Shakespeare and the Choreographer: Frederick Ashton’s Dream

Abstract

A notable aspect of the stage history of A Midsummer Night's Dream is the frequent emphasis on dance in various productions and adaptations. At the same time, such emphasis has tended to obscure the darker and more suggestive elements of Shakespeare's play. This article offers a close reading of some passages of dance from British choreographer Frederick Ashton's The Dream (1964). By focusing on partnered dancing between Titania and Bottom in the first half of Ashton’s ballet and Titania and Oberon in its second half, this article argues that Ashton is both working within and against the prevailing paradigmatic understanding of the play as a gauzy romantic fairy tale. In doing so, The Dream underscores the eroticism that has been (ironically) eclipsed by the emphasis that has been placed on dance in the play’s reception history.