The career and choreography of one of the most influential dance figures of the 20th century was celebrated at Symphony Hall last night.

Sir Frederick Ashton’s ballets invariably combined profound elegance with breathtaking technique, his musicality, attention to detail, and remorseless drive for perfection being much in evidence throughout a truly impressive body of work.  

Performing highlights from a selection of his best-loved creations last night were some of Birmingham Royal Ballet’s most accomplished stars. They were joined for the occasion by the ever-brilliant Royal Ballet Sinfonia - and what a show they gave us!

Included in the programme was Sergei Rachmaninov’s Rhapsody, which saw a solo and a pas de deux being beautifully accompanied by Jeanette Wong on a grand piano (on stage for this piece only).   

With music composed by Ferdinand Herold and arranged by John Lanchbery, probably some of the best-known excerpts came from the lighthearted and romantic La Fille Mal Gardee. The humorous Cockerel And Chickens, which opens the ballet, is notoriously difficult to dance. The lead performers rose magnificently to the challenge, imbuing the pas de deux de Fanny Elssler with an exceptional charm and grace. Meanwhile, the Widow Simone’s famous Clog Dance was executed with great comic timing.

Tchaikovsky’s The Sleeping Beauty, with additional choreography provided by Sir Frederick, boasts a glorious score and familiar fairytale characters. A solo, Sarabande, was followed by the Awakening pas de deux, in which the Prince meets Princess Aurora for the first time.

Instead of hearing the Royal Ballet Sinfonia’s wonderful sound rising up from the music pit, as is usually the case, we were last night afforded the rare opportunity to see them perform on the stage itself (conducted by Paul Murphy and Yi Wei). The experience was one to savour, as indeed was the whole event - a joyful and thoroughly absorbing celebration of one of the dance world’s greatest-ever choreographers.

Part of last night’s performance paid tribute to Birmingham Royal Ballet’s late CEO, Caroline Miller.

Four stars

Ashton Classics With Birmingham Royal Ballet was reviewed by Sue Hull at Birmingham’s Symphony Hall on Saturday 15 February