Secret Muses: The Life of Frederick Ashton

by Julie Kavanagh

The founding choreographer of English ballet saw his influence extend far beyond that world. For more than 50 years he worked with the most famous dancers of his day and many celebrated figures came to know this dazzling and witty personality. Given complete access to Ashton's papers, Kavanagh has written a compelling and definitive account of one of the most important cultural figures of the 20th century. photos.

Genres: Biography

647 pages, Hardcover

First published November 18, 1996

Reviews

[Surreysmum · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like Kavanagh's biography of Nureyev, this was a pleasure to read, and full of meat. Ashton comes across as a highly fallible human being, but one of the great advantages of living in the internet age is that after reading a particularly interesting passage about one of his dances, or a dance that inspired him, you have a fairly good chance of finding at least an excerpt of said dance on youtube or some other online source, which helps remind you what all the fuss is about. The "secret muses" of the title are a series of younger men with whom Ashton formed relationships over the years; Kavanagh does promote the notion (probably formed from reading far more in his correspondence than she reproduces here) that Ashton seemed to need a certain amount of anguish and unrequitedness in his love life to provoke his creativity. However, she keeps the biographer's inevitable need to psychologize her subject well under control, and we do not get an explanation of her personal interactions with Ashton until the epilogue. Ashton was no longer a major force in ballet by the time I became aware of it in the '80s, so I didn't have much knowledge of him before picking up this book. I was only vaguely aware that he was born in Peru, and I certainly had no idea of the extent of his acquaintance with the aristocratic set, culminating in what sounds like a very happy friendship with the Queen Mum towards the end of his life. Both self-aware and selfish, he appears to have had a real talent for attracting women who wanted to sponsor him and look after him, including very notably Alice Astor, of the American aristocracy. Amongst his gay "set" (which included, of course, many women) he also appears to have been keen on charades, dressing up (including frequent cross-dressing), and lots of drinking and partying. Lots of satisfying anecdotes from his working life, too, and especially his working relationships with various ballerinas, very notably Margot Fonteyn, who was also a muse, though not a secret one.

Recommended reading for anyone who's at all interested in the history of ballet, or who just likes a tremendous fest of twentieth-century name-dropping!

[Debbie · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a life Frederick Ashton led! This is an in-depth biography of his choreography and his relationships, including those with the Royal Family. His influence on Margot Fonteyn and the Royal Ballet, as well as his partnership with Constant Lambert, are well documented. Learning about his wartime posts followed by a civil servant post where he used his lunch hour to research for 'Symphonic Variations ' was illuminating. Even in retirement, Ashton drew from his life to choreograph dances like A Month in the Country, Rhapsody and Nursery Suite, which was inspired by the Duchess of York's daughters at play.