Margot Fonteyn!

[bart]

Way to go, Solor!

And thanks for your detailed response to my query, hockeyfan 228. Comparing performance forms is fascinating when it's done by someone able to "see" both so clearly -- and so much in command of the language of each discipline.

[NNatalie]

Going back to the original point, I wonder if nowadays ballets are generally cast on the basis of the dancer being technically competent rather than being best suited in character, personality or physique to a role.  I'm reminded of two anecdotes.  The first, which Monica Mason tells against herself was when she went to Ashton and asked to be given the role of Odette Odile.  "I'm sure I could do it", she said.  "I'm sure you could", replied Ashton, "but who would want to see it".

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I am sorry to go off-topic here but Monica Mason did dance Odette-Odile, did she not? Or is this my imagination?! (Entirely possible!)

[Mme. Hermine]

No, quite right, the press release that announced her appointment as Artistic Director of the Royal Ballet made mention of her in the role.

[chauffeur]

Joining this one late, but I only just got done reading the new Fonteyn biography and then finding a mid-career video to watch (can't remember the year but it was Fonteyn doing a Swan Lake excerpt, Firebird and Ondine). I may be one of the few "youngsters" who has watched one of these videos and seen what it is that mesmerized those who saw Fonteyn perform live. It was the rock-solid steadiness that blew me away, as well as the way she became a character in every inch of her body. No wasted movement. Completely relaxed control. Yet at the same time, I discerned any number of times where she saved herself, and where a lesser dancer would have wobbled or stumbled. Forgive me, I don't know ballet terms well, but there were several times when, in a supported series of pirouettes, on the last one you'd see her shift off balance by just a smidge but mask it with a vigorous lunge into a then stock-still arabesque. She had a fascinating and very unique control of her physiology.

[richard53dog]

I am sorry to go off-topic here but Monica Mason did dance Odette-Odile, did she not? Or is this my imagination?! (Entirely possible!)

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Well she did it here in NYC at least once or twice on the Royal Ballet tours in the late 60s and early 70.

I didn't see here but my friend did.

Richard

[richard53dog]

Fonteyn perform live.  It was the rock-solid steadiness that blew me away, as well as the way she became a character in every inch of her body.  No wasted movement.  Completely relaxed control.  Yet at the same time, I discerned any number of times where she saved herself, and where a lesser dancer would have wobbled or stumbled.  Forgive me, I don't know ballet terms well, but there were several times when, in a supported series of pirouettes, on the last one you'd see her shift off balance by just a smidge but mask it with a vigorous lunge into a then stock-still arabesque.  She had a fascinating and very unique control of her physiology.

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Chauffer, I love how you put this!

Richard

[carbro]

Monica Mason . . . went to Ashton and asked to be given the role of Odette Odile.  "I'm sure I could do it", she said.  "I'm sure you could", replied Ashton, "but who would want to see it".

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I am sorry to go off-topic here but Monica Mason did dance Odette-Odile, did she not? Or is this my imagination?! (Entirely possible!)

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

And I'm sure a number of years and a fair degree of artistic growth passed between the time of the cited anecdote and Mason's O/O debut.

[Alymer]

And I'm sure a number of years and a fair degree of artistic growth passed between the time of the cited anecdote and Mason's O/O debut.

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She did indeed dance the role a number of times and it was a very clean, technically strong and sincere performance she gave. However, I do recall hearing one critic (now dead) who was I think generally held to be extremely fair in his opinions muttering about "swans who can break a man's arm with their wings".

[dirac]

I don't know if anyone will ever match John Curry, because I can't morph Jeffrey Buttle and Johnny Weir

Totally off topic, but I feel I should note for the record that Robin Cousins had “the package” of athleticism and presentation to an extent not seen before his arrival on the scene, not even from Curry.

I’d also suggest that, although there are elements, such as the delayed axel, that I see in the older programs and miss, in many ways the all around level of presentation has improved. As the school figures were gradually reduced in importance, skaters devoted more time to aspects of presentation, such as choreography, costuming, and well integrated music selections (the savage cutting of the music way back when was often dreadful to hear). These became more important as the level of technical skill increased across the board, the talent pool widened, and competition intensified. Curry and Cousins, who were paying attention to these matters before the majority of skaters did, selected and edited their own music and performed their own choreography. Now there are people whose job it is to search for appropriate skating music, and choreographers everywhere. That wasn’t always the case -- often as not, the coach chose the music and did the choreography, although there were exceptions.

Returning to our moutons, you have this kind of change in ballet, too. As time passes, some things improve and some things are lost, or let us say the emphasis in training and performance changes.

It is interesting that Fonteyn is mentioned in both Curry's and Cousins' post Olympics victory lap book. Curry, by his own admission a frustrated dancer, admired the Royal Ballet and specifically Fonteyn above all things. (I thought he was rather like Fonteyn -- a performer of unique refinement.) Cousins noted more prosaically that when he saw her she was clearly past her prime, but could still command the stage, and he made a note of that.

[Ari]

And I'm sure a number of years and a fair degree of artistic growth passed between the time of the cited anecdote and Mason's O/O debut.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

She did indeed dance the role a number of times and it was a very clean, technically strong and sincere performance she gave. However, I do recall hearing one critic (now dead) who was I think generally held to be extremely fair in his opinions muttering about "swans who can break a man's arm with their wings".

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I saw Mason dance Odette/Odile in 1976 and while I thought she had the makings of a very good Swan Queen, I felt that she was hampered by having to dance it in the Royal Ballet style. Mason was, as the above-mentioned critic rather unkindly implies, a dancer of power and presence, but these qualities were too strong for the Royal's gentle, lyrical style. As a result, it looked like Mason was trying to fit her square body into a round peg, as it were. It would have been rewarding to see her dance the role in a way that suited her.

[cubanmiamiboy]

I'm posting the first part of the documentary on Dame Fonteyn from which the other clip-(on the Nutcracker thread)- belongs. There's some old footage of Margot-(as back as 1937)-including a priceless one from Giselle Act I, which makes her 18 y.o at the time. Beautiful.

Enjoy it!

[papeetepatrick]

Lovely indeed. I think that the 'Nocturne' had to be way back in the day too, didn't it? it says 'Filmed in 1970.' The Giselle is divine. I'd love to have seen her do the whole thing, she is perfect in it. Interesting that MacMillan said 'she didn't have a bravura technique, but somehow made people think she did'.

[Jane Simpson]

Fonteyn danced the Nocturne solo at Ashton's retirement gala in July 1970 (34 years after she created the role) so this clip is presumably from that.

(This was one of 37 pieces from different ballets in the gala - what wouldn't I give for a film of the whole thing?)

[carbro]

Jane, were you there? I'd love to hear about some of the highlights.

[Jane Simpson]

No, I wasn't there - I've forgotten, and can't even begin to imagine, why not. If I could choose one gala out of all history to go to, that would be it. Maybe Leonid or one of the others from London was there? If not, I have a list of the items and could post some of them.

[cubanmiamiboy]

It's so interesting...I just placed two windows together. One witht Fonteyn's 1937 Giselle clip...the other one with the 1932 Olga Spessivtzeva's in the same role. I'm opening two more with the fragments of Markova and some vintage I have from Alonso from the early 40's. A whole Giselle feast!!-

:blush:

[leonid17]

No, I wasn't there - I've forgotten, and can't even begin to imagine, why not. If I could choose one gala out of all history to go to, that would be it. Maybe Leonid or one of the others from London was there? If not, I have a list of the items and could post some of them.

Thanks Jane for reminding me of one of the happiest nights of my life at the Royal Opera House.

The event was a spectacular made exciting by the fact although one might have guessed some of what we might see, it was not until we exited after three and a half splendid hours were we able to obtain the printed programme. Each excerpt from Ashton’s oeuvre was a surprise and a delight and no doubt to Ashton himself who was kept in the dark, seeing works he himself had thought lost. It was an occasion when the art of ballet coincided with a superior entertainment.

Dame Margot appeared in a further five excerpts of ballets by Ashton. Nocturne (1936) with Michael Somes, a solo for the Bride from “The Wise Virgins” (1940), The Dancer in the Ball Dress from “Apparitions” 1936 With Rudolf Nureyev and Ronald Hynd, “Marguerite and Armand” 1963 with Rudolf Nureyev and Michael Somes, “Daphnis and Chloe” with the extraordinary surprise of Michael Somes reprising the role of Daphnis and performing a pirouette and attempting a tour en l’air.

The whole event was supervised sometimes sardonically and definitely amusingly, by Robert Helpmann sitting to the right of the stage on chair introducing the excepts and making comments including after Nureyev had danced in “Apparitions”, as if an aside muttered, “Miiiii interpretation was quiiite different.”

All of the principal and soloists were given excerpts of works to perform many of which had not been in the repertoire for 30 years or more.

At the end of the evening Ashton was taken back stage still in ignorance as to what was happening and ushered to a stage lift and from this he descended as if from the heavens floating down to stage level where us mere mortals were the inhabitants. It was a truly emotional event and people stood and cheered, flowers were thrown and no one could have guessed that such a glorious evening would have presaged the end of an era and in me, nostalgia for the past was born.

The audience was largely from the ballet world and amongst them were former members of Anna Pavlova's company, the great ballerina having inspired Ashton from his teenage to the end of his life.

I had queued for standing for the event and met whilst waiting two New York ladies who were cousins and have remained friends ever since. I was lucky enough in the end to sit in the side stalls circle and shamefully spent a lot of time watching the response of Natalie Dudinskaya and Konstantin Sergeyev* sitting in gangway seats in the stalls who must have found the evening a little strange given the Englishness of some of the works.

I believe the whole evening was filmed.

* The Kirov Ballet were in town

(Amended)

[Alymer]

The evening was filmed, but the film was damaged subsequently. I believe it was kept in a cupboard near to a radiator - or so I was told.

Incidentally, Fonteyn was wearing her original costume for the Nocturne excerpt. It had been purchased in some kind of charity sale by the writer GBL Wilson who loaned it for the gala. Apparently Fonteyn slipped into it after all those years without a single alteration required. Would that some of us could say the same!

[leonid17]

The evening was filmed, but the film was damaged subsequently. I believe it was kept in a cupboard near to a radiator - or so I was told.

Incidentally, Fonteyn was wearing her original costume for the Nocturne excerpt. It had been purchased in some kind of charity sale by the writer GBL Wilson who loaned it for the gala. Apparently Fonteyn slipped into it after all those years without a single alteration required. Would that some of us could say the same!

I have heard the 'radiator' story from members of the Royal Ballet some years ago before the documentary was made but have never found any official source to confirm this. It does beggar the question however, how much of it was destroyed if the "Nocturne" survived?

[carbro]

Many thanks, leonid, for your vivid evocation of a historical (for better and for worse) evening. The Helpmann quip is priceless!

What a shame (if the radiator story is true) to have lost the film to carelessness.

[bart]

Lovely videos. Thanks to all, for the memories.

A couple of points in the last video stood out for me.

As a student: Markova's comment that Forteyn had "discipline" and also was "receptive" to instruction.

As a performer: de Valois' comment that MF was always "more of a performer than a rehearser," and that there was always big difference between her last rehearsal and her first performance.

It was a joy to see Fonteyn briefly in the corps of Facade. Loved the ebullience and joy in the Act I dances from Giselle, which surely must be one of the speediest versions on record.

[cubanmiamiboy]

What amazes me at the end is how "Giselle" was being carefully kept everywhere by their caring bailarinas all around the world...all big names: Pavlova, Karsavina, Spessivtseva, Ulanova, Markova, Fonteyn, Alonso, Fracci, Chauvire, Kirkland, Makarova...surrounded by all kinds of political governements and sometimes personal chaos, Giselle never stopped dancing and dying to her sad fate...

[Nanarina]

Margo Fonteyn was exquisite, as already said, she was not an exceptional Technician, but had great depth of feeling, she often lived her roles, even coming off stage in tears. She danced with the music, and at times made you wonder if she was going to finish with the orchestra, but she always finished on the beat, whilst any of us in the wings literally were holding our breath.

When Ruddi came onto the scene, she seemed to re-invent herself, which amazed everyone. shall never forget it. natural affection showed in their dancing, and Giselle in particular was spell binding. I was in the audience for their first performance, I will never forget the experience, like many other people from the time. The memory does not seem to fade. When you consider the fact that Margot was trained by a Russian Ballet Teacher, it is not surprising how the partnership was succesful with Ruddi's Kirov training at the Vaganova Institute. Margot was truly dedicated to her art. She was not difficult in any way, always friendly and appreciative of our efforts. I was very privilliaged to look after M & R's costumes for a couple of private tours. Her Tutu's were made by a person called Marjorie, who was a freelance Costumier, but we had them with all the other Soloist and Ballerina's for save keeping.

Really when you consider the technical abilities of Dancers today, they can almost be classified as Athletes as well as Dancers, with their superior techniques. All the same musicality, expression, Lyrical performance and of course the ability to act the roles are essential. As without them performances lose heart, and just become a series of steps with mime. This is why I like Aurelie Dupont of the POB.