The Sarasota Ballet, quickly growing into one of North America’s leading companies, has a unique history of performing works by choreographer Sir Frederick Ashton. The quality of movement in Ashton’s works has informed the Sarasota Ballet dancers with a characteristic style and strong technical range.
This past June, The Royal Ballet Director Kevin O’Hare invited The Sarasota Ballet, led by Director Iain Webb and Assistant Director Margaret Barbieri, both former Royal Ballet dancers, to perform in Ashton Celebrated, a series of two programmes highlighting Ashton and his creativity, at the Royal Opera House. The company performed a number of Ashton’s works, including The Walk to the Paradise Garden, and also joined The Royal Ballet in Façade, Varii Capricci, The Dream and more. Ashton Celebrated marked the launch of ASHTON WORLDWIDE 2024-2028, the Frederick Ashton Foundation’s international festival celebrating the choreographer’s work and legacy.
“Although it was not my initial plan to do so many of Sir Frederick Ashton’s ballets, they have become the backbone of the artistic excellence for which The Sarasota Ballet is known,” Webb says.
“Honestly, it was just all so exciting and surreal to be bringing Sir Frederick Asthon’s works back to his home,” Barbieri adds. “It was daunting as well, but our dancers rose to the challenge and performed beautifully. There were so many people who have been fans of The Sarasota Ballet who were waiting for us to come to London, and who traveled far and wide to embrace this event and Ashton’s legacy.”
As two former Royal Ballet dancers who have danced many of Ashton’s ballets themselves, Webb and Barbieri are excellent coaches of the choreographer’s works and nuances, according to The Sarasota Ballet dancers.
“Iain Webb and Margaret Barbieri are wonderful curators and caretakers of the Ashton works for The Sarasota Ballet,” remarks Principal Dancer Jennifer Hackbarth. “They both worked directly with Sir Frederick Ashton, and they share his vision and style as they coach the dancers of the Company today. By doing so, they are upholding the tradition and integrity of Ashton’s works, so the finished product that the audience sees onstage lives up to his standard. The care of these Ashton works gives The Sarasota Ballet its unique and diverse repertoire that has become the company’s trademark.”
“It is amazing to have them sharing [their incredible knowledge] with the U.S.,” adds Principal Dancer Jessica Assef. “Their passion and commitment to ballet and its history are very inspiring to me, as well as the excitement behind their artistic vision for the Company.”
Having the chance to dance so many of Ashton’s ballets and learning roles from the generation before has only made The Sarasota Ballet stronger. The dancers have a clear understanding of the movement and can execute it with strength yet ease. And that translates to other choreography as well.
“Having danced many of his works, I have learned to give importance to not just the steps, but also to how my body moves in space, how my body can bend and how fluid I can make each movement look,” shares Principal Dancer Ricardo Graziano, who also choreographs on the company. “Dancing with your whole body is so engraved in me and my taste that I end up asking the dancers to also allow their bodies to move fully when they are dancing my works.”
For some Sarasota Ballet dancers, the opportunity to tour to the UK for Ashton Celebrated also allowed them the chance to explore a new city.
“The whole tour had a special energy about it because it was the company’s first international trip, and we were dancing ballets we know really well and feel special in,” shares First Soloist Daniel Pratt.
“Going on tour is always very exciting – you get to travel, you get to see new places and you get to perform and do what you love,” Graziano says. “This time, however, everything was on a much bigger scale. Having been invited by The Royal Ballet to join them in the opening of their Ashton Worldwide Festival is such a huge accomplishment for The Sarasota Ballet and all its dancers, including past dancers, whom through the years helped us get to where we are today. Being inside the Royal Opera House in itself is already overwhelming, but then getting the opportunity to perform both on the Linbury Stage and the Main Stage, knowing all the history and all the dancers that have graced those stages throughout the years is more than one could ask for. The London audiences were so welcoming and appreciative of our work, making each performance that more special.”
Assef adds, “It was my first time visiting the UK, and it was lovely to not only explore the city of London but especially to be surrounded by ballet history of previous generations and the ballet stars of today.”
The Sarasota Ballet’s tour to the Royal Opera House is just the start of the company’s own celebration of the legendary Ashton. “Sir Fred’s ballets are such an important part of our repertoire, “Webb explains. “Over the next five years, we will be revisiting some of those works, as well as introducing new works back in our programming.”
In March 2025, the company will perform Ashton’s full-length romantic story ballet, Romeo and Juliet, and will wrap up the 2024-25 season in April with A Wedding Bouquet.
“Sir Frederick Ashton and the ballets he created are special gems within the ballet repertoire,” Hackbarth notes. “Each ballet has his unique touch and style, and I find myself learning something new every time I dance one of his ballets. His ballets push the dancer to reach further as an artist – whether through his signature bend of the upper body, the intricacy of the footwork, or his refined touches of humor. I look forward to continuing to dance his works in the upcoming seasons here at The Sarasota Ballet.”
For more information on The Sarasota Ballet, visit www.sarasotaballet.org. And for more on ASHTON WORLDWIDE 2024-2028, head to www.frederickashton.org.uk/news.html.
By Laura Di Orio of Dance Informa.
