Notes on Notation
My passion and intellectual interest in dance notation was confirmed many decades ago, during my time as an assistant teacher of the Benesh Dance Notation System at the Royal Ballet School, London.Dance notation systems both past and present aim to record as faithfully as possible the dance steps and movements of the dancers’ body.

The ChoreoCraft notation system is perhaps unique in that the system accurately records the composition devices and tools behind the movements, rather than the steps themselves.

Just as an alphabetical notation system was used to record music in ancient Greece, the ChoreoCraft alphabetical notation system can simply record any one of the 200 dance composition tools on a musical stave. See the Notation Star Map right.

The notation system, is I believe, generally in line with the fundamental principals of the classical philosophers and mathematicians of ancient Greece who asserted that harmony and proportion was central to arts and architecture and that there is ‘strength in simplicity’.

Visionary Choreographer
Sir Fred
Sir Frederick William Mallandaine Ashton
CBE, OM, CH, D.Litt, D.Mus.

Ashton died exactly 20 years ago this year, but as a leading international dancer and choreographer his contribution to the world of dance ensures his ‘presence’ is as strong today as it ever was. He is most noted as the principal choreographer of The Royal Ballet in London, but he also worked as a director and choreographer of opera, film and theatre revues.
Ashton’s creative output was prodigious, spanning most of the 20th century. To bring extra clarity to this exciting period of British Ballet, I have for the sake of both young and older students created a “time line” dividing the creative part of his life into six consecutive decades.
Ashton was born in 1904 at Guayaquil in Ecuador, in the artistic neighbourhood called Las Peñas. At 13 he witnessed a performance by Anna Pavlova in the Municipal Theatre in Lima, Peru. He was so impressed with her dancing that from that day on he wanted to be a dancer.

1920’s
At the age of fourteen Ashton was sent to school in England where he saw performances by Sergei Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes and commenced studying dance with one of the company’s leading choreographers, Leonide Massine.
A Tragedy of Fashion, a comedy ballet commissioned in 1926, was his first ballet to be staged, as part of a revue entitled Riverside Nights. The ballet was then added to Ballet Rambert’s repertoire.
In 1928, he joined Ida Rubinstein's company in Paris, where he was influenced by Bronislava Nijinska, from whom he learned his craft. He also danced with Ballet Rambert, at the same time pursuing a successful career as a dancer in musicals and revues.

1930’s
Ashton joined the Vic-Wells Ballet, later the Sadler’s Wells Ballet (now the
Royal Ballet), as chief choreographer creating his first great success Façade. This ballet epitomises the combined qualities of fantasy, wit and sophistication that distinguished him from other choreographers.  At this time Ashton began his association with Prima Ballerina Margot Fonteyn and many of his ballets were created especially for her.

1940’s
This decade included abstract ballets, such as Symphonic Variations (1946) and Scènes de Ballet (1948) and full-length traditional story ballets, such as Cinderella. Ashton’s Cinderella was the first full-evening ballet by a British choreographer.

1950’s
In this period, Ashton choreographed such ballets as Daphnis and Chloë (1951) and Tiresias (1951),  Sylvia (1952) and Ondine (1958), which had choreography created especially to display Margot Fonteyn's unique talents.

“My personal recollection of Ashton was being invited into his private rehearsals in the Royal Ballet School’s (Barons Court) studios, where he was creating Margot Fonteyn’s solos for the ballet “Ondine”. As an assistant teacher of Benesh Dance Notation at the Royal Ballet School, I had been asked to notate the solos, so that when the ballet was re-rehearsed in America all the fine details could be recalled.

I observed that Ashton’s choreographic method with the principals’ solos was to -

1. Describe the motivation and mood for the ballet solo

2. Sketch in the style of movement he wanted for

that particular role

3. Draw out from the artist the actual ‘steps’ and dance sequences

4. In consultation with the artist, refine details of the dance segment in subsequent rehearsals.

This procedure ensured that each solo was completely individual while at the same time wholly within the comfort zone of the artist.
Fonteyn’s generous spirit toward me as a Dance Notator, made such an impression on me that my memories of her in these rehearsals are as clear today as they were then.
In spite of the fact that these solos were actually being created by Ashton and Fonteyn before my eyes, she would frequently come up to my desk to ask me if I wanted her to repeat this or that sequence again… or at other times to ask me if I wanted her to repeat a sequence more slowly!

In my experience, I have always found that all great artists have a natural humility about their work and themselves which is so refreshing, whereas in the case of lesser artists egos often seem to dominate.”  Kenneth Norman.

1960’s
The Royal Ballet – In 1963 Ashton succeeded Dame Ninette de Valois as Director of The Royal Ballet. Ashton’s ballets were the foundation of The Royal Ballet repertory and style. They established a recognisably English style of ballet, lyrical, musical, and unostentatious. It was partly inspired by the particular qualities of Fonteyn, for whom Ashton created many roles. Fonteyn was truly his muse. Among his best known ballets are La Fille Mal Gardee, Symphonic Variations, Birthday Offering, The Two Pigeons, The Dream, A Month in the Country, Romeo and Juliet (for the Royal Danish Ballet in 1965), Enigma Variations and Cinderella,  in which he danced as an unforgettable Ugly Sister.
The Australian Ballet - The first performance in Australia of Ashton's La Fille Mal Gardee took place at the Tivoli Theatre in Sydney on October 12th 1967. The Australian Ballet cast included Marilyn Jones as Lise and Bryan Lawrence as Colas. The ballet has since been revived on many occasions.

1980’s
Ashton created his last major works La Chatte Metamorphosée en Femme (1985) and Fanfare for Elizabeth (1986).

On August 19th, 1988, Sir Frederick Ashton died at age 83 in his sleep at his country home in Eye, Suffolk.

Choreography
Ashton’s work falls broadly into three categories; The abstract ballets in which emotion came from the internal form of the movement, the one-act dramatic ballets in which he developed character and theme and the narrative three-act ballets in which he developed plot and counter-plot.
Ashton’s choreography caused an elegant and sophisticated lyrical style to emerge in British ballet. His lyrical, witty and often passionate choreography has brought joy to many over the years, defining the style in which the two Royal Ballet companies evolved.
His innate sense of theatre was never more apparent than when he performed as a dancer in comedy and character roles in a number of his own ballets.These qualities gave Ashton a place in ballet akin to that of Oscar Wilde in literature.

Finally it should be said that Ashton understood the value of simplicity and that less is often more. Ashton’s ballets were never acrobatic or pretentious. If one had to choose his ‘masterpiece’ many would select Symphonic Variations (1946) in which his reverence for classical ballet was perfectly expressed. During his creative lifetime he choreographed more than 60 ballet company works.

Recognition 
Ashton’s achievements were officially recognised when he became Sir Frederick (or Sir Fred as most of his colleagues called him), followed by further prestigious awards such as the Companion of Honour, the Order of Merit, the French Legion d’Honneur, Commander of the Danish Order of the Dannebrog and the Gold Medal from the Carina Aria Foundation in Sweden.

Ashton’s distinctive and remarkable choreographic contributions earn him a place of honour on the ‘A’ list of Visionary Choreographers.  

Dance Scripts
It is important for Dance Makers to have an efficient and economical method for recording their dancer compositions on paper. Television choreography is always in the ‘fast lane’ with quick studio rehearsals followed by even quicker camera rehearsals and perhaps one live take! My ‘dance scripts’ evolved over many years of managing weekly television choreography and the same ‘scripts’ have proved equally helpful for general stage choreography.

On a sheet of lined paper simply rule up four narrow columns followed by one wide one.
Column 1 – CUES are used to record the music time, in minutes and seconds. This is vital for accurately locating a particular section of the musical composition when in rehearsal.
Column 2 – COUNTS are used to record the music counts or bars.  It is usually helpful with music in 4/4 time to record one phrase of 8 counts on each line, underlining every 4th 8 to clearly show the musical segments.
Column 3 – THEMES are used to indicate the start and finish of new theme sections and theme repeats. This gives a choreographer a helpful overall picture of the structure of the music composition.
Column 4 – TRACKS are used to trace the track of dancers or groups on the stage. If the counts have been recorded as described in ‘Column 2’ then the resulting ‘square’ of space in this column is used to indicate the ‘stage area’. This ensures the choreographer is able to visualise the overall pattern and direction of the dancers.
Column 5 – STEPS are used to record the dancers’ steps or movements. Employing shortened terms for dance steps is usually necessary to fit dancers’ moves on the one line. 

The Star Map pictured above is a helpful reference to the layout of a dance script. I highly recommend young choreographers starting out organised when recording a dance composition. Recording choreography in a logical manner in no way inhibits creativity, rather a dance script helps to ensure musicality which will enhance a creative work.

Startlet Puzzle (above right)
ChoreoCraft dance making TOOLS are organised into a number of SCALES. The triangle symbol serves to illustrate the arrangement of the TOOLS from light to heavy similar to a music scale.

PART 1 – How Many Triangles Can You Find?
Draw as many Stars as needed and colour in a different triangle each time.

PART 2 - ChoreoCraft Your Star Dance
ChoreoCraft a 16 bar (64 counts) STAR patterned dance to your own music, starting at either of the two bottom Star Points and follow the pattern of the ‘STAR’ finally ending with your own ‘free’ finish.
Please note you choose either 1 of 2 directions to follow when you start.
TOOLS – Include both ‘floor work’ and ‘elevated’ movements in your dance.

Backstage
Kenneth Norman A.R.A.D.  L.I.S.T.D.  A.N.E.A.
This 7th edition of Choreographic Concepts marks the first anniversary of my series of editorials (which began on 1st June 2007), introducing TOOLS for the dance maker.

The annual ChoreoCraft Competition for Children and Students will be held in the Century Theatre, Adelaide, June 2008. The competitors, (all of whom having studied the ChoreoCraft method), will be judged by three professional independent dance Adjudicators.

Kenneth received his dance education at the Royal Ballet School, London and subsequently performed in U.K. dance companies, musicals, revues and T.V. In Australia Kenneth has been Director of Tenison College of Dance for 40 years, Administrator for the I.S.T.D. South Pacific Region for 30 years, Registered Teacher S.A. Edu. Dept. for 35 years, Choreographer/Director for Stage and T.V. productions in both the U.K. and Australia.