Margot Fonteyn - Potential Terrorist ...

[chrischris]

Just how famous was Fonteyn in her prime? It always makes me laugh when people refer to today's ballet dancers as 'stars' because, to be honest, I doubt any of them are ever recognised when they go out (writing from a UK perspective) but was she somebody who transcended ballet, who would have attracted crowds when she went out, paparazzi etc?

[Ian Macmillan]

Chris:  I'm guessing that I'm a good bit older than yourself.  Nonetheless, I'm a relative latecomer to this Ballet business, but I believe I was actively aware of the name Margot Fonteyn in my early teens - ie the early 1950s.  (By contrast, I have no recollection of, say, Beryl Grey, her contemporary in Sadler's Wells Ballet, whereas Moira Shearer had acquired a name via The Red Shoes.)  So she was making an impression - and this was up in the west of Scotland, just outside post-war Glasgow, possibly not the best milieu for such things.  In her second prime, with Nureyev towards the mid-60s, you can be assured that they had all the paparazzi treatment they could deal with - as a pair, I recall them as very much part of the Beatles generation.  There are, of course, so many competitors for 'celebrity' these days that I fear very few of those whom we might consider 'stars' would be known in any meaningful way by other than today's ballet crowd.  It was not thus - ie celebrity acquired thro' a few TV appearances - back then.

[Anjuli_Bai]

I heard the name "Margot Fonteyn" in the 1950's and knew she was a famous balletrina.  This was in Philadelphia and my sister was reading a book about her.

[Yaffa]

When I was growing up in the late 60s/70s in Manchester, "Margot Fonteyn" was a household name. In fact I recall a question in a quiz at a friend's birthday party: "Who is a better ballerina, Margot Fonteyn or [i can't remember the other name]?" The "correct" answer was Margot Fonteyn. I was pretty excited as I thought the quizmaster (my friend's father) was a ballet fan. When I asked him why Margot Fonteyn was so special, he mumbled something about "Because she's famous... You know... Margot Fonteyn and Rudolph Nureyev!" Everyone else nodded in agreement and another parent chimed in to clarify "Yes, she's the ballet equivalent of George Best." (!) But I doubt whether anyone at the party would have recognised her. When I once saw her walking near the Opera House in Manchester, she passed a crowd of people but no heads turned... certainly no  paparazzi running after her.

 

On quite a few occasions, when I've mentioned to former Brits living overseas that I'll be attending an event at the Royal Ballet School, they've asked if Margot Fonteyn will be there.

 

Yaffa

 

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[aileen]

I think that I am a similar age to Yaffa. Fonteyn and Nureyev were household names in the same way as George Best was a household name. Even if you didn't go to the ballet you had heard of Fonteyn and Nureyev (and it was the same with George Best and watching football). I'm not sure why. Did they feature a lot in news items on the television and interviews in the papers and magazines?

[Fonty]

I remember my parents saying that there was a lot of news coverage about Nureyev's defection to the West.  Fonteyn was already famous, of course, but the interest in Nureyev was huge.  Once he started dancing with her, they were catapulted to Superstar status. 

 

I am sure others will be able to provide the exact information, but it was at one of their first performances together that they achieved the Guinness Book of records for the most number of curtain calls ever.  An extraordinary number, wasn't it about 74 or something like that?

[Anjuli_Bai]

I remember my parents saying that there was a lot of news coverage about Nureyev's defection to the West.  Fonteyn was already famous, of course, but the interest in Nureyev was huge.  Once he started dancing with her, they were catapulted to Superstar status. 

 

I am sure others will be able to provide the exact information, but it was at one of their first performances together that they achieved the Guinness Book of records for the most number of curtain calls ever.  An extraordinary number, wasn't it about 74 or something like that?

 

 

Fonteyn and Nureyev premiered Romeo and Juliet on Feb. 9th, 1965 and rec'd 43 curtain calls - a record for the time and I'm not sure it has ever been exceeded.    There are pages and pages of breath taking pictures of both rehearsal and performance in Keith Money's marvelous "The Art of Margot Fonteyn" published in 1965.  I have a copy that I've enjoyed all these years.  If you can possibly get a copy I highly recommend it.

 

Fonteyn was near retirement when Nureyev came on the scene.  She not only came back to a full new career but was as if re-born.  He was the partner she needed to bring out the depth of artistry inside her.  

 

But she was a world "name" long before Nureyev.  As for his fame - he was the first of the Russian defectors and one of the few people of the stage who not only lived up to the publicity hype - he exceeded it.

 

When together, as he smouldered - he lit her lamp and she had the wherewithall to answer his challenge.  What happened to them later is a tragedy - but while together on stage - for about ten years - was all the magic of the theater and then some.

[chrischris]

Thanks for the responses. Would have liked to seen them, their chemistry sounds pretty intense. I wonder if the rumours about them having an offstage relationship are true? I know Nureyev preferred men, but when you work so closely with someone, in such a physically and emotionally intimate way, for such a long time,..........

[Anjuli_Bai]

Thanks for the responses. Would have liked to seen them, their chemistry sounds pretty intense. I wonder if the rumours about them having an offstage relationship are true? I know Nureyev preferred men, but when you work so closely with someone, in such a physically and emotionally intimate way, for such a long time,..........

 

You can still see them albeit on video.  

 

I don't think it has ever been proven - suspected by not proven - they had a physical relationship off stage.   However, they certainly had one on stage.  

 

Often the relatioship of the imagination of yesteryear is more intense than the pretense we see enacted today on stage and screen.

[Anjuli_Bai]

...and frankly, I'd rather have the mystery of whether they did or didn't remain unresolved.

 

 

(Sorry, for the double post)

[Fonty]

.

 

When together, as he smouldered - he lit her lamp and she had the wherewithall to answer his challenge.  What happened to them later is a tragedy - but while together on stage - for about ten years - was all the magic of the theater and then some.

 

Yes indeed.  I only wish I could have seen them on stage, it must have been quite something to behold.

 

There are some clips on Youtube, but I have to say my favourite is a clip of her dancing the Rose Adagio.  Even though filming in those days tended to be from a strange angle, and the clarity is not great, her personality and sheer artistry shines through.  And although critics might say her technique is nowhere near as good as those dancing today, the way she sweeps through those balances - rock solid, perfectly in time with the music, and not a wobble in sight. 

 

And the cavaliers stroll towards her in a leisurely fashion.  They know there is not need to hurry, Fonteyn will stand there all day if necessary, with her beaming smile.  She makes it look so easy. 

[Anjuli_Bai]

In her autobiography she says that in preparation for the RB's premiere in New York - she practiced those balances every day for a year.  

 

What I see in her is a sweetness - one doesn't think about technique when watching her  - at least I don't.

[Terpsichore]

I was a Young Friend of Covent Garden until I was 26 and the main benefit of being a Young Friend were the sheets of ticket vouchers which could be used in part payment for tickets to the amphitheatre. The discounts were quite generous.  I remember that I was once able to get into a matinee for Giselle for 10p which was not a lot of money even in 1971. Thus I saw a lot of ballet and in particular a lot of Fonteyn.

 

However, everybody saw a lot of Fonteyn in the 1950s and 1960s - not just those who could afford to go to Covent Garden.   During the second world war Fonetyn like a number of other dancers toured the country entertaining troops and essential workers. Many had their first experience of ballet through those tours. Those shows contributed to keeping up morale.  Fonteyn was often on television. Not just in full length ballets.  A pas de deux was often included in other shows.  TV audiences in the 1960s and early 1970s were massive because there were then only 3 channels and no VCRs. 

 

Seeing Fonteyn on stage was quite different from seeing her on screen. She commanded the stage and charmed audiences in a way that I have seen no other dancer before or since. It was not just her form and line.  She had the most expressive features.    

 

Fonteyn had an enormous following.  Before the flower, fruit and vegetable market moved to Nine Elms many members of the audience bought bunches of cut flowers from the market next door to throw at their favourite ballerinas as they took their curtain calls.  Each star attracted bouquets from their fans but when Fonteyn danced the stage seemed knee deep in flowers.

Edited January 6, 2014 by terpsichore

[LinMM]

Yes I remember being a part of this crazy flower throwing group. I feel slightly embarrassed about it now though!!

 

We would get the flowers in the early morning.....often having queued overnight (one of the joys of being young!) and then we would later ask permission for them to be placed in one of the boxes(cheeky)

At the end of the show we would then usually have to rush from standing or Amphi to the boxes ready to throw the flowers......hopefully not hitting the dancers in the process.

 

With Fonteyn and Nureyev there were always hundreds of flowers (not just from us lot) but also I remember a Sibley Dowell performance having loads too for R and J I think or may have been Manon.

 

I was going to put on the Partnership thread that I think Fonteyn gained her reputation before Nureyev during the war years as the Sadlers Wells company toured UK and then with a notable visit to US and New York.......this may have been just post war when people raved about her Sleeping Beauty.

Fonteyn had such expressive eyes and an animated face and really engaged with others on stage not just her main partner.

There was just something very endearing about her difficult to put into words.

When she later danced Beauty with Nureyev it's the vision scene which sticks in my mind. Apart from the delicious music for this, she and Nureyev really did engage .......you really felt the whole thing and I can see why some may have thought they had a real relationship as well. My feeling is they didn't! Nureyev had a huge amount of respect for her as he has said often and I think he had a great deal of love for her (and she for him) but love in the grandest and broadest sense is what I sense it was but we'll never really know now and I don't mind one way or the other just thankful they danced together so well!! (Have a feeling some of this is on the wrong thread!!)

[Terpsichore]

LinMM 

 

I love your last post especially 

 

"Fonteyn had such expressive eyes and an animated face and really engaged with others on stage not just her main partner.

There was just something very endearing about her difficult to put into words."

 

So you saw it too.

 

Coming from Yorkshire I never threw flowers but I loved the ritual of the liveried footmen presenting their bouquets to the ballerina, the ballerina's selecting her choicest bloom and presenting it to her partner, her partner's lifting the flower to his nose and savouring (or at least pretending to savour) its scent and then all those carnations, chrysanthemums and other cut flowers  that you and your chums showered on to the stage.   

 

I don't think you are in the wrong thread. The topic has evolved from the more distressing episodes in Fonteyn's life to an appreciation of her brilliance on stage and our affectionate memories of her.

Edited January 6, 2014 by terpsichore

[Anjuli_Bai]

My memories of Fonteyn are more than affectionate - when I was studying, she was (and to some extent still is ) my standard.  She was the vision  in the classroom mirror for me.