From the vagaries of casting to revealing how Bottom in Frederick Ashton’s The Dream came to dance on pointe, Alexander Grant bounds through 12 minutes of reminiscence at the whistle-stop speed he could move on stage – with every nuance in place. He confirms how Ashton’s private thoughts, ideas, inspiration and concentration were never disclosed until the moment of communication in the studio. The music, the dancers, the spirit, in that moment all came mysteriously together. In this interview, recorded in 2009, Grant talks to former Royal Ballet dancer and teacher Frank Freeman. The interview is introduced by Jay Jolley in conversation with Patricia Linton.
Alexander Grant is of New Zealand descent and was born in Wellington on the 22nd of February 1925. His passion for dancing was first discovered at the age of six after being taught to perform a simple folk dance. He started taking lessons at the age of seven, tutored by Kathleen O'Brien and Jean Horne, and became an experienced amateur by the age of just 15. He won a scholarship from the Royal Academy of Dance, which enabled him to take his studies to London. However, the outbreak of war across Europe forced him to remain in New Zealand where he continued his studies at Wellington College from 1939 to 1941.
During the war, he performed in front of the troops in the Pacific as entertainment. The war ended in 1945, which enabled him to travel to London where he enrolled in Sadler’s Wells Ballet School in 1946 at the age of 21. He spent only a short period of time there before he was invited to become one of the founding members of the Sadler’s Wells Theatre Ballet. Whilst on his first tour with the young company, he was transferred to the Sadler’s Wells Ballet (based in Covent Gardens). He was then swiftly promoted to a soloist and was noticed by Frederick Ashton who cast him as a music hall hoofer in the “Popular Song” duet in Façade.
Grant was a dancer with The Royal Ballet for 30 years, from 1946 until 1976, and during that time he appeared in 30 Ashton ballets. Of all his roles, the two most famous are undoubtedly the sweet simpleton Alain in La Fille mal gardée (1960) and Bottom the Weaver in The Dream (1964). In 1965, he was appointed Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (CBE). Grant became director of Ballet for All, the educational group with The Royal Ballet, in 1971 when he was at an age where he was physically limited in the frequency of his performances. He retired from The Royal Ballet in 1976 and accepted the role of artistic director for National Ballet of Canada. He died in hospital in 2011 at the age of 86.
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