Frederick Ashton Event
Margaret Barbieri and Iain Webb In Conversation with Jane Pritchard
May 29, 2024
The Chair of the London Ballet Circle, Susan Dalgetty Ezra, welcomed the audience to the In Conversation event which formed part of the Frederick Ashton Foundation’s international festival celebrating the legacy of the choreographer. The evening would commence with the showing of a film, after which there would be the opportunity to hear from Iain Webb and Margaret Barbieri, respectively Director and Assistant Director of the Sarasota Ballet, currently visiting London.
Susan invited Christopher Nourse, Founding Executive Director of the Ashton Foundation, to describe the film, Frederick Ashton: Links in the Chain. It was made to record the massive importance of Ashton’s contribution to ballet, in particular the way in which his unique choreography continues to be handed on to the next generation. The film’s producer, Lynne Wake, then introduced the film, which covered a wide range of Ashton’s works merging the past with the present – from grainy shots of his original cast performing Symphonic Variations to such modern gems as Gary Avis and Fumi Kaneko rehearsing the Tango from Façade. While there may not be a great deal of material of Ashton himself, she believed his presence could be felt throughout the film.
The Sarasota Ballet is bringing a programme of work to the Royal Opera House to mark the opening of Ashton Worldwide, the programme celebrating the enormous legacy of dance left by Sir Frederick Ashton. Accordingly Susan then introduced Magaret Barbieri and Iain Webb to the audience, together with ballet historian Jane Pritchard who would lead the conversation.
Jane opened the conversation by saying that many would recall with appreciation both of their wonderful careers dancing in London; the focus of this evening, however, was Sir Frederick Ashton’s legacy. This was being actively pursued by the Sarasota Ballet and Iain revealed that so far they had mounted some thirty of his works.
Margaret was then asked about her own experiences of working with the great man. A little in awe of him she replied, because her first encounter was while he was Director of the Royal Ballet and she was still a student at the Royal Ballet School. Dancing firstly as the gypsy girl and then eventually Gourouli, the lead role, in Two Pigeons; she loved that ballet, and much more recently had also loved being able to stage it in Sarasota.
Over the years she had performed in so many of his ballets. She said that Ashton was so encouraging to his dancers; always keen to find the little things which could not just improve your technique but also ensure that you gave your best artistic interpretation of a role. It was wonderful working with him in the studio, and she also recalled great conversations one to one with him in the canteen afterwards.
Sir Frederick would sometimes change a routine to suit a particular dancer. On one occasion, rehearsing The Dream, the notator, Faith Worth, had said there were two different versions of arm movements recorded, wondering which version Margaret should employ. He had stepped in and said that as Margaret had Italian influences she should just do ‘lots and lots’ of port de bras….
Margaret spoke about Valses Nobles in which Iain had worked with Sir Frederick, at Sadler’s Wells; it had been when she was pregnant and could not take part. The piece lacks any real narrative although a thread runs through it; couples come into a ballroom to dance, and sometimes leave with other partners. And all the time the men are vying to dance with the leading female. She said that once she had been taken to a dance hall in Regents Street and observed similar behaviour. Margaret wondered whether Ashton may have had much the same inspiration for the ballet.
It is a gorgeous piece, very elegant, they both said. The costumes can also be fantastic with the men adorned in rich colours and the women wearing long flowing dresses, all reflecting the post-war yearning for glamour and romance. All in all, it is a ballet which has everything – terrific choreography, which is loved by the dancers, great costumes and danced to the wonderful Ravel score! Peter Wright, later to make his own name as a great choreographer, was one of the dancers in the original cast.
Iain then recalled that Ashton himself had been gentle, naughty, very funny, and a great tease. He related an incident in which the company had been on tour, playing in a ‘big top’ tent on Jesus Green in Cambridge. Ian had never been the first to get dressed and made up before a performance, but this particular evening had been told to get ready early because Sir Frederick himself would be coming to the show – and because it was his birthday the BBC would also be filming. And yes, Sir Frederick did arrive for the performance and was helicoptered away immediately afterwards to the local air base, from which he was flown to Scotland to share his birthday with the Queen Mother……
When they first were appointed to the Sarasota Ballet, Iain explained, it had not been with the explicit intention to stage Ashton ballets. However, Two Pigeons had been chosen for their first programme because Margaret had just been coaching it in Japan and they wanted to get a work into the studio as soon as possible. Accordingly their first programme was dedicated to two great masters of choreography – the one British and the other American – Ashton’s Two Pigeons and Balanchine’s Allegro Brillante.
Finding great local support for Ashton, they had then brought Façade, The Dream and many other pieces into their repertory – as Iain had said, some thirty in total. Truly he believed that ‘Sir Frederick Ashton’ was now a household name in the Sarasota Ballet community.
While working in London Iain recalled the enormous benefits of having individuals with direct experience of the particular work in the studio during rehearsals. With the passing of time – and the influence of geography – his company’s dancers lacked that support. For instance, they were absolutely delighted that Sir Anthony Dowell was able to come to Sarasota to coach the dancers in The Dream. Wherever possible they tried to involve individuals who had experience of the work as originally staged, an aim which applied whoever the choreographer may have been. Such individuals do not just teach the steps, they bring the passion which is so essential to engage the young dancers of today.
Margaret and Iain then went on to talk of the broad range of works mounted by the company, and of the many challenges it faces. Ian reflected that one way in which he was not good as a Director was his tendency to want to bring back works which he had seen just once in the past and which then seemed to vanish from company repertories. It was not always a good idea…. He cited Apparitions the production of which he had bought from English National Ballet. It arrived in Sarasota with all the boxes of fantastic costumes there, properly labelled – and empty! All the costumes had been removed and the company had to start all over again.
Iain then praised the tremendous contribution made by their Executive Director, Joseph Volpe. Once the extremely successful General Manager of the Metropolitan Opera House in New York, and a legend in the industry, since his retirement Joseph had been with Sarasota Ballet, dealing most effectively with the administrative challenges faced by all ballet companies, keeping them all on track and providing enormous support to both Margaret and Iain.
Iain also acknowledged how much they appreciated and needed the tremendous financial support which the company received from its various generous donors. The company was a business, and had to be run as such. The costs of the next season had to be covered. This visit to London was, however, proving to be a very expensive exercise, definitely a one-off at a cost of some $610K…. Nevertheless, they all hoped the celebration of Sir Frederick Ashton and his great works would be as successful as it deserved to be.
Finally Iain said how grateful they were to Kevin O’Hare for his tremendous generosity towards the company in facilitating the Sarasota Ballet’s visit to the Royal Opera House. It was offering a great opportunity for the company and, he hoped, for London audiences as well. The Ashton creations they were bringing to London included Sinfonietta, Dante Sonata and Façade, all wonderful ballets not seen here for some time.
A member of the audience then re-iterated that it was wonderful to see Margaret back in this country, having fond memories of seeing her perform with the Royal Ballet some years ago. But, he said, it is frustrating to see the Ashton repertory being revived so comprehensively but so far away, and accordingly he wondered whether finance could be found for productions to be streamed. And he also suggested that, if and when they come to London again, it might be to the main house rather than the Linbury with its very restricted audience capacity.
In concluding the evening, Susan, as Chair of the London Ballet Circle, thanked Margaret, Iain and Jane. The film had been fascinating even for those who may have seen it before because there was always something new to be seen. The evening had been extremely interesting and entertaining, a great start to the Ashton festival, and she thanked the contributors most warmly.
Written by Trevor Rothwell, approved by Margaret Barbieri, Iain Webb and Jane Pritchard.
Copyright LBC 2024