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  • 1930s

Les Patineurs (1937)

Ballet-Divertissement in one act

MUSIC

Giacomo Meyerbeer, arranged by Constant Lambert (ballet music and one aria from Le Prophète, and Waltz from Act II, Prelude to Act III, and Ismailov’s aria “Bel cavalier” from L’Etoile du nord)

SCENERY

William Chappell

DANCERS

1 Entrée: Mary Honer, Elizabeth Miller
Pas de huit: Gwyneth Mathews, Joy Newton, Peggy Melliss, Wenda Horsburgh, Richard Ellis, Leslie Edwards, Michael Somes, Paul Reymond
2 Variation: Harold Turner
3 Pas de deux: Margot Fonteyn, Robert Helpmann
4 Ensemble
5 Pas de trois: Mary Honer, Elizabeth Miller, Harold Turner
6 Pas des patineuses: June Brae, Pamela May
7 Ensemble
8 Galop finale

FIRST PERFORMANCE

Vic-Wells Ballet, Sadler’s Wells Theatre, London, 16 February 1937

New productions

Sadler’s Wells Ballet, 1946

COMPANY

Sadler’s Wells Ballet

SCENERY

William Chappell

DANCERS

Entrée: Margaret Dale, Avril Navarre
Variation: Harold Turner
Pas de deux: Moira Shearer, David Paltenghi
Pas des patineuses: Beryl Grey, Gillian Lynne

FIRST PERFORMANCE

Royal Opera House, London, 20 March 1946

Sadler’s Wells Theatre Ballet, 1955

STAGING

Sadler’s Wells Theatre Ballet

DANCERS

Variation: Donald Britton
Pas de deux: Annette Page, David Poole

FIRST PERFORMANCE

Sadler’s Wells Theatre, London, 23 April 1955

Royal Ballet, 1957

STAGING

Royal Ballet; enlarged version with corps de ballet and Pas des patineuses duplicated behind the arches

DANCERS

Entrée: Annette Page, Shirley Grahame
Variation: Brian Shaw
Pas de deux: Anya Linden, Desmond Doyle
Pas de quatre (formerly Pas des patineuses): Brenda Taylor, Valerie Taylor, Meriel Evans, Mary Drage

FIRST PERFORMANCE

Royal Opera House, London, 12 March 1957

NOTES

This so-called “mirror version”, prepared for a tour of Soviet Russia in the autumn of 1956 which was cancelled after the invasion of Hungary, was not performed on tour in Britain by the main company, though it was given in the United States; it was dropped altogether from 10 February 1966, though the corps de ballet was then augmented to six couples

Royal Ballet School, 1961

STAGING

Royal Ballet School

FIRST PERFORMANCE

Royal Opera House, London, 13 May 1961

Ballet for All, 1972

STAGING

Ballet for All; Variation only

FIRST PERFORMANCE

Spa Pavilion, Felixstowe, 13 October 1972

Productions by other companies:

[American] Ballet Theatre, 1946

NEW PRODUCTION

[American] Ballet Theatre

SCENERY

Cecil Beaton

DANCERS

Entrée: Barbara Fallis, Cynthia Riseley; Variation: John Kriza; Pas de deux: Nora Kaye, Hugh Laing; Pas des patineuses: Diana Adams, Anna Cheselka

FIRST PERFORMANCE

Broadway Theater, New York, 2 October 1946

University of Cape Town Ballet, 1957

STAGING

University of Cape Town Ballet

REPRODUCED BY

David Poole

FIRST PERFORMANCE

Cape Town, 6 December 1957

The United Ballet Company, 1959

STAGING

The United Ballet Company

REPRODUCED BY

Philip Chatfield

FIRST PERFORMANCE

Her Majesty’s Theatre, Auckland, New Zealand, 28 November 1959

State Ballet of Turkey, 1962

STAGING

State Ballet of Turkey

REPRODUCED BY

Ninette de Valois and Ann Parsons

FIRST PERFORMANCE

National Theatre, Ankara, 15 January 1962

The New Zealand Ballet, 1962

NEW PRODUCTION

The New Zealand Ballet

REPRODUCED BY

Walter Trevor

SCENERY

Raymond Boyce

DANCERS

Variation: Walter Trevor; Pas de deux: Kirsten Ralov, Arthur Turnbull

FIRST PERFORMANCE

Napier, New Zealand, 7 July 1962

Transvaal Ballet, 1965

STAGING

Transvaal Ballet

REPRODUCED BY

Alexander Bennett

FIRST PERFORMANCE

1965

PACT Ballet Company, 1965

STAGING

PACT Ballet Company

FIRST PERFORMANCE

Johannesburg, South Africa, 1965

Royal Winnipeg Ballet, 1966

STAGING

Royal Winnipeg Ballet

REPRODUCED BY

Miro Zolan

FIRST PERFORMANCE

Playhouse Theatre, Winnipeg, Manitoba, 29 December 1966

The Australian Ballet, 1970

STAGING

The Australian Ballet

REPRODUCED BY

Peggy van Praagh

DANCERS

Variation: Alan Alder; Pas de deux: Elaine Fifield, Kelvin Coe

FIRST PERFORMANCE

Her Majesty’s Theatre, Adelaide, 23 March 1970

Minnesota Dance Theatre, 1972

STAGING

Minnesota Dance Theatre

REPRODUCED BY

Brian Shaw

FIRST PERFORMANCE

Minneapolis MN, 2 May 1972

Noverre-Ballett, 1973

STAGING

Noverre-Ballett

REPRODUCED BY

Robert Mead

FIRST PERFORMANCE

Würtembergisches Staatstheater Stuttgart, Kleines Haus, 6 May 1973

Joffrey Ballet, 1977

STAGING

Joffrey Ballet

REPRODUCED BY

Brian Shaw

DANCERS

Entrée: Francesca Corkle, Ann Marie De Angelo; Variation: Mark Goldweber; Pas de deux: Denise Jackson, Gregory Huffman; Pas des patineuses: Cynthia Anderson, Patricia Miller

FIRST PERFORMANCE

City Center Theater, New York NY, 2 November 1977

Ballet of the Norske Opera, 1977

STAGING

Ballet of the Norske Opera

FIRST PERFORMANCE

1977

National Ballet [of Canada] School, 1978

STAGING

National Ballet [of Canada] School

REPRODUCED BY

Lynn Wallis

MUSIC

Arranged for two pianos by Margaret Gibbs

FIRST PERFORMANCE

St Lawrence Centre for the Performing Arts, Toronto, 27 April 1978

Milwaukee Ballet, 1983

STAGING

Milwaukee Ballet

REPRODUCED BY

Brian Shaw

FIRST PERFORMANCE

Vihlein Hall, Milwaukee WI, 11 February 1983

Banff Center, 1983

STAGING

Banff Center

REPRODUCED BY

Alexander Grant

FIRST PERFORMANCE

Banff Center, Banff, Alberta, 1983

Ballet Metropolitan, 1985

STAGING

Ballet Metropolitan

REPRODUCED BY

Sheila Humphries and Brian Shaw

FIRST PERFORMANCE

Ohio Theater, Columbus OH, 28 February 1985

Ballet West, 1985

STAGING

Ballet West

REPRODUCED BY

John Hart

FIRST PERFORMANCES

High School, Aspen CO, 30 July 1985
Capitol Theater, Salt Lake City UT, 20 September 1985

London City Ballet, 1992

STAGING

London City Ballet

REPRODUCED BY

Julie Lincoln

FIRST PERFORMANCES

King’s Theatre, Edinburgh, 26 May 1992
Sadler’s Wells Theatre, London, 14 December 1992

Hong Kong Ballet, 1994

STAGING

Hong Kong Ballet

REPRODUCED BY

Julie Lincoln

FIRST PERFORMANCE

Cultural Centre Grand Theatre, Hong Kong, 28 April 1994

Louisville Ballet, 1995

STAGING

Louisville Ballet

REPRODUCED BY

Helen Starr

FIRST PERFORMANCE

Kentucky Center for the Arts, Whitney Hall, Louisville KY, 16 February 1995

Miami City Ballet, 2000

STAGING

Miami City Ballet

REPRODUCED BY

Hilary Cartwright

FIRST PERFORMANCE

Jackie Gleason Theater, Miami FL, 11 November 2000

Rambert School of Ballet and Contemporary Dance

STAGING

Rambert School of Ballet and Contemporary Dance; excerpts only

REPRODUCED BY

Shirley Grahame and Diana Vere

DANCERS

Entrée: Ayako Toyama, Sawa Seno
Variation: Shih-Hsien Chang
Pas de deux: Ayumi Yamashite, Ben Dixon
Pas des patineuses: Brigida Neves, Rachel Keats

FIRST PERFORMANCE

Rambert School, Twickenham, MX

Copyright © 2004 by David Vaughan

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

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