Frederick Ashton

Sir Frederick William Mallandaine Ashton ( born September 17, 1904 in Guayaquil, Ecuador; † August 18, 1988 in Eye, Suffolk ) was an English ballet dancer and choreographer.

Frederick Ashton grew up in Peru. He decided to become a dancer after he saw Anna Pavlova dance in 1917. After moving to England, he took lessons with Leonide Massine and Marie Rambert.

From 1926 to 1937 he danced for the Ballet Rambert. At the same time he began, encouraged by Marie Rambert, his first steps as a choreographer.

From 1935 he also worked for Ninette de Valois ' Sadler 's Wells Ballet. From this period works such as Les Patineurs (1937 ), Scene de ballet (1948 ), Ondine (1958) and is probably his most famous choreography La Fille mal gardée ( 1960). From 1964 to 1970 he was executive director of the Royal Ballet in London.

Among his late appearances as a dancer include his role as one of the " ugly sisters " in Kenneth MacMillan's Cinderella. In 1962, he was beaten for his services to the ballet knighted and admitted as Commander in the Order of the British Empire. Since the same year, he is also a member of the French Legion of Honour.

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