Façade is a ballet choreographed by Frederick Ashton, set to the music of William Walton; it is a balletic interpretation of items from Façade – an Entertainment (1923) by Walton and Edith Sitwell. The ballet was first given by the Camargo Society at the Cambridge Theatre, on 26 April, 1931. It has been regularly revived and restaged all over the world.

Background In 1923, Façade – an Entertainment was first given in public. It consisted of poems by Edith Sitwell, recited by the author over music composed for the purpose by William Walton, performed by an ensemble of six players. The work was regarded as avant-garde and caused some controversy.Kennedy, pp. 29–31 In 1926, Walton arranged a suite of five of the numbers, omitting the spoken verses and expanding the orchestration. In 1929, the choreographer Günter Hess created a Façade ballet for the German Chamber Dance Theatre, using Walton's orchestral suite; Sitwell declined to allow her words to be used. Hess visited London in 1930 and is believed to have exchanged ideas with Ashton.Kennedy, p. 62

Ashton's ballet was premiered by the Camargo Society, established the previous year to foster the work of British dancers and choreographers. The work was set to the five items of Walton's suite, and orchestrations of two other numbers from the original entertainment, which are thought to have been made for the purpose by Constant Lambert, who conducted the premiere.

Synopsis Façade is a one-act ballet of seven to ten divertissements, described by the ballet critic Debra Crane as "choreographic satires on popular dance forms and their dancers".Craine, Debra and Judith Mackrell. "Façade", The Oxford Dictionary of Dance, Oxford University Press, accessed 2 April 2013 There is no plot. The numbers as danced in the original production are: Scotch Rhapsody Jodelling Song Polka Valse Popular Song Tango-Pasodoble Finale – Tarantella Sevillana. Ashton revised the ballet over the years. "Country Dance" was added in 1935 and "Noche Espagnola" and "Foxtrot" were added in 1940.Kennedy, p. 291

Original cast Scotch Rhapsody – Prudence Hyman, Maude Lloyd, Antony Tudor Jodelling Song – Lydia Lopokova (milkmaid); Frederick Ashton, William Chappell, Walter Gore (mountaineers) Polka – Alicia Markova Valse – Pearl Argyle, Diana Gould, Maude Lloyd, Prudence Hyman Popular Song – William Chappell, Walter Gore Tango-Pasodoble – Lydia Lopokova, Frederick Ashton Finale–Tarantella Sevillana – Lydia Lopokova, Frederick Ashton and ensemble Source: Ashton Archive.

Critical reception The Times commented that the piece admirably translated the spirit of the original poems, but warned, "If the Ballet is going to laugh at itself so freely, it must take care in future that we do not laugh at it in the wrong place." The paper did not consider Façade the highlight of the quintuple bill in which it appeared: that honour went to "Mme Karsavina's Valse Fantasie with music by Glinka"."The Camargo Society", The Times 27 April 1931, p. 10 The Manchester Guardian also rated Karsavina's dance as the best performance of the evening, but praised the wit of Ashton's ballet, and singled out Lopokova for the subtlety of her comic performance."Camargo Society: Third Production of Ballet", The Manchester Guardian, 27 April 1931, p. 13

Reviewing a 2005 production by Scottish Ballet, The Times called Ashton's ballet a masterpiece, and The Guardian commented, "The big treat is the company's acquisition of Frederick Ashton's Façade, a perennial audience favourite. This frothy Bright Young Things frolic, dating from 1931, captures the high spirits of the Brideshead world in sparklingly playful comedic vignettes."Robertson Allen. "Scottish Ballet", The Times, 20 April 2005; and Bain, Alice. "Dance: Scottish Ballet", The Guardian, 16 April 2005

Revivals The ballet was revived in 1932 at the Savoy Theatre."The Ballet Season at the Savoy Theatre", The Manchester Guardian, 22 June 1932, p. 7 For a new production by the Vic-Wells Ballet in 1935, Ashton added the Country Dance. Among those appearing in this production were Margot Fonteyn and Robert Helpmann. Ashton further expanded the work in 1940, adding the Foxtrot ("Old Sir Faulk") and the Noche Espagnola ("Nocturne Péruvienne"). These later additions have sometimes been included in and sometimes omitted from the Sadler's Wells (later the Royal Ballet) revivals in 1946, 1949, 1950, 1951, 1956 and 1958–9.

In 1972, Ashton prepared a production for the Aldeburgh Festival using the original chamber score, with Sitwell's verses recited by Peter Pears. This production was later seen in London, at Sadler's Wells Theatre.

Ashton's ballet has also been revived by the Borovansky Ballet (1946), New Zealand Ballet (1960), PACT Ballet (South Africa, 1966), Joffrey Ballet (1969), Australian Ballet (1972), Chicago Ballet (1975), Houston Ballet (1978), Washington Ballet (1983), Royal Winnipeg Ballet (1984), Ballet of the Teatro Regio, Turin (1992) and Scottish Ballet (2005).

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