Akari Yoshida as the Fairy Godmother in Ashton’s Cinderella with The National Ballet of Japan—part of Ashton Worldwide 2024–2028. ©2025 National Ballet of Japan. Ph Kiyonori Hasegawa.
This month marks the midpoint of Ashton Worldwide 2024–2028, our international festival running from the 120th anniversary of Frederick Ashton’s birth to the 40th anniversary of his death.
Since launching with Ashton Celebrated – a programme of both best-loved and lesser-known Ashton works performed by The Royal Ballet and The Sarasota Ballet at The Royal Opera House in June 2024 – Ashton Worldwide has seen performances of Ashton around the globe, with his ballets already performed on every continent.
To date, 43 companies and schools have expressed interest in staging Ashton during the festival period. Of these, 30 have already presented his work or have performances scheduled.
With almost too many highlights to choose from, some remarkable festival performances so far include the first ever performances of Ashton’s work in Chile, with Ballet de Santiago performing The Dream (May 2025); a new production of La Fille mal gardée in Kyiv—a feat of artistry and resilience by the National Ballet of Ukraine (June 2025); and two extraordinary performances of Rhapsody by the Paris Opera Ballet: beneath the iconic glass pyramid of the Louvre and at the Trois Fleuves theatre in Cayenne, French Guiana (April 2026).
🗓️ Explore our ASHTON CALENDAR to see details of upcoming festival performances and events as they’re confirmed.
Left: Dancers of Ballet de Santiago in Ashton’s The Dream ©2025 Ballet de Santiago. Photographed by Alberto Diaz; Right: Volodymyr Kutuzov as Colas and Yekaterina Kurchenko as Lise in Ashton’s La Fille mal gardée, June 2025 © Oleksandr Putrov.
June 2026