Headlines
Joffrey explores many sides of Ashton
Celebrating England’s beloved choreographer
By Sid Smith
Tribune arts reporter
Published February 6, 2004
“Sir Frederick Ashton’s legacy lives on,” proclaims
Gerald Arpino, artistic director of the Joffrey Ballet of
Chicago.
Arpino’s troupe is certainly doing what it can to help
that cause during this centennial year of Ashton’s birth:
It’s offering a rare, all-Ashton program Wednesday through
Feb. 22 at the Auditorium Theatre.
The celebrated choreographer, who was born Sept. 17,
1904, and who died in 1988, was based in Great Britain,
where he served for many years as artistic director of
London’s Royal Ballet. But he made a great impact on U.S.
ballet, too, in part because of his lengthy association with
the Joffrey.
The troupe was the first outside the Royal Ballet to be
given permission to stage “Monotones I & II” in the
mid-’70s. This year, the Joffrey enjoys exclusive rights in
the U.S. to perform his highly original and provocative “A
Wedding Bouquet” as part of its birthday festivities.
Over the years, the Joffrey boasted a sizeable cache of
Ashton offerings, including his charming full-length
masterpiece, “La Fille Mal Gardee.” For its “Ashton
Anniversary” lineup, however, the troupe settled on three
popular classics: “Les Patineurs” (1937); “Monotones I”
(1966) and “Monotones II” (1965); and “A Wedding Bouquet”
(1937).
They are wildly different works, so here’s a primer on
the three Ashtons:
“Les Patineurs”: Accompanied by a score by Giacomo
Meyerbeer, this frothy treat, set in an outdoor ice rink,
employs balletic technique to transform the dancers into
recreational skaters. The Norman Rockwell charm, however, is
a bit deceptive. “Les Patineurs” is a monstrous technical
challenge. No less an acrobat than Mikhail Baryshnikov
labeled the role of the Boy in Blue as the toughest of them
all.
However, “It’s a fun piece, a romp at the pond,” says
Elaine Thomas, former Royal Ballet ballerina who came in to
check out the Joffrey’s staging. “It’s challenging, but most
of his ballets have some sort of challenge. And challenge is
fun for dancers. I call this one a happy challenge.”
“Monotones I & II”: This two-part trio, set to Erik Satie
and created in reverse order, originally teamed three of
Ashton’s most celebrated dancers: Anthony Dowell, Vyvyan
Lorrayne and Robert Mead. Unlike so much of his work,
steeped in storytelling, this one displays his facility with
pure, abstract technique.
“Almost everything else we dance by Ashton is classical
with a demi-caractere flair,” says ballet master Mark
Goldweber, referring to Ashton’s knack for characterization.
“`Monotones’ is neoclassical. It’s also, in its way, the
most still, a ballet all about good line. You have to be an
excellent adagio dancer to do it.”
He finds it “one of Ashton’s great works of abstraction.
You have to be in a Zen place to survive it. You can’t huff
and puff loudly when you land, for instance. You have to
maintain silence. That’s hard for us because we’re really a
troupe of speedy, allegro dancers.”
Goldweber, who originated the role of the Boy in Blue in
“Patineurs” for the Joffrey and who, as a speedy technician,
never danced the moodier “Monotones” himself, says this
engagement is a special showcase for two current athletes,
Calvin Kitten and Masayoshi Onuki, who will be dancing in
both works.
“A Wedding Bouquet”: This unusual send-up of a provincial
French wedding reteamed Ashton with writer Gertrude Stein,
who penned the work’s narration after their earlier
collaboration, “Four Saints in Three Acts.” (Veteran actor
Nicholas Rudall will deliver the narration live throughout
the engagement.)
In it, “The groom has enjoyed a dalliance with just about
every woman at the wedding party, unbeknownst to the bride,”
explains Goldweber. “`A Wedding Bouquet’ is funny, in that
cynical, Gertrude Stein way. The bride, a role originated by
Margot Fonteyn, is jilted by the groom and left, in the end,
forlorn.”