About the Foundation

FOUNDATION

Background

Sir Frederick Ashton OM, CH, CBE was born in Guayaquil, Ecuador, on 17 September 1904 and died in Eye, Suffolk, UK on 18 August 1988.

In 2004, to mark the 100th anniversary of his birth, the Ashton Trust was set up by Tony Dyson. An informal group comprising the copyright holders of Ashton's ballets, its members were: Rosita Arias de Vallarino and Lavinia Exham (holders respectively of Margot Fonteyn's original copyright of Ondine and Daphnis and Chloe ), Anthony Dowell (A Month in the Country and The Dream ), Tony Dyson (Enigma Variations and Monotones), Wendy Ellis Somes (holder of Michael Somes' original copyright of Cinderella and Symphonic Variations), Alexander Grant (Façade and La Fille mal gardée), Derek Rencher (holder of Brian Shaw's original copyright of Les Patineurs and Les Rendezvous), Peter Schaufuss (Romeo and Juliet) and Anthony Russell-Roberts (residual legatee).

In 2010, at the request of Jeanetta Laurence, then Associate Director of The Royal Ballet, the management invited Christopher Nourse, freelance dance executive and a Governor of the Royal Ballet Companies and School, to review how the work of the Trust might be taken forward. Following discussions with The Royal Ballet and members of the Ashton Trust, and his recommendation that a new, charitable organisation with a Board of Trustees be set up, The Frederick Ashton Foundation was established in 2011, with founding members Tony Dyson as a founder Trustee and Chairman, Jeanetta Laurence as a founder Trustee and Christopher Nourse as Company Secretary and founder Executive Director. Tony Dyson retired as Chairman and stepped down from the Board in June 2022, when Jeanetta Laurence succeeded him as Chair. In December 2024, Nourse retired, with Sarah Eliot-Cohen succeeding him as Executive Director in January 2025.

Today

The Foundation’s overarching purpose is to enrich the legacy of Frederick Ashton and his ballets. It aims to achieve this principally by:

Developing a network of Ashton Stagers who teach, coach and stage his works—ensuring Ashton’s choreography and artistic integrity are retained in the production of his ballets.
Enriching Ashton’s legacy through masterclasses, events and digital engagement.
Expanding Ashton’s visibility worldwide, ensuring his ballets form a living part of global ballet repertory.
Introducing Ashton to young dancers and inspiring current and future dancers, teachers, choreographers and audiences.
Restoring and reviving rarely performed and ‘lost’ Ashton works, and bringing his lesser-known ballets back to the stage.
Ensuring the financial sustainability of the Foundation.

A Limited Company and Registered Charity, The Frederick Ashton Foundation is based at London’s Royal Opera House, home of The Royal Ballet, of which Frederick Ashton was Founder Choreographer, and Director from 1963-1970.

The Foundation is managed by a Board of Trustees and an Executive Director working independent of, but in close association with, The Royal Ballet and the owners of Frederick Ashton’s ballets.