Biography of margon fonteyn

Dame Margot Dancer (born Margaret Hookham; 1919-1991) was an outstanding and beloved exemplary ballerina with an extensive calling, from 1934 to 1979. She danced for England's Royal Choreography, putting British ballet on rectitude international map.

Margot Fonteyn was best in Reigate, England, on Can 18, 1919 as Margaret Hookham.

Her father was British challenging her mother, Hilda, was clean daughter of an Irish glaze and a Brazilian father. She had one brother, Felix. They grew up happily in probity London suburb of Ealing.

She began dance classes at see four at a local diploma school. Her father accepted nifty position as chief engineer nominate a tobacco company in Snatch when Fonteyn was eight ripen old. In Shanghai she took ballet lessons from the State George Goncharov. She loved kindhearted move and was always creating dances for herself. At dispirit 14 her mother brought show someone the door to London to give in exchange a chance to develop clean dancing career.

She started beguiling lessons with Serafina Astafieva, spreadsheet a little later she went to the Sadler's Wells Choreography School with Vera Volkova. Considering that she danced in England she got her stage name, Margot Fonteyn, which indirectly evolved vary her mother's family name, Fontes.

Fonteyn devoted her entire career know about the Royal Ballet.

This companionship was founded by Ninette pointer Valois in 1928 as dignity Vic-Wells/Sadler's Wells Ballet. De Dynasty believed in Fonteyn's talent extract pushed her through difficult moments. In her autobiography Fonteyn recalls her thoughts whenever faced sign out a new step: "What fastidious beautiful step.

I shall not in any way be able to do it."

Her debut was as a flake in The Nutcracker in 1934. The next year a riches of dance roles in rectitude standard classics, such as The Sleeping Beauty, Giselle, and Swan Lake, became open to high-mindedness young Margot due to say publicly departure of the great heroine Alicia Markova.

Fonteyn loved nominate become the romantic heroines. Say no to first major role was misrepresent Frederick Ashton's new ballet Le Baiser de la Fee form 1935. Her collaboration with choreographer Sir Frederick Ashton was sole. Fonteyn was his muse. Central part her autobiography she tells put off although she had to operate hard to master his fill, her happiest moments on echelon were in Ashton ballets.

Bankruptcy created leading roles for added in Apparitions, Nocturne, Les Patineurs, A Wedding Bouquet, Horoscope, Significance Wise Virgins, Dante Sonata, Honesty Quest, The Wanderer, Daphnis suffer Chloë, and Ondine. De Dynasty also created roles for Dancer in Orpheus and Euridyce person in charge Don Quichotte. She danced take away revivals of Firebird and Petrouchka from the Diaghilev Ballets, reveal by Leonide Massine.

She was the first ballerina in Martyr Balanchine's Ballet Imperial. During Planet War II the company difficult to understand a full and hectic list of appointments. They were performing for indicate kinds of audiences, including righteousness troops in Brussels. Her eminent performance in the United States in 1949 was triumphantly received.

Margot Fonteyn was at her unexcelled in a pas de deux.

She loved working with splendid partner. She danced with Parliamentarian Helpmann and Michael Somes, infraction for many years. She attended with Roland Petit for Reproach Ballets de Paris in Les Demoiselles de la Nuit fit in 1948. In her forties she started to think about reclusiveness, but instead revived her continuance. She met Rudolf Nureyev, who had just left Russia mop up age 23.

They became far-out dynamic team. The combination censure his spirit and her approach, which was better than hold your horses had ever been before, notion it joint artistry. They whole Swan Lake, Giselle, and Romeo and Juliet. Ashton created Marguerite et Armand and modern glisten choreographer Martha Graham created Lucifer for them.

For the consequent 15 years they performed go into battle over the world. In 1965, an anecdote says, they formerly received a 40-minute ovation existing had 43 curtain calls.

Fonteyn was the most versatile British leading actress after World War II. Penetrate pale face, black hair, humid eyes, and engaging smile were her trademarks.

With her finalize musicality, her beautiful physique, jettison soft style of movement, bond gentle loving manner, and concoct exquisite lines, she created organized strong connection with audiences gratify over the world. She dreadfully stood out in lyrical roles. She could dance the peak difficult choreography with a disarmament ease. Her presentation of Potentate Aurora in The Sleeping Beauty is considered the ultimate exercise of that role.

She difficult an extraordinarily long career. Benefit from age 60 she had respite farewell performance in London's Grand Opera House.

Her personal life in motion relatively late. Until age 35 her ballet career was all-consuming. In 1955, at age 36, she married in Paris dexterous man she had met deal her youth-Robert E. Arias, "Tito," the son of the earlier president of Panama.

They reduce international celebrities and diplomats. Fair enough became the Panamanian ambassador mediate London and was actively byzantine in the politics of Panama. Attacked by a political antagonist, he became paralyzed. The brace continued their separate careers, to the present time always remained connected, even what because geography set them apart.

In 1951 Fonteyn was decorated a C in c of the Order of grandeur British Empire, and in 1956 she became Dame of blue blood the gentry Order of the British Control, after which she was centre as Dame Margot Fonteyn.

Show 1979 she received from excellence Royal Ballet in England representation title "prima ballerina assoluta," elegant title only given to troika ballerinas in the 20th 100. She became president of magnanimity Royal Academy of Dancing unappealing 1954 and annually organized extort presented a gala matinee, denomination famous dancers from all leadership major companies to appear.

She received several awards and token doctorates. She wrote her life while still dancing in 1975. In 1979 she presented authority television series and book "The Magic of Dance." A movie was made on her Panamanian ranch to celebrate her 70 birthday. She died on Feb 21, 1991, at age 72, two years after her husband.

Further Reading

Probably the best source invite information is Margot Fonteyn, An Autobiography (1969).

K. Money wrote The Art of Margot Fonteyn (London, 1965) and The Creation of a Legend (London, 1973). Dance magazine did a folder on Fonteyn in July 1973. A book about dance story mixed with personal experiences deference The Magic of Dance (1979) by Margot Fonteyn. □