Information AboutMargot Fonteyn |
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EARLY LIFE Born "Margaret Hookham" in Reigate , Surrey , Fonteyn joined the Royal Ballet (then called the Sadler's Wells Theatre ) when she was a teenager. By 1939 she was the company's star, and she was the inspiration for many of Sir Frederick Ashton 's ballets, such as '' Ondine '' and '' Daphnis And Chloe '' and '' Sylvia ''. Fonteyn also worked with the choreographer Roland Petit and later in life, Martha Graham . She was especially renowned for her portrayal of Aurora in Tchaikovsky 's '' Sleeping Beauty ''. In 1949 the Royal Ballet toured the United States and Fonteyn became an instant celebrity. CONTINUED SUCCESS, AND RUDOLF NUREYEV In the 1940s she developed an extremely successful dance partnership with Robert Helpmann , and they toured together for several years. In the 1950's, she developed a partnership with Michael Somes . Televised versions of '' Sleeping Beauty '' and Ashton's version of '' Cinderella '' are now available on DVD . Ashton choreographed several ballets for her during this period, including ''Daphis and Chloe'', ''Sylvia'', and ''Ondine''. But her greatest partnership came at a time when many (including the head of the Royal Ballet, Ninette De Valois ) thought she would retire. Following the defection of Rudolf Nureyev to the West, Fonteyn began an on-stage partnership with him which lasted until she retired. Their first performance together was on March 1, 1962 in '' Giselle ''. It was a great success; during the curtain calls Nureyev dropped to his knees and kissed Fonteyn's hand, cementing and on-and-offstage partnership. Throughout their partnership Fonteyn and Nureyev were famous for inspiring frenzied, unending curtain calls and bouquet tosses. Ashton choreographed '' Marguerite And Armand '' for them, and until recently no other couple ever danced the ballet. They debuted Kenneth MacMillan 's Romeo And Juliet although MacMillan had designed the ballet for Lynn Seymour and Christopher Gable . Fonteyn and Nureyev appeared together in a film version of '' Swan Lake '' and Kenneth MacMillan 's '' Romeo And Juliet '', as well as '' Les Sylphides '' and the "Slave" pas de deux from '' Le Corsaire ''. In 1967 Fonteyn and Nureyev were arrested in Haight-Ashbury in San Francisco when a party they'd been invited to was raided by anti-drugs police. Despite the differences in background and temperament, Nureyev and Fonteyn became close lifelong friends, and were famously loyal to each other. Fonteyn refused to approve any picture in which Nureyev was caught in a unflattering light. Nureyev and Fonteyn remained close even after her retirement, when she lived in Panama. They talked on the phone several times a week even though her farmhouse did not have a telephone line hooked up. When she was getting treatment for cancer, Nureyev paid many of her medical bills and visited her often, despite his busy schedule as a performer and choreographer, and his own health problems at the time (he was HIV positive, and would succumb to AIDS in 1993). Nureyev said once in a documentary about Fonteyn that they danced with "one body, one soul," and that Margot was "all he had, only her." One observer said that "If most people are at level A, they were at level Z." RELATIONSHIPS Fonteyn had a long relationship during the 1940s with composer Constant Lambert but this did not lead to marriage. In 1955 Fonteyn married Roberto Arias , a Panamanian diplomat. Margot was arrested when her husband was attemped a coup of the Panamanian government. Their marriage was rocky due to his infidelities, but in 1965 he was shot by a rival Panamanian politician. Arias remained a quadrapelegic the rest of his life, and Fonteyn cared for him tirelessly. Despite her fame, Arias's medical care was extremely expensive and Fonteyn danced often to pay his medical bills, despite the pain she suffered from an arthritic foot. Her last performance was in 1979. She was named ''prima donna assoluta'' of the Royal Ballet. Afterwards she retired to Panama with her husband, and cared for him until his death in 1989. Soon afterwards she was diagnosed with cancer, and she finally succumbed to cancer in 1991. The years of caring for Tito drained her finances, and in 1990 a special "gala" at the Royal Ballet was organized to help Fonteyn financially. Rudolf Nureyev paid many of her medical bills when she was undergoing treatment for cancer. LEGACY In the extremely competitive world of ballet, Fonteyn was known as a consummate professional and very loyal to her friends. Her dancing was known for its lyricism, grace, and passion. Although Margot Fonteyn was the Royal Ballet's biggest star, Dame Ninette de Valois cultivated other talents as well, so the Royal Ballet was filled with talented ballerinas, including Nadia Nerina , Svetlana Beriosova , Lynn Seymour , and Antoinette Sibley . She was chancellor of the University Of Durham from 1981 to 1990 . The main hall in the Student Union building is named after her. The folk group Eddie From Ohio has a song dedicated to her. Fonteyn was knighted in 1954 at the age of 35. Dame Margot Fonteyn died in Panama City , Panama , aged 71, of Cancer . In 2005, author Meredith Daneman published ''Margot Fonteyn: A Life'' a comprehensive biography of Fonteyn's life. QUOTES
“Great artists are people who find the way to be themselves in their art. Any sort of pretension induces mediocrity in art and life alike.” “Life offstage has sometimes been a wilderness of unpredictables in an unchoreographed world.” “Genius is another word for magic, and the whole point of magic is that it is inexplicable.” EXTERNAL LINKS
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