical detail of a movement, watching a dance video played back in slow motion can be a helpful tool for identifying what’s difficult to pin down in real time. 
Enter Royal Ballet soloist Francesca Hayward. In this short video from the Royal Opera House, she demonstrates the “Fred Step,” a famous string of movement that often appears in Sir Frederick Ashton’s choreography. Several slightly different versions have been seen in his Cinderella, A Month in the Country, Symphonic Variations and other iconic works. Here, Hayward performs a variation on the classic phrase (arabesque, fondu, coupé, petit développé, pas de bourée, pas de chat), leaving out the pas de bourrée. Her fluidity is stunning and her technique impeccable, but overall, it’s just plain fun. Happy dancing!

Choreography is filled with tricky moments, and sometimes even the simplest steps or sequences can cause the most trouble. (Think of the countless hours you spend perfecting your pliés.) Whether you’re trying to capture just the right accent or refine a technical detail of a movement, watching a dance video played back in slow motion can be a helpful tool for identifying what’s difficult to pin down in real time. 


Enter Royal Ballet soloist Francesca Hayward. In this short video from the Royal Opera House, she demonstrates the “Fred Step,” a famous string of movement that often appears in Sir Frederick Ashton’s choreography. Several slightly different versions have been seen in his Cinderella, A Month in the Country, Symphonic Variations and other iconic works. Here, Hayward performs a variation on the classic phrase (arabesque, fondu, coupé, petit développé, pas de bourée, pas de chat), leaving out the pas de bourrée. Her fluidity is stunning and her technique impeccable, but overall, it’s just plain fun. Happy dancing!