1937 – Premiere of Frederick Ashton’s Les Patineurs for the Vic-Wells Ballet

Frederick Ashton choreographed Les Patineurs for the Vic-Wells Ballet in 1937. A group of 15 dancers ‘skate’ their way through this exuberant one-act ballet. An icy pond on the edge of a snowy wood is the setting, with a white trellis surround framing the dancers and their comings and goings on the ice. There are, as is usual in Ashton’s works, opportunities for everyone. In this case, from the self-assured skaters to the beginners, all abilities are covered, and in the most sensitive, evocative and often amusing way. Les Patineurs is full of choreographic interest and fun and continues to be a challenge to dancers almost a century on.

Music by Giacomo Meyerbeer was arranged by Constant Lambert. Designs by William Chappel
The original cast included Harold Turner, Margot Fonteyn, Robert Helpmann, Mary Honer, Elizabeth Miller, June Brae and Pamela May.