Anna Pavlova and Frederick Aston crossed paths during her South American tour. He had gone to see the great ballerina perform and his life was changed forever!
Frederick Aston
Ashton was born at Guayaquil in Ecuador, [on September 1904] in the artistic neighbourhood called Las Peñas, the original founding site of the city. When he was three years old he moved with his family to Lima in Peru.
When he was 13 he witnessed a life-changing event when he attended a performance by the legendary Anna Pavlova in the Municipal Theater in Lima, Peru. He was so impressed that from that day on he was determined that he would become a dancer.
[He] was a leading international dancer and choreographer. He is most noted as the founder choreographer of The Royal Ballet in London.
He died in 1988 at his home, Chandos Lodge, in Eye, Suffolk, England.
More on his life on wikipedia.org.
In the video Natalia Makarova, russian ballerina, interviews Sir Frederick Ashton about the first time he saw Anna Pavlova dancing in Lima, Peru when he was a young boy.
Watch clips of Pavlova dancing part of her repertoire.
For more fascinating ballet videos, follow this YouTube link.
Frederick Ashton speaks so candidly about Anna Pavlova, her limitations, her strengths and her powerful presence, on and off-stage.
Do you agree with him about the grace that is lacking in today’s ballet dancers? What are your thoughts on this?
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To learn more about Anna Pavlova and her life, click here.
Image: Wikipedia.org CC.
About Romy Macias, Senior Editor
