Frederick Ashton
8 Marlborough Street · founding choreographer of The Royal Ballet
Frederick Ashton shaped the look of British ballet more than any other choreographer – from the wit of Façade to the tenderness of Symphonic Variations and the sunshine of La Fille mal gardée. He was the Royal Ballet’s founding choreographer and, later, its director, and made Marguerite and Armand for Margot Fonteyn and Rudolf Nureyev.
He lived at 8 Marlborough Street in Chelsea. A gay man at a time when that had to stay largely private, he poured feeling into movement instead. English Heritage’s blue plaque marks the house.