ABSTRACT

In September 1939 Frederick Ashton turned 35, and World War II opened with the invasion of Poland. Dance critics, then and now, are agreed that Dante Sonata, Ashton's first wartime ballet, was devised as a response to 'the whole stupidity and devastation of war' and almost certainly in particular to the invasion of Poland. In the spring of 2000 Dante Sonata was revived by the Birmingham Royal Ballet (BRB), who performed it once again to great acclaim in the course of the 2000 season, in Birmingham and one or two other towns. In Dante's Inferno all of the souls are damned, however much human sympathy Dante may have for them; that is, they would equate with the Children of Darkness. The Children of Light are in Purgatorio and better still in Paradiso. There is no figure of Dante in the ballet but the imagery of darkness and light, and especially the final shaft of light are reminiscent of Inferno.