A love letter to the English countryside  

When La Fille mal gardée premiered in Covent Garden on 28 January 1960, it instantly won all hearts. Inspired by Jean Dauberval’s French ballet, Ashton’s version combines exuberant good humour and an affectionate portrayal of village life. The Royal Ballet’s Founder Choreographer, Ashton hoped to capture the ‘leafy pastoral of perpetual sunshine...the suspended stillness of a Constable landscape of my beloved Suffolk, luminous and calm’. Osbert Lancaster’s colourful designs bring the charm of the countryside to life.  

Ashton’s choreographic brilliance  

Testament to Ashton’s boundless creative invention, the ballet is constructed like a brilliantly complex piece of clockwork with technically demanding choreography that stretches the world’s best dancers. Ashton made full use of the technical talents of his original cast – Nadia Nerina and David Blair – and this is reflected in the virtuosity of much of the ballet’s choreography: multiple pirouettes, grand lifts and fleet footwork. Highlights include the pas de ruban (ribbon dance), where Lise and Colas dance together, their bodies intertwined by a ribbon – a symbol of their tender love. In order to evoke the bliss of the rustic countryside, Ashton also included elements of national folk dance – from maypole dancing to a Lancashire clog dance for Widow Simone.