A student performs an extract from Ashton’s The Dream during filming for the ATAP programme ©2024 The Royal Ballet School. Photographed by Henry Curtis and Pierre Tappon.

This coming Sunday, 6 April 2025, sees the launch of the Frederick Ashton Foundation’s innovative new partnership with The Royal Ballet School, which will provide dance students training in the Affiliate Training and Assessment Programme (ATAP) methodology with the invaluable chance to learn and study the work of Frederick Ashton.  

Established by the School in 2022, ATAP provides a training model that differs from traditional examination syllabi—with six training levels for dancers aged five and upwards, each emphasising the importance of developing classical ballet technique and performance skills, alongside an understanding of the art form through repertory, choreography and appreciation. Learn more about the Affiliate Training and Assessment Programme (ATAP).

Left: Steven McRae as The Blue Boy in Ashton’s Les Patineurs with The Royal Ballet. ©2009 Royal Opera House. Photo by Tristram Kenton; Right: A student performs the same Les Patineurs variation during filming for the ATAP programme ©2024 The Royal Ballet School. Photographed by Henry Curtis and Pierre Tappon.

As a principal architect of 20th-century classical ballet and Founder Choreographer of The Royal Ballet, Ashton has played a key role in The Royal Ballet School’s history, and his legacy remains central to its reputation as a centre for excellence in ballet training. This new partnership between the School and the Frederick Ashton Foundation extends the value of this legacy to both private and recreational dance students worldwide—enriching their training through Ashton’s unique choreographic language and, vitally, providing them with the opportunity to enjoy the artistic expression and creativity which are such key elements of Ashton’s output.

Over recent months, choreography from three Ashton ballets – Les Rendezvous, Les Patineurs and The Dream – has been adapted by the Foundation’s team of specialist repetiteurs for young dancers to learn as part of their assessment training for the Affiliate Programme’s Levels 4-6, with an enhanced stream for young dancers considering a career in the dance industry. This choreography will be delivered to Affiliate teachers at intensive in-person training days, beginning this weekend. Teachers and their students will also have access to accompanying films on The Royal Ballet’s School’s video-on-demand platform, which feature repetiteurs teaching and explaining the meaning behind this choreography, and offering insights into their own personal experiences of dancing in Ashton’s ballets. Accompanying resource packs have detailed information about the history of each ballet, and each solo is written in Benesh Movement Notation (BMN), providing a comprehensive and autonomous approach.

A student performs an extract from Ashton’s Les Rendezvous during filming for the ATAP programme ©2024 The Royal Ballet School. Photographed by Henry Curtis and Pierre Tappon.

Jeanetta Laurence, Chair of the Frederick Ashton Foundation, said:

As Chair of the Frederick Ashton Foundation, I’m delighted that we’re able to partner with The Royal Ballet School in this innovative project, which will increase awareness of and access to Ashton’s ballets across a new generation of young people, their teachers and parents.

Choreography from three of Ashton’s ballets has been specially adapted by the Foundation’s repetiteurs for young dancers in the formative years of their training to engage their imagination and enjoyment of dancing through storytelling and theatricality.

Mark Annear, Director of Training & Access at The Royal Ballet School, said:

We are proud to have launched the Affiliate Programme to drive forward teaching and training standards in the recreational sector. Our partnership with the Frederick Ashton Foundation is a step towards this mission, allowing Affiliate teachers and students the exclusive opportunity to learn ballets performed by some of the world’s leading dance companies.

This collaboration is a unique chance for many students and teachers in the recreational dance sector who have not had access to such opportunities before. This will undoubtedly enable both teachers and young dancers to reach their full potential by developing their classical ballet technique and love for the art form.

Dancers of The Royal Ballet in Ashton’s Les Rendezvous, as part of The Royal Ballet’s ‘Ashton Celebrated’ ©2024 ROH. Ph Tristram Kenton.