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Margot Fonteyn


Guest aeangel008

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Guest aeangel008

I have a question, If the DVD/VHS "An evening with the Royal Ballet" was made in 1963, and Margot was born in 1919...that would make Margot 44. So was she 44 when she danced in the video(Les Sylphides)? Or was the video just put together later, after they danced in earlier years? I previously posted about my ballet teacher dancing opposite Fonteyn..and their ages dont match up. If what my teacher was telling me then it means that she was 21 while Margo was 60. I don't want to ask my teacher because she will think I am disrespecting her. Thanks for your help. :bouncing:

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i don't precisely know when the filming for 'evening w/ royal ballet' was done, but there's been nothing to suggest that it pre-dates by much the release of the film.

fonteyn's career was famously long - some might say infamously so, esp. some of the ballerinas who felt their careers suffered in her shadow.

(a new fonteyn bio is due out anytime now, if i have my information correct, from a biographer in england, a woman who's name escapes me.)

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The Niagara Frontier Ballet toured Europe in 1971. The following is an entry in the New York Public Library's Dance Research Library's catalog regarding a program they have for this company.

"Julian Braunsweg presents the first European tour of American classical ballet, New York State's Niagara Frontier Ballet Company."

The tour took place in June-July 1971. Principal choreographer: Bronislava Nijinska.

Design and ballet photographs by Mike Davis.

Guest artists: Anna-Marie Holmes, Jeanne Armin, Brunhilda Ruiz, David Holmes, Tatsuo Sakai, Paul Sutherland, Violette Verdy, Luis Fuente, and William Glassman.

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Guest aeangel008

Thank you so much! That helped me out a lot!!!!! :blushing:

Do any of you happen to have the Dance Magazine July 1971 edition (p. 80)? haha I know it is asking a lot, but it would further my study of this ballet company. I also found out that they toured in Rochester, and that is where I live. So this is rather exciting.

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Hello aeangel008,

Have you tried your local library? There is another thread somewhere on the Ballet Talk site about Dance Mag. archives but I don't know exactly where it is. Try doing a search and see what you can come up with. Another suggestion might be to go to: Dance Magazine

You could contact them through their website and maybe they could help. :shrug:

Good Luck!

Clara :)

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Fonteyn did dance Les Sylphides in the early sixties, if that's what your asking. I know because my mother saw her in that run (she's six years youngerthan MF).

As it happens we talked about it recently and she got all teary talking about the moment in the 'prelude' bit (in the middle) when the dancer stands with her back towards the audience. Even Fonteyn's back was extraordinarily expressive.

Is MF dancing the same part in the video?

Herman

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Yes, she is. One thing that struck me, coming to it after seeing Makarova and after-Makarova dancers, is how classical her line is (rather than romantic). We don't see that often today. It's a lovely performance. David Vaughan's biography of Ashton says that "Les Sylphides" was one of the ballets he wantd to rehearse when he finally got to be director of the Royal, and I'd bet the phrasing is what it should be.

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How interesting Alexandra! I love thinking about the difference. You know I'm nuts about the Romantic style. Forgive me for being so stupid, but which is more correct for "Les Sylphides"?

It's so good to hear the phrase romantic style. There has been very little Taglioni talk on the board lately.

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I don't know, not having seen the original! Perhaps there were both, in that first cast (Karsavina being classical, Pavlova, Romantic.) Have you seen the video, Glebb? Fonteyn's line is more square -- I thnk of it as you could put her in a circle or a square, but Makarova needs a rectangle or an oval (proportions, obviously). But also the shoulders are raised, not drooped. When I first saw it, I thought she looked stiff, but as I watched it, I realized I was watching something different.

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I don't think I have seen the Fonteyn/Sylphides video Alexandra, and since I am a huge Fonteyn fan I should get my hands on it ASAP. I was quite young when I saw her live in "Cinderella" and "Romeo and Juliet Balcony Pas de Deux." I was fortunate to be in class with her once when she came to my town and took class with Martha Mahr. Besides her beauty I will never forget that she took the class with the utmost respect for the teacher. Did not change one combination. :unsure:

I've always understood the difference between classical line and romantic line, but of course your explanation has brought a new clarity of how to describe it. Thanks. :) New book - hint, hint!

In "Les Sylphides" my mind says the a la second arm should always be below the shoulder in a drooping position. Do others agree? I know Victoria is an ABT "Les Sylphides" expert. I look forward to all responses.

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"raised" isn't right -- whatever is the opposite of "drooped". :unsure: The chest isn't "pulled up" but the shoulders don't slope, either. It's more a matter of the silhouette and line than an individual position, or the way one particular step or arm position is performed. (There was a similar difference in line betwen Gregory and Makarova in Swan Lake.)

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