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The second edition of
Frederick Ashton's Ballets: Style, Performance, Choreography adds two further ballets to this ground-breaking study of Frederick Ashton's choreography. It not only examines the contribution these ballets made to twentieth century dance art, but also presents a detailed account of Ashton's work and dances, demonstrating his remarkable choreographic and artistic talent. Having danced with the Royal Ballet Company during the years Ashton was Director, author Geraldine Morris also draws on her years as an academic in the field.
List of contents
- Introduction
- Chapter 1. The Problem of Style and Discerning the Movement
- Chapter 2. The Foundations of Ashton's Style: Training and Dance Influences
- Chapter 3. Unconventional Dances: Ashton's Style in Ballets with Words
- Chapter 4. Non-narrative Ballets: 1950s Decorum and the Swinging 60s
- Chapter 5. Expressive Abstraction: Dante Sonata and Symphonic Variations
- Chapter 6. Narrative Dances: An Abundance of Real Dancing
- Conclusion: Where Now for Ashton Style?
- Bibliography
- Index
About the author
Geraldine Morris was a dancer with the Royal Ballet Company during the years Frederick Ashton was Director. Having been awarded a PhD for a thesis dealing with Ashton's dance movement style, she became a Reader in Dance at Roehampton University where she is now a Senior Honorary Research Fellow.
Summary
The second edition of Frederick Ashton's Ballets: Style, Performance, Choreography adds two further ballets to this ground-breaking study of Frederick Ashton's choreography. It not only examines the contribution these ballets made to twentieth century dance art, but also presents a detailed account of Ashton's work and dances, demonstrating his remarkable choreographic and artistic talent. Having danced with the Royal Ballet Company during the years Ashton was Director, author, Geraldine Morris also draws on her years as an academic in the field.
As well as highlighting the dances, the book explores the contribution made by Ashton's collaborators, both designers and musicians. Central is the issue of identity and how style can be retained in dance, despite alterations in training. It considers the problem of how the values of ballet training change, thereby affecting contemporary performances of his works. Through eight works Morris examines the various sources that Ashton used, whether they were dances with words, or those influenced by dancers' movement style, jazz dance, abstraction, mysticism, or narrative. With this new material, the second edition makes a significant contribution to dance scholarship.
