Who is dame margot fonteyn

In , at 36, she married the son of the former president of Panama, and he later became the Panamanian ambassador to London. In he was paralyzed from an attack by a political opponent, and she personally nursed him for 25 years until his death in The couple had continued their separate careers, but always remained connected.

Fonteyn was decorated a Commander of the Order of the British pire in , and five years later, she became Dame of the Order of the British pire, after which she was known as Dame Margot Fonteyn.

She became president of the Royal Academy of Dancing in and was instrumental in persuading well known dancers from all the major companies to appear with the Royal Ballet. She received several awards and honorary doctorates. She wrote her autobiography in , and wrote The Magic of Dance, a book about dance history interspersed with personal experiences in A documentary was made on her Panamanian ranch to celebrate her 70th birthday.

She died of cancer on February 21, , at age 72, two years after her husband. Margot Fonteyn always gave a triumphantemperformance. She gauged exactly the style needed for that work in that place.

In her forties she started to think about retirement, but instead revived her career. She met Rudolf Nureyev, who had just left Russia at age They became a dynamic team. The combination of his spirit and her technique, which was better than it had ever been before, made it joint artistry. Ashton created Marguerite et Armand and modern dance choreographer Martha Graham created Lucifer for them.

For the next 15 years they performed all over the world. In , an anecdote says, they once received a minute ovation and had 43 curtain calls. Her pale face, black hair, luminous eyes, and engaging smile were her trademarks. With her total musicality, her beautiful physique, her soft style of movement, her gentle loving manner, and her exquisite lines, she created a strong connection with audiences all over the world. She especially stood out in lyrical roles. She could dance the most difficult choreography with a disarming ease.

Her presentation of Princess Aurora in The Sleeping Beauty is considered the ultimate interpretation of that role. She had an extraordinarily long career. At age 60 she had her farewell performance in London's Royal Opera House. Her personal life started relatively late. Until age 35 her ballet career was all-consuming. In , at age 36, she married in Paris a man she had met in her youth-Robert E. Arias, "Tito," the son of the former president of Panama. They met international celebrities and diplomats.

He became the Panamanian ambassador in London and was actively involved in the politics of Panama. Peggy and her Mother returned to the UK when she was Her father stayed in Shanghai and was interned by the Japanese for the duration of the war.

Young Peggy was enrolled with the Royal Ballet School just when they were looking for a young British dancer to groom as the new Prima Ballerina. Until then all leading dancers in Britain had been Russian or French. Part of the grooming process was to change her name to Margot Fonteyn. Her most influential coach was Tamara Karsavina in London. Fonteyn also regarded her teacher Olga Preobrajenska, a disciple of George Balanchine. Fontain herself worked with George Balanchine as he staged and choreographed ballet for Sadler's Wells.

She soon showed the natural talents and dedication required of a Prima Ballerina and after many wonderful performances at Sadler's Wells she went with the Royal Ballet on their American tour. Her performance set a new standard for the role. Success followed success and she was soon to become the most famous and most successful ballerina in the world. But one thing eluded her. She then fell for playboy Roberto "Tito" Arias.

He was a Panamanian delegate to the U. Despite his reputation the couple were married at the Panamanian Consulate in Paris in February Whilst Margot continued her successful career, she was made a Dame of the Order of the British Empire in , Tito planned an armed invasion of Panama City to try to win back some of the power he felt was rightfully his.

Margot joined him but the invasion was a total failure. In Margot was thinking of retirement she was 43 from ballet when she met Rudolf Nureyev who had fled from the Soviet Union. Young Rudolf Nureyev revitalized Margot and led to some of her most wonderful performances. In , just when Margot was thinking about divorcing him, Tito was shot five times and from then he was paralyzed from the neck down. Margot flew to his side and from then on was his nurse as well as the wife he had never let her be before.