The Sarasota Ballet: Two Powerful Revivals

The Sarasota Ballet Presents Sir Frederick Ashton’s Apparitions & George Balanchine’s Stars and Stripes

By Ryan G. Van Cleave

When Iain Webb took over the directorship of The Sarasota Ballet in 2007, he did so with the goal of bringing the Company to true national prominence. Part of what’s making that happen is their growing reputation for presenting stunning world premieres and crucial revivals. The latter is what’s on tap for March 2019 when this season’s “A Season of Tributes” continues with its company premiere of Ashton’s Apparitions paired with a revival of Balanchine’s Stars and Stripes.

The Balanchine piece is going to be particularly special since the last time they performed it, Webb was British. Now that he’s an American citizen, seeing Old Glory unfurl—accompanied by twirling batons, military marching, and a rifle-bearing regiment of dancers—will be Webb’s tribute and salute to his new adoptive country, the United States of America. With accompaniment by the Sarasota Orchestra and special guest conductor Ormsby Wilkins of the American Ballet Theater, the power of this performance can’t be underestimated. 

While the Balanchine piece will surely be a feel-good moment for Webb and the entire audience as they burst with patriotic pride, it’s the second event of the evening that might truly steal the show—a performance of Sir Ashton’s Apparitions. 

The Company intended to perform it in the 2016-2017 season, but ultimately chose to delay it in order to ensure it does full justice to the piece, which hasn’t been seen since a 1987 performance in London, and to restore and recreate legendary theater artist Cecil Beaton’s stunning set and costumes. 

“A great artist, designer, and photographer, Cecil Beaton is really an icon himself,” says Webb. “We really want to present this as the masterpiece it was when it was first created so many decades ago in 1936.” Indeed, it’s the combination of Beaton’s designs and Ashton’s choreography that make Apparitions so magical. And this piece is also a key moment in Ashton’s early career that launched his lifelong artistic relationship with Dame Margot Fonteyn, his friend and muse. Part of what makes Apparitions a good fit for “A Season of Tributes” is that 2019 is the 100-year anniversary of Fonteyn’s birth (May 18, 1919), and the last time she performed with The Sadler’s Wells Royal Ballet was in 1986, as the Queen to Margaret’s Aurora in The Sleeping Beauty in Miami, of all places. So it’s quite fitting that any celebration of her legacy as a dancer is in Florida.

About being part of Apparitions, guest artist and former American Ballet theater principal dancer Marcelo Gomes says, “It’s a huge honor to be part of a ballet that’s so iconic. The most wonderful male dancers have danced this—Robert Helpmann and Rudolf Nureyev. I’m going to be relying on Grant, Iain, and Maggie’s [Barbieri] knowledge of the ballet and of the Ashton style, and when it’s time, I’ll add my own personality. At the end of the day, it’ll be a great collaboration that honors the legacy of the ballet and still makes it relevant for today.”

Assistant Director Margaret Barbieri points out that all the sets and 95% of the costumes are brand new for this, and a lot of research has been done at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London and elsewhere to make Apparitions as authentic as possible. But Barbieri’s connection to Apparitions is even deeper than that, thanks to her time in the Royal Ballet where she danced with Fonteyn. “When I started, she was already a very famous ballerina,” she says, “but she always had time to speak to the lowest of the people in the ballet. Years later I had the privilege to share a dressing room with Dame Margot, and I remember fondly how we exchanged advise on how to wear our headdresses! I was most fortunate to watch many of her performances and rehearsals and was always inspired by the beauty of her dancing, such elegance, purity of line and exquisite musicality. I remember being mesmerized by her portrayal of Giselle, Aurora, Marguerite, Juliet, and the many roles Sir Fred created for her, as she was genuine, sincere and real, making every role come to life.” That level of excellence and deep commitment to the role is what Barbieri tries to instill in the dancers. “Don’t act the role, BE the role,” she repeats. And they listen.

“When I think of Sir Frederick Ashton,” says Webb, “the words that come to mind are ‘inspiration,’ ‘absolute fun,’ and ‘enjoyment.’ He simply knew how the body moved. In particular, he had the special way of making the female dancer look like a woman. The sheer beauty of his choreography is stunning.” And Webb confesses that he’s unsure which he prefers—dancing in an Ashton ballet or sitting in the audience and soaking it all in. “But my fondest memory of him? Taking curtain calls. It’s a theatrical experience in itself. The audience would keep him there forever!” 

Ultimately, Apparitions will be one of the most important recreations that the Company has ever done. The dance world, in particular, is paying a lot of attention to it, as is the local arts community. But one thing is certain—when The Sarasota Ballet brings Apparitions and Stars and Stripes to the Van Wezel on March 8th and 9th, the curtain calls will be Ashton-level. 

For more information on The Sarasota Ballet, please visit www.sarasotaballet.org or call 941.359.0099.