Sir Anthony Dowell travelled from London to Salt Lake City just to share his knowledge with the Artists of Ballet West. The original Oberon in Sir Frederick Ashton’s THE DREAM will be spending time in the Ballet West studios until our opening performances.  Thank you Adam Sklute for bringing Sir Anthony Dowell to Ballet West!

Sir Anthony Dowell as Prince Ziegfried

Sir Anthony James Dowell, CBE, was chosen by Sir Frederick Ashton to create the role of Oberon in The Dream. This was his time dancing with Dame Antoinette Sibley and their partnership is now legendary.  In  1966 Dowell was promoted to the rank of principal dancer and created other roles in Ashton’s works including Beliaev in his A Month in the Country, Troyte in Enigma Variations, and Lo Straniero in Varii Capricci. For Sir Kenneth MacMillan, he created Des Grieux in Manon, Benvolio in Romeo and Juliet, Kchessinska’s partner in Anastasia, the Boy in Triad and Autumn in The Four Seasons. He also created the Boy with Matted Hair in Antony Tudor’s Shadowplay, Prospero in Nureyev’s The Tempest and the leading role in Hans van Manen’s Four Schumann Pieces, for which he was the inspiration.

In the late 1970s he danced with both The Royal Ballet in London and American Ballet Theatre in New York.

In September 1986 he was appointed Director of The Royal Ballet, a post he held until August 2001.

Dowell - The Original Oberon

-Mark