ASHTON Rediscovered
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Below and bottom right: Marianela Nuñez and Federico Bonelli working with Darcey Bussell, Donald MacLeary and Gary Avis on Frederick Ashton’s Raymonda Pas de Deux. Bottom left: Panel discussion with, from left to right, Anna Rose O’Sullivan, David Donnelly, Darcey Bussell, Alastair Macaulay, Donald MacLeary, Gary Avis and Lorraine Gregory. ASHTON rediscovered Jonathan Gray attends Some of the pieces shown had not dancer, but for the 1968 production a series of masterclasses been performed for many years, and created by Peter Wright and Ashton part of the enjoyment of attending it was almost like working on a new focusing on the choreography each session was discovering how ballet. The Prince’s solo has been of Frederick Ashton. they illuminated new and different retained by The Royal Ballet ever Photographs by facets to Ashton’s work and style. since, and was the most familiar piece The first session took place on of choreography to be seen over the Rachel Thomas September 18, and focused on two course of the sessions. Dowell worked solos Ashton created specifically on on the solo with Reece Clarke, and s part of its objective to Anthony Dowell: Prince Florimund’s was eager to turn his attention to explore further the work adagio solo from Act II of The Sleeping the mechanics of its choreography, A of Frederick Ashton, the Beauty, made in 1968, and the Dance giving helpful comments such as, founder choreographer of The of the Blessed Spirits (Dance in the “Breathe more with the arms, and Royal Ballet, The Frederick Ashton Elysian Fields) made ten years later lean back more. You’ve got to find the Foundation last year launched a for a gala honouring Lord Harewood, accents [in the choreography]”. He series of masterclasses titled Ashton the then director of English National was keen Clarke also understood the Rediscovered. Led by members of the Opera. In his introduction, Macaulay flow of movement within the solo, original casts, and concentrating described Dowell as the greatest remarking to him, “Don’t freeze it, on rarely performed works, the male dancer of his time, for whom step slightly further than you think for masterclasses were held at The Royal Ashton highlighted his outstanding the arabesque”, “Take your time here, Ballet Upper School from September line, musicality, poetry and mystery. like a wonderful court dance”, and 2016 to February 2017, and were It was, Macaulay said, a new kind “Really get used to pliéing for more open to the public. The three sessions of masculinity in male dancing, hops.” Clarke had only just started were devised by Jeannetta Laurence, and one that celebrated Dowell’s working on the solo in advance of his introduced by the dance critic Alastair exemplary, long legato phrasing. debut in the full role the following Macaulay, featured dancers from Dowell admitted he didn’t have an February (see Dancing Times, March The Royal Ballet, and were filmed ambition to perform the Prince in The 2017), but Dowell seemed pleased with for posterity by Bennet Gartside. Sleeping Beauty when he was a young the progress he made that afternoon. ➣ WWW.DANCING-TIMES.CO.UK • APRIL 2017 • 31 Ashton - April.indd 31 22/03/2017 11:43 Frederick Ashton The session continued with the Dance of the Blessed Spirits, for which Dowell worked with Vadim Muntagirov, perhaps the most Dowell-like of all the male dancers in today’s Royal Ballet. Dowell informed the audience that both he and Ashton knew there would be a rostrum placed on the stage of the opera gala for which it was created, but in the event the dancing space was much smaller than they had anticipated. “The stage was like a postage stamp,” Dowell exclaimed, but he was pleased to have been given the opportunity, later, to dance the solo again on Broadway as part of a season led by Natalia Makarova. “[Dance critic] Clive Barnes gave it a rave,” said Dowell, “but after that I only danced it for a second time. Le : Gary Avis working with David Donnelly It was too much of a success!” on the male variation from Raymonda Pas Muntagirov was perfect for the de Deux. Right: Darcey Bussell working with limpid, poetic solo, which he had Anna Rose O’Sullivan on the female variation clearly learned in detail. “Good. Very from Raymonda Pas de Deux. nice, very nice”, Dowell praised him. Again, he advised Muntagirov to “Try and get the fl ow”, but ended by telling the dancer he was “very pleased”. Muntagirov, when questioned by Macaulay, said it was hard to dance recounted how the pas de deux was master Gary Avis, and Benesh notator Ashton with a Russian technique, as created in about ten days. Ashton Lorraine Gregory informed her they he found some of the steps diffi cult, outlined the story (a young couple had had to break down the pas de but they were also a pleasure to dance. enjoying their lovemaking until Death deux into counts for the dancers so Dowell, when asked about rehearsing claims them) to her and Wall, and they could get the timings correct. new dancers in his roles, stated: “You they worked on the duet for about 90 “It’s useful to have the structure can’t freeze something, as every minutes each day. “We were so lucky underneath to start with,” said dancer is different. You get the skeletal to have him,” Park said, and when Avis, who mentioned they had also framework right, but then you have to asked by Macaulay if she and Wall referred to the piano and conductor adapt to an individual’s physicality.” had taken risks with some of the lifts scores when rehearsing the work. Dowell found that, when working with and partnering, she replied: “Not Ashton, “Nothing was square, nothing really, it just happened”. She decided or the fi nal session of the 2016- was fl at on. He made the body speak.” Ashton was being much freer with F 17 season, held on February 19, them. Coaching the dancers, Park felt Donald MacLeary and Darcey Bussell he second session, held on the movements should be, “Seamless, worked with Marianela Nuñez and T November 13, was devoted to The just let your arms breathe; it’s not Federico Bonelli on the adagio from Walk to the Paradise Garden, a duet Swan Lake”. Placing emphasis on Raymonda Pas de Deux, and then on Ashton made to music by Delius port de bras, she also told the couple the individual solos with Anna Rose for Merle Park and David Wall in that they should have fun together O’Sullivan and David Donnelly. With 1972. Here, the former ballerina was and enjoy the duet’s open eroticism. them, as before, was Avis as ballet most eager for the dancers, Meaghan “You are spring children. Relax your master and Gregory as notator. Grace Hinkis and Ryoichi Hirano, to arms. You have to forget ‘I’m doing Raymonda Pas de Deux was made think about musicality. As Macaulay classroom’. Love yourself, because we for Svetlana Beriosova and MacLeary mentioned in his introduction, Park want to see in your face how much in 1962, and in advance of the was considered one of the most musical you are enjoying it.” At the top of a coaching session, Macaulay spoke to dancers of her generation, and she lift, Park remarked to Hinkis, held by the audience of Beriosova’s beauty, told the couple to, “Just sing the music Hirano, “Don’t stop up there, keep on both as a ballerina and as a woman, to yourself and it [the choreography] slowly moving. You have to risk. Don’t and also described Ashton’s love of does it for you. I should have been worry, trust him! What Ashton loved Glazunov’s music for the three-act in the opera company because I sang was that you used all your body.” Raymonda, whose music he had used everything, I never counted.” Park was keen the dancers did not previously in 1959 for Scène d’amour, a Park, with her wry, comic delivery, count the beats of the music, but ballet duet for Margot Fonteyn and Michael 32 • DANCING TIMES Ashton - April.indd 32 21/03/2017 13:14 Rediscovering Ashton It had to happen, spontaneous and fast. You felt he was doing it for you. He coached Svetlana and me in the classics as well, mainly Swan Lake and The Sleeping Beauty, but he wanted everything to the nth degree.” O’Sullivan had learned the ballerina’s solo in an hour, and Bussell told her, “It’s lovely and simple, but that makes it harder to produce. It’s revealing and naked! Use the waist, and focus. Don’t have wandering eyes.” For O’Sullivan, dancing Ashton was, “Beautifully musical, but very awkward. It doesn’t fl ow naturally at fi rst, but once you have it, that’s the only way [of dancing it].” As a postscript, just a few weeks after the fi nal session of the season, an archive fi lm of Beriosova and MacLeary dancing this very duet appeared on the internet. Obviously fi lmed for television at a gala in the early 1960s, it was fascinating to see the original cast dancing the adagio and coda with such elegance, grandeur, clarity and speed, and it also became clear exactly why Ashton had placed his most spectacular lift where he had – because it worked best with Somes. The pas de deux had most other choreographers would have done. the music, once again demonstrating recently been revived in 1994, when Asked by Macaulay about working the great choreographer’s innate it was performed by Darcey Bussell with Ashton, MacLeary described musicality.