I encountered Frederick Ashton at a dinner party shortly before he died in 1988. Frail and anxious, he clutched my arm and demanded to know which of his creations I thought would survive him. I duly reeled off some titles, but felt that any opinion I expressed would have disappointed him. In public, he professed to care not a fig for posterity, but he evidently did, and his will set out thoughtful arrangements parcelling ownership of his works out to various trusted colleagues, with the bulk passing to his nephew, the Royal Ballet’s administrative director Anthony Russell-Roberts.
How exhilarating to be reminded of Ashton’s remarkable range, and of choreography so inventive
This may have seemed like a sound investment, but it turned out badly. Ballet is the art form that depends most crucially on transmission from the muscle memory of one dancer to another. Notation and film can’t convey nuance or detail, and personal experience of the choreography is vital. Ashton’s legatees were soon crossing swords: there was a sense that productions were being licensed without quality being monitored or staged according to individual whim rather than authentic spirit. As the direct heirs died out, some of their inheritors have proved to be problematic custodians, and there is particular sensitivity surrounding the stipulations of retired ballerina Wendy Ellis Somes, into whose hands – as widow of Ashton’s legatee Michael Somes – the Koh-i-Noor of Ashton’s 1946 masterpiece Symphonic Variations has passed.
Russell-Roberts attempted to steer through the consequent wrangles over what was being danced in Ashton’s name, but without any legal lever, his efforts to bring everyone together informally came to nothing. To stop the rot and the arguments, the Ashton Foundation was established as a charitable trust in 2011.
Based in the Royal Opera House and managed by two expert administrators, Christopher Nourse and Jeanetta Laurence (Russell-Roberts sadly died in January), it has accrued authority, and over the next four years it will sponsor and oversee a worldwide festival of Ashton’s work, with particular emphasis placed on preserving the intricate footwork and upper-body flexibility that are such essential features of his style.
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