Dame Margot Fonteyn, Prima Ballerina
One of the Greatest Classical Ballet Dancers of All Time
She was born Margaret Hookham on May 18, 1919. Her mother signed her up for ballet lessons when she was four years old. By the time she was fourteen, she was auditioning and her first role was that of a snowflake in Nutcracker. By the time she was sixteen, it was evident that she possessed talent and promise.
The Royal Ballet
Ninette de Valois founded the Academy of Choreographic Art in London. She also established the Vic-Wells Ballet Company which later became the Sadler’s Wells Ballet and then The Royal Ballet.
Fonteyn joined the Vic-Wells Ballet Company eventually to become the Royal Ballet. She was the inspiration for many of the female leads in Sir Frederick Ashton’s works, particularly Ondine, Chloe and Sylvia. Sir Ashton was the founder choreographer of The Royal Ballet. Ashton and Fonteyn worked together to create some of the most memorable performances in ballet over a period of twenty-five years. She also worked with Martha Graham later in life.
Fonteyn established herself as a national treasure with the opening night performance of Sleeping Beauty, followed by Symphonic Variations and Cinderella. But on opening night in New York in 1949, she became an international star and an instant celebrity in America.
In the fifties, Fonteyn created the roles of Ondine and Chloe - one of Ashton’s personal favorites. She married Roberto de Arias, a Panama diplomat in 1956. Fonteyn began to speak of retirement in interviews by the early sixties, due to the strain of juggling her career as a ballerina and being a diplomat’s wife.
Dancing with Nureyev
In 1961 Rudolf Nureyev defected from Russia and made his home in Paris. Ninette de Valois invited Nureyev to London to dance Giselle with Fonteyn. With this performance not only was a successful ballet partnership formed, it also put off any thoughts of retirement for Fonteyn. Dancing with Nureyev seemed to rejuvenate the ballerina’s zest for the dance and it helped extend her career by fifteen years.
Even though the two shared different backgrounds and temperaments along with a nineteen year difference in ages, there was an unmistakable chemistry between the two onstage. They were paired in Ashton’s “Marguerite and Armand” and Kenneth MacMillan’s “Romeo and Juliet.” They also appeared together in a film version of “Swan Lake” and “Romeo and Juliet.”
Fonteyn also appeared in television productions of “The Sleeping Beauty” and “The Nutcracker” with Michael Somes. These performances are available on DVD.
Although reports of a relationship between the two offstage vary, it is certain that Nureyev and Fonteyn were constants in each other’s lives. Even after she retired, Fonteyn is reported to have spoken to Nureyev several times a week. And when Fonteyn was diagnosed with cancer, Nureyev helped pay her medical bills and often visited her, despite his own hectic schedule and health problems after being diagnosed as HIV positive.
In 1965, Fonteyn’s husband, de Arias, was shot and left a quadriplegic. Fonteyn extended her career until her retirement in 1979, despite an arthritic foot, to accommodate the cost of medical care for her husband. In 1990, the Royal Ballet held a special fundraiser for Fonteyn. Shortly after de Arias’ death, Fonteyn herself was diagnosed with cancer.
Dame of the British Empire
In 1956, Margot Fonteyn was awarded a DBE - Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire. In 1979, the title “Prima Ballerina Absoluta” was bestowed upon Fonteyn by Queen Elizabeth II. Fonteyn was chancellor of the University of Durham from 1981 to 1990. The Fonteyn Ballroom is named in her honor.
In Peekskill, New York, the Margot Fonteyn Academy of Ballet continues teaching students Fonteyn’s high standards of excellence.
Margo Fonteyn died on February 21, 1991 in Panama.
Sources:
The Margot Fonteyn Academy of Ballet
Margot Fonteyn, Prima Ballerina
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