Notable Feet: Margot Fonteyn, “Cool English Ballerina”
In her autobiography, ballerina absoluta Margot Fonteyn (1919-1991) claims, “…I think one must look at the myriad tiny pieces of experience encountered in life. They build up slowly like coral, in haphazard formations, until one day one considers the result and says-‘How odd! That is me.’” The poetic description represents the life led by the dancer many consider the greatest ballerina ever. Her genteel upbringing coupled with a spirit for adventure contributed to an artistic and political existence like the lives of few others. Many critics noted that Fonteyn’s style of dance imbued mystical grace and classical technique, but on the inside her nerves of iron allowed her to withstand the viciousness of stage life and the dangers of political upheaval.
Margaret Hookham was born May 18, 1919, in England, the second child of firm, loving parents. Proper manners, good behavior, reading, family trips to the sea and dance lessons filled young Margaret’s days. Her stage debut came at age four dancing the “Wind” in the neighborhood studio’s annual program. Stern upbringing, early dancing examinations and the desire to please everyone gave little Margaret the sense of treating every performance “as an encounter of life and death.” Maturity and experience drew her along in the journey of a dancer, and Fonteyn discovered one of her most infamous realizations: “The one important thing I have learnt over the years is the difference between taking one’s work seriously and taking oneself seriously. The first is imperative and the second disastrous.” Fonteyn would forever take her work as ballerina seriously, but maintain an aloofness in her personal endeavors.
Fonteyn’s father moved the family about as he developed his career. After a few years in China, the Hookham’s returned to England. She auditioned for the Vic-Wells Ballet at age 14 and dreams were realized when she danced her first professional performance in 1934 as a snowflake in “The Nutcracker.” She went on to work with the great icons of English ballet. Frederick Ashton created numerous ballets for her, she and Robert Helpmann became quintessential partners, and then the comet of dance, Rudolph Nureyev, defected from Russia in 1962, and their magical appeal on stage was undeniable. The two surprised everyone as their 20 year age difference and rumors of Fonteyn’s retirement made them think she would settle down as wife to her Panamanian ambassador husband, Roberto Arias. But when Nureyev arrived to work with the Royal Ballet and specifically requested a Fonteyn partnership, her natural distrust erupted until she saw him dance. “It was paradoxical that the young boy everyone thought so wild and spontaneous in his dancing cared desperately about technique, whereas I, the cool English ballerina, was so much more interested in the emotional aspect of the performance.” Fonteyn admits she learned a great deal from the illustrious partnership.
Fonteyn was famous for her patience and acceptance of Nureyev’s temperament. In his 2008 biography of Nureyev, Dutch choreographer Rudi van Dantzig relates a telling incident. During a late running rehearsal, Fonteyn was dropped “with a nasty smack” on the stage. Nureyev held his petulant ground while Fonteyn scrambled up, “dusted off her tutu and called out a giggling apology to the conductor,” never condemning the anguished but talented defector who helped cement her own prowess as the definitive ballerina.
Her career spanned over 40 years. Her partnerships left lasting memories, and her private life keeps balletomanes keen for anything new. The ultimate English lady ballerina was arrested twice; once at a party with Nureyev and once in Panama during an ugly governmental episode involving her husband. When Arias survived an attempted assassination but was left paralyzed, she continued her role as dancer and ambassador’s wife because of her sense of duty and of seeing things through to the proper conclusion, regardless of the sacrifices.
Resources: Margott Fonteyn, Autobiography. Margot Fonteyn. Alfred A. Knopf. New York. 1976.
Remembering Nureyev, The Trail of a Comet. Rudi van Dantzig. Translation by Katie de Haan. University Press of Florida. Gainesville. 2008.