Choreographer
Sir Frederick Ashton was the architect of English classical ballet, whose lyrical choreography and humanistic sensibility transformed the Royal Ballet into one of the world's preeminent companies.
Defining moments and milestones
Ashton emerged in the 1920s as a dancer and choreographer for the Rambert company, gradually establishing himself as the defining artistic voice of English ballet through his gift for musicality and emotional nuance. His appointment to the Royal Ballet transformed the company into a world-class institution, and his eighty-plus ballets—from the comic brilliance of La Fille mal gardée to the tragic grandeur of Marguerite and Armand—became canonical works of the twentieth-century repertoire. Knighted in 1962 and revered as the architect of a distinctly English classical style, Ashton's influence extended across opera, film, and multiple generations of dancers and choreographers.
Created the Royal Ballet's classical style and choreographed over eighty ballets, including La Fille mal gardée (1960), Symphonic Variations (1946), The Dream (1964), and Marguerite and Armand (1963), works that remain central to the international ballet repertoire
Dover College
A chronological journey through key moments
Recordings featuring Frederick Ashton in the Society index
Additional recordings will appear here as the catalog expands.