The Royal Ballet

Five Brahms Waltzes in the Manner of Isadora Duncan / Symphonic Variations / A Month in the Country

The works of Frederick Ashton (1904-88) define the English style, exemplified by The Royal Ballet. Ashton's choreography is unique for its elegance, wit and refinement, and the huge body of work he created for the Company is one of his greatest legacies. In its current mixed programme The Royal Ballet brings together four of Ashton's most celebrated masterpieces.

Scenes de ballet radiates sophisticated elegance in its setting of Stravinsky's witty and energetic neoclassical score. Five Brahms Waltzes in the Manner of Isadora Duncan is an impassioned and distinctive homage to the American dancer who was one of Ashton's guiding influences. Symphonic Variations is a cornerstone in the Ashton style, rejoicing in graceful purity of line and movement. And A Month in the Country, one of Ashton's last works, is his poignant dramatic masterpiece, perfectly capturing the elegiac mood of Turgenev's play in an all-Chopin score.