Description
Les Patineurs is a one-act ballet choreographed by Fredrick Ashton in 1937 to music adapted by Constant Lambert from Giacomo Meyerbeer’s operas. Set on a snow-covered Victorian skating party, the ballet features solos and ensemble dances – most famously the Blue Boy role. The premiere was very successful and the play was performed each year in London until 1968 by three ballet companies. It continues to be performed to this day. The V&A in London has several costume designs from Les Patineurs in its collection shown online that are substantially similar to the one offered here. They attribute those to the production of Les Patineurs by the Sadler’s Wells Ballet, Covent Garden, June 12th 1946.
The artist William Chapell was a British dancer, designer, and director who helped define the visual style of early British ballet. Born in Wolverhampton to a theatrical family, Chapell studied at the Chelsea School of Art, where he befriended avant-garde contemporaries, including Edward Burra and Barbara Ker-Seymer. He trained under Marie Rambert who introduced him to the choreographer Fredrick Ashton, with whom he toured Europe and became founding member of several British companies including Rambert’s Ballet Club and Ninette de Valois’s Vic-Wells Ballet. Although an accomplished dancer, Chapell’s crowning achievement are his costume designs. In his prolific career spanning five decades, he designed costumes and sets for over 40 ballets including La Peri, Les Rendezvous, and Les Patineurs.
Condition: Generally very good with the usual overall light toning, wear, handling.
References:
“Costume Design Chapell William.” V&A Collections. https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O1220686/costume-design-chappell-william/#object-details. (1 July 2025).
“William Chapell Muses and the Beau Monde.” Liliums Compendium. https://www.liliums-compendium.co.uk/post/william-chappell-muses-and-the-beau-monde. (1 July 2025).
