Margot Fonteyn was a global celebrity for several decades, and made her mark in several areas, including fashion. However, it is obviously her time on stage that defined her career and her legacy. She started her career at the same time that film was becoming more and more popular, meaning that there are many recordings of her dancing. I wanted to share some of my favourite performances with you for Margot Fonteyn Month, for you to enjoy as well! Here are my favourite Margot Fonteyn’s ballet highlights…
Note: I have tried to link YouTube videos here that have been up for a long time and have less of a chance of being removed. However, if they are removed, you should be able to search “Margot Fonteyn + Rose Adagio” or whichever piece to find it!
“Rose Adagio” from Sleeping Beauty
Who can create a list of Margot Fonteyn’s ballet highlights and not include the Rose Adagio? The Rose Adagio is one of the most difficult pieces in classical ballet. Aurora performs several unaided balances while meeting four, handsome suitors for promenades, and then shifts into a petite allegro (small, quick jumps). Impressively, Fonteyn had no senior dancers to learn Aurora from, the typical way that dancers learn a new role. She took the role and made it her own, and it perfectly encapsulates her skill, musicality, and presence. (This adagio was also parodied in the Royal Ballet’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland perfectly!)
Pas de Deux from Marguerite and Armand
If I haven’t made it clear from my other Margot Fonteyn posts, I carry a torch for Marguerite. It’s quite a short ballet, with a running time of roughly 30 minutes. The ballet opens with an older Marguerite suffering from tuberculosis; she dances through her memories of being a courtesan and having a love affair with the handsome Armand. Ashton created the ballet on Fonteyn and Nureyev, and it fits them both like a glove. The partnering here is incredible, and I don’t know that I have seen it matched!
Act II Pas de Deux from Giselle
Another Fonteyn/Nureyev pairing! This ballet is known for the wilis, the ghosts of young women who have been jilted and abandoned by lovers, and the most common piece shared from the ballet is the scene of the 20+ wilis in their romantic tutus. However, this pas de deux is a much lighter scene, and still showcases Fonteyn’s talent and their striking partnership beautifully.
Want to know more about Giselle? Visit my Behind the Ballet: Giselle post here!
Salut d’Amour
This piece is quite different from the others linked, but is no less impressive. Ashton choreographed this piece for Fonteyn to dance at her 60th birthday gala, which she danced with former partner Robert Helpmann. She isn’t en pointe here, but the fact that she still had such strong movement and talent at 60 when most of us have long been feeling the effects of age is incredible. This piece also highlights just how emotive a dancer she was, her true star quality. She danced during the reign of Balanchine, and was a radically different dancer than we saw prized in the mid-twentieth century. However, her emotion and presence are leagues ahead of any dancer that we’ve seen in the modern period, even into her 60s.
Do you have a favourite from Margot Fonteyn’s ballet highlights?
Cheers,
The Historian
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