The Frederick Ashton Foundation

28/04/2026

Ashton Rediscovered, 31 May – leap at the chance to get a ticket while you still can 🐾

Samara Downs coaches Royal Ballet Soloist Viola Pantuso in Ashton’s witty, feline ‘La Ch**te métamorphosée en femme’, alongside special guest Merle Park, who gave the premiere of the solo in 1985

📍 The Royal Ballet School
🗓️ 31 May | 2.30–5.30pm
🎟️ Limited tickets: https://www.tickettailor.com/.../frederickashtonf.../2148132
📸 Viola Pantuso in rehearsal for ‘The Winter’s Tale’ ©2024 ROH. Ph Andrej Uspenski Dancersdiary

16/04/2026

Booking open 🎟️ Ashton Rediscovered: La Ch**te métamorphosée en femme | 31 May, London

Join us for our next masterclass as Samara Downs (Principal, Birmingham Royal Ballet and trainee Ashton Stager) coaches Viola Pantuso (Soloist, The Royal Ballet) in this witty Ashton solo about a woman who was formerly a cat, and can’t quite abandon her feline habits 🐾

We will be joined for the masterclass by Merle Park, who gave the premiere of the ballet in 1985. A drinks reception will follow.

📍 Where: The Royal Ballet School, Covent Garden
🕰️ When: 31 May, 2.30–5.30pm

🎟️ Limited tickets available—book now:
https://www.tickettailor.com/events/frederickashtonfoundation/2148132
📸 Merle Park in Frederick Ashton’s La Ch**te métamorphosée en femme (1985). Ph Joseph Düport.

14/04/2026

22/03/2026

Ashton Inspired: Choreographers✨

Six of today’s leading choreographers on the genius of Frederick Ashton—watch the full series now on youtube:
www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL3MMWE7J73x0TA3U8LX8ce87GNZXEPhKp

Go behind the scenes, with candid discussion and unique insights revealing how Ashton’s ballets continue to influence and inspire

🎥 produced and directed by Lynne Wake. Footage of The Royal Ballet courtesy of The Royal Ballet and Opera

01/03/2026

🦢 “A group of friends, a sense of community”—dance historian Jane Pritchard introduces Ashton’s 𝘚𝘸𝘢𝘯 𝘓𝘢𝘬𝘦 pas de quatre (1963) at last Sunday’s 𝘈𝘴𝘩𝘵𝘰𝘯 𝘙𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 masterclass...

That spirit came to life as Katie Robertson, Emile Gooding and Alejandro Muñoz (The Royal Ballet) were coached in excerpts from this joyful and virtuosic Ashton quartet by international ballet stars Leanne Benjamin and Patrick Armand

Enjoy these pics from an illuminating afternoon, and keep an eye out for more on the pas de quatre and the masterclass, coming soon....

📸 ©

16/02/2026

Now streaming on YouTube 🎬🎊… 𝘈𝘴𝘩𝘵𝘰𝘯 𝘐𝘯𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘥: 𝘊𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘰𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘱𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴 is live on our channel

Go behind the scenes with leading contemporary choreographers as they explore the works of Frederick Ashton, tracing the enduring influence of his distinctive movement language and creative vision on today’s dance-makers

Discover the series now: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL3MMWE7J73x0TA3U8LX8ce87GNZXEPhKp
📸 1) Ashley Page; 2) Christopher Wheeldon in rehearsal for 𝘊𝘰𝘳𝘺𝘣𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘤 𝘎𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘴, The Royal Ballet, © 2018 ROH. Ph Andrej Uspenski; 3) Valentino Zucchetti ©2023 ROH. Ph Andrej Uspenski; 4) David Bintley; 5) Wayne McGregor, Fumi Kaneko, Joseph Sissens and William Bracewell in Wayne McGregor’s 𝘔𝘈𝘋𝘋𝘈𝘋𝘋𝘈𝘔, The Royal Ballet ©2024 ROH. Ph Andrej Uspenski; 6) Richard Alston.

12/02/2026

Today we celebrate half a century of Ashton’s late masterpiece 𝘈 𝘔𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘩 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘺 🍂🌾🏡

Given its premiere by The Royal Ballet in 1976, the ballet distils Turgenev’s play into a single act of quiet intensity—with fleeting touch, suspended motion and spatial proximity (or often its absence) powerfully evoking the characters’ inner emotional worlds
📸 The Royal Ballet in 𝘈 𝘔𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘩 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘺:
1) Lauren Cuthbertson and Vadim Muntagirov ©2019 ROH. Ph Tristram Kenton.
2) Francesca Hayward ©ROH/Tristram Kenton, 2014.
3) Gary Avis and Marianela Nuñez ©2019 ROH. Ph Tristram Kenton.
4) Zenaida Yanowsky and Rupert Pennefather ©Dee Conway/ROH, 2008.
5) Frederick Ashton in rehearsal with Lynn Seymour and Anthony Dowell. Ph Anthony Crickmay, 1976.

12/02/2026

⚜️✨ More from last month’s 𝘈𝘴𝘩𝘵𝘰𝘯 𝘙𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥: 𝘚𝘤è𝘯𝘦 𝘥’𝘢𝘮𝘰𝘶𝘳 masterclass, in collaboration with Birmingham Royal Ballet...

🎥 Watch the full masterclass film, now on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=23UVqb-YJDo
📖 Read Jane Pritchard’s (Curator of Dance, ) introduction to the ballet on our website:
https://frederickashton.org.uk/insight/scene-damour-rediscovered/

🎥 Yaoqian Shang and Riku Ito in Ashton’s 𝘚𝘤è𝘯𝘦 𝘥’𝘢𝘮𝘰𝘶𝘳, captured during the masterclass by Birmingham Royal Ballet
🎹 Jeanette Wong

28/01/2026

Celebrating 66 years of La Fille mal gardée, first performed in 1960 🎀 🐓✨

“One of Ashton’s greatest, funniest works—his joyous choreography is like a constantly flowing cascade of champagne, its fizzing invention and boundless musicality and humour unsurpassed.”
– Gramilano - ballet, opera, photography, in his review of last year’s run of the ballet

➡️ Swipe for some highlights from those performances, and book now for the company’s next run, beginning in May 🗓️
📸 Dancers of The Royal Ballet in Ashton’s La Fille mal gardee ©2025 Alice Pennefather.

22/01/2026

Ashton Rediscovered: Scène d’amour (1959) ⚜️❤️

Moments from Tuesday's masterclass with Birmingham Royal Ballet, in which we were incredibly privileged to rediscover Ashton’s gorgeous 𝘙𝘢𝘺𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘢-inspired pas de deux 𝘚𝘤è𝘯𝘦 𝘥’𝘢𝘮𝘰𝘶𝘳, which has been reconstructed by Samara Downs for The Frederick Ashton Foundation.

For those who couldn’t make it, a write-up of the introduction to the masterclass given by Jane Pritchard (Curator of Dance ,Victoria and Albert Museum), along with a film of the evening, will follow soon...
📸 © The Frederick Ashton Foundation

09/01/2026

🎷🎶 Ashton’s 𝘑𝘢𝘻𝘻 𝘊𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘳 is 58 years old today!

Inspired by Richard Rodney Bennett’s work of the same name – which was based on the children’s poem ‘Monday’s Child’ – Ashton saw the sequence of poetry and music as the basis for a ballet offering opportunities to a wide range of dancers. The work was given its premiere by The Royal Ballet in 1968.
📸 Juan Gil of performing the role of Thursday’s Child in 𝘑𝘢𝘻𝘻 𝘊𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘳 ©Frank Atura