"Margot Assoluta" by Keith Money

[dirac]

I recently acquired a copy of Keith Money’s “Margot Assoluta.” Very good reading as Money always is, especially on his friend and favorite subject, but the chief attraction here is the many color photographs – in his previous books all were reproduced in black-and-white. Lovely book.

There are also a number of photographs of Fonteyn as a child, previously unseen by me, which were provided to Money by Fonteyn’s father. There are nice color shots of Fonteyn in Cranko’s Poème de l'Extase, which featured Fonteyn supported by the young bloods of the Stuttgart – Cragun, Madsen, Berg, Stripling, and Clauss. Looks like fun. 

I didn't realize that Fonteyn had been hoping to film the revival of "Daphnis and Chloe" with her and Christopher Gable, but it never happened. A pity. They look great together.

[Drew]

I am on a bit of a moratorium for new (or old) ballet books, but this sounds wonderful...

[dirac]

I'm getting back into the game, so to speak. For a long time there just weren't that many books out there that were tempting. 

A quote from the book, from an old Fonteyn interview:

Quote

,,,,the audience does something a rehearsal can never do. It compels continuity and, of course, the extra concentration one needs...This is why there are things which never build up a role until an audience is present. A ballet, in fact, cannot live without an audience.

 

[Drew]

What a fabulous quote...it's funny to me too because, as a layperson, when I watch rehearsals, one of the things that most strikes me, is how much they stop & start!