| Ashton had several muses throughout his career – most famously Margot Fonteyn. Another figure who had an enormous impact upon his work was the American dancer and worldwide phenomenon Isadora Duncan. Ashton first saw Duncan dance when he was just 17 and she was 44, and was immediately transfixed. In Five Brahms Waltzes, created several years after her untimely death, he aimed to recapture the essence of Duncan’s unique, carefree style of dancing—while at the same time drawing on the particular talents of Lynn Seymour, who created the role. Initially choreographed as a single waltz for Seymour to perform at a gala in Hamburg, Ashton added four more for the 50th anniversary celebrations of Ballet Rambert. This suite had a profound impact on its dedicatee, Marie Rambert, who idolised Duncan, and burst into tears when she saw Seymour’s performance, saying: ‘That’s exactly what I remember.’ |
MUSIC
Johannes Brahms (Waltzes, Opus 39 Nos l, 2, 8, 10, 13, 15, the first played as a prelude)
COSTUMES
David Dean
DANCERS
Lynn Seymour
FIRST PERFORMANCE
Ballet Rambert, 50th Birthday Performance, Sadler’s Wells Theatre, London, 15 June 1976
American Ballet Theatre, 1976
STAGING
American Ballet Theatre
DANCERS
Lynn Seymour
FIRST PERFORMANCE
New York State Theater, New York NY, 12 July 1976
Royal Ballet, 1976
STAGING
Royal Ballet
DANCERS
Lynn Seymour
FIRST PERFORMANCE
Royal Opera House, London, 23 November 1976
Dance in America, 1977
STAGING
In “Dance in America: Trailblazers of Modern Dance,” directed by Emile Ardolino
DANCERS
Lynn Seymour
FIRST PERFORMANCE
WNET, New York NY, first transmission 22 June 1977
Ballet Rambert, 1983
STAGING
Ballet Rambert
REPRODUCED BY
Lynn Seymour
DANCERS
Lucy Burge
FIRST PERFORMANCE
Sadler’s Wells Theatre, London, 9 March 1983
Joffrey Ballet, 1983
STAGING
Joffrey Ballet
REPRODUCED BY
Lynn Seymour
DANCERS
Jodie Gates
FIRST PERFORMANCE
Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, Los Angeles CA, 11 May 1983
Scottish Ballet, 1991
STAGING
Scottish Ballet
REPRODUCED BY
Lynn Seymour
DANCERS
Ruth Robinson
FIRST PERFORMANCE
Reid Hall, Forfar, Scotland, 31 May 1991
Royal Winnipeg Ballet, 1994
STAGING
Royal Winnipeg Ballet
REPRODUCED BY
Lynn Seymour
FIRST PERFORMANCE
Manitoba, 28 December 1994
Birmingham Royal Ballet, 2000
STAGING
Birmingham Royal Ballet
Lynn Seymour
DANCERS
Mollie Smolen
FIRST PERFORMANCE
Birmingham Repertory Theatre, Birmingham, 5 April 2000
Royal Ballet, 2004
NEW PRODUCTION
Royal Ballet
REPRODUCED BY
Lynn Seymour
DANCERS
Tamara Rojo
FIRST PERFORMANCE
Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London, 13 November 2004 (matinee)
Copyright © 2004 by David Vaughan. ‘Work note’ © Frederick Ashton Foundation.
This listing is part of a chronology that was originally published in Vaughan’s Frederick Ashton and His Ballets (Alfred E Knopf 1976; 2nd ed., London: Dance Books, 1999) and includes new productions added since then, and up until 2007