We are delighted to announce that Ballet.co is to publish the internet edition of Following Sir Fred’s Steps, edited by Stephanie Jordan and Andrée Grau.

Photograph © by Zoë Dominic The original book cover showing Federick Ashton rehearsing Nadia Nerina and David Blair in La Fille mal gardée. LINKS~ Roehampton University         dance department Dance Books Ballet.co Ashton resources Ballet.co home

The book is based on the papers, talks and practical workshops given at the highly successful conference on Frederick Ashton and his work, which was held at Roehampton University in 1994.

The conference brought together a broad range of differing perspectives on Frederick Ashton and his work: historical documentation, critical analyses of choreography, studies of technique and style, as well as fascinating reminiscences and anecdotes by dancers, teachers and choreographers. It also bridged the gap between different dance specialists: performers, choreographers, notators, scholars and critics.

Following Sir Fred’s Steps has been out of print for several years. Although it is a key resource for students of Frederick Ashton and his ballets, copies are scarce.  The publication of the papers online, for which planning began almost a year ago, is Ballet.co’s contribution to the Ashton centenary celebrations. It has been made possible by the exceptional generosity of the editors, Stephanie Jordan and Andrée Grau, of the individual authors and contributors, and of the original publisher, David Leonard of Dance Books.

Following Sir Fred’s Steps includes detailed accounts of workshops led by Anthony Dowell, Pamela May, Monica Mason and Peter Wright, papers by many distinguished writers including David Vaughan, Richard Glasstone, John Percival, Alastair Macaulay and Jane Pritchard, and a memorable interview with Alexander Grant by Julie Kavanagh.

Over the coming weeks, we will be announcing publication details. The book will go online in stages, and should be fully available by mid-summer. Following Sir Fred’s Steps will be the single largest resource on the internet for the study of a ballet choreographer. It is one of unique authority, consisting as it does of contributions from Frederick Ashton’s closest collaborators and from the leading scholars of his work.