Sir Frederick Ashton

Sir Frederick Ashton

Frederick Ashton (1904-1988) studied with the choreographer Leonide Massine and with Marie Rambert.  He was the resident guest choreographer for the Vic-Wells Ballet and in 1963 became director of The Royal Ballet. Ashton is often associated with Margot Fonteyn, for whom he created a great number of ballets.  Of the hundreds of ballets in his legacy, many are still popular today, including Cinderella, Daphnis and Chloë, The Two Pigeons, Birthday Offering and La Fille Mal Gardée, in addition to Midsummer Night's Dream.

Frederick Ashton was named Commander in the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 1950. He was knighted in 1962 and named as Companion of Honour in 1970.