Birmingham Royal Ballet (BRB) will mark 120 years since the birth of Frederick Ashton with two productions celebrating the great choreographer and founder of the Royal Ballet companies.
Marking the beginning of a new season, this autumn BRB will present Ashton’s beloved classic ‘La Fille mal gardée’ at Birmingham Hippodrome (25-28 Sep). The season marks the first time ‘La Fille mal gardée’ has been presented by BRB under the directorship of Carlos Acosta, who, for many, is one of the definitive interpreters of Colas in this sunny, funny and effervescent ballet.
Ashton Classics will celebrate the choreographer’s celebrated works with excerpts from popular favourites such as ‘The Dream’, ‘Enigma Variations’ and ‘A Month in the Country’ - the foundations of the British ballet repertory in the spectacular surroundings of Birmingham’s Symphony Hall. BRB’s world-class dancers will perform on stage alongside the Royal Ballet Sinfonia, playing some of the great scores that inspired Ashton’s creations.
Birmingham Royal Ballet’s Director, Carlos Acosta said: “The impact and importance of the great Frederick Ashton on the ballet world is immense. As founder of the Royal Ballet companies, it is honouring his contribution by presenting what has to be one of his most popular and beloved works, ‘La Fille mal gardée’, for the first time since I took on the role of Director.
“Returning to Birmingham’s beautiful Symphony Hall, we continue with celebrating Ashton’s contribution to ballet with Ashton Classics, presenting some of the highlights from a collection of great ballet works accompanied on stage by our acclaimed Royal Ballet Sinfonia.” Chris Proctor, Head of Programme at B:Music who operate Symphony Hall added: “We’re delighted that the 30+ year-old relationship between Birmingham Royal Ballet and B:Music continues into this new season with the Ashton Classics performance in Spring 2025.
“Being a world class concert hall, we welcome some of the best orchestras from around the UK and around the world, but with programmes such as Ashton Classics, we get a chance to provide that opportunity for the Royal Ballet Sinfonia to come out from the orchestra pits of theatres, and to proudly display their prowess, all under the baton of newly-appointed Musical Director, Paul Murphy.” Based at Birmingham Hippodrome, Birmingham Royal Ballet is the United Kingdom’s leading touring ballet company performing a range of traditional, classical and heritage ballets as well as ground-breaking new works with the aim of encouraging choreographers of the future.
It standardly performs at Birmingham Hippodrome for approximately ten weeks of the year and the remainder of the year tours throughout the United Kingdom and overseas. On average, the Company performs 100 shows a year nationally and internationally.
