Who Was Margot Fonteyn?
Dame Margot Fonteyn de Arias (1919–1991) is universally regarded as the greatest British ballerina of the twentieth century and one of the most celebrated dancers in the history of ballet. Her career at the Royal Ballet spanned four decades, her partnership with Rudolf Nureyev became a legend, and her artistry defined what classical ballet could be at its highest level.
Early Life and Training
Born Margaret Evelyn Hookham on 18 May 1919 in Reigate, Surrey, she began dancing as a young child and showed exceptional promise from her earliest lessons. Her family moved to Shanghai when she was eight, where she studied with a Russian teacher, and later to London, where she joined Ninette de Valois’s Vic-Wells Ballet School (which would later become the Royal Ballet School) as a teenager.
She made her professional debut with the Vic-Wells Ballet in 1934, at the age of 15, and within two years was performing leading roles. She adopted the stage name Margot Fonteyn — keeping her mother’s maiden name — at de Valois’s suggestion, as English-sounding names were more marketable than her birth name in those days.
The Royal Ballet Years
Fonteyn became the company’s undisputed prima ballerina, creating roles in virtually every major production. She created the role of Aurora in Frederick Ashton’s staging of The Sleeping Beauty in 1939, and her portrayals of Juliet, Ondine (created for her by Ashton in 1958), and Giselle became the standard against which all others were measured.
Frederick Ashton, the Royal Ballet’s principal choreographer for decades, created many of his most important works with Fonteyn as his muse. Their artistic collaboration produced ballets that remain in the Royal Ballet repertoire today.
The Partnership with Nureyev
By the early 1960s, Fonteyn was approaching her forties — an age at which most ballerinas have long retired from leading roles. Then Rudolf Nureyev defected from the Soviet Union in 1961 and joined the Royal Ballet as a guest artist. The partnership that developed between them was wholly unexpected — they were 19 years apart in age — but electrifying.
Together they performed Swan Lake, Giselle, Romeo and Juliet, and many other works to overwhelming critical and public acclaim. Their pas de deux received standing ovations that went on for 40 minutes or more — there are records of 89 curtain calls at certain performances. The partnership extended Fonteyn’s career by more than a decade, and she did not retire from the stage until 1979, at the age of 60.
Personal Life
In 1955, Fonteyn married Roberto Arias, a Panamanian diplomat and politician. The marriage was turbulent; Arias was shot in 1964 during a political coup attempt in Panama and left permanently paralysed. Fonteyn devoted much of the latter part of her life to caring for him on their cattle farm in Panama. She was awarded the title of Prima Ballerina Assoluta by the Royal Ballet — an honor given to only the very greatest dancers.
Legacy
Fonteyn died of ovarian cancer on 21 February 1991 in Panama. She is remembered not only for her extraordinary technique but for the quality that is hardest to teach: a total musicality and an ability to find the deepest emotional truth in every role. The Margot Fonteyn Academy of Ballet in her name continues to promote ballet education internationally.
For anyone who studies ballet — at any level — Fonteyn’s career is an example of what happens when talent, discipline, musicality, and absolute commitment to the art form combine in one person.
Frequently Asked Questions
What was Margot Fonteyn most famous for?
Her most celebrated roles were Odette/Odile in Swan Lake, Giselle, and the title roles in The Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella. Her partnership with Rudolf Nureyev is perhaps the single most famous collaboration in ballet history.
How old was Fonteyn when she stopped dancing?
She made her final professional performance in 1979 at approximately age 60 — an extraordinary career length made possible partly by her partnership with Nureyev, which rejuvenated her artistically and extended her performing life by many years.
Did Margot Fonteyn train with the RAD?
Fonteyn trained with Ninette de Valois’s school, which eventually became the Royal Ballet School. The Royal Academy of Dance and the Royal Ballet School are distinct organizations, though both have roots in the development of British ballet in the 1920s and 1930s.