page_title: Margot Fonteyn
section_title: Nureyev years (1961–1979)
hierarchical_section_title: Margot Fonteyn / Career / Nureyev years (1961–1979)
caption_attribution_description: English: Photo of Margot Fonteyn, Fred Astaire and Rudolph Nureyev from a 1965 appearance on the US television show The Hollywood Palace.
context_page_description: Dame Margaret Evelyn de Arias DBE, known by the stage name Margot Fonteyn, was an English ballerina. She spent her entire career as a dancer with the Royal Ballet, eventually being appointed prima ballerina assoluta of the company by Queen Elizabeth II. Beginning ballet lessons at the age of four, she studied in England and China, where her father was transferred for his work. Her training in Shanghai was with George Goncharov, contributing to her continuing interest in Russian ballet. Returning to London at the age of 14, she was invited to join the Vic-Wells Ballet School by Ninette de Valois. She succeeded Alicia Markova as prima ballerina of the company in 1935. The Vic-Wells choreographer, Sir Frederick Ashton, wrote numerous parts for Fonteyn and her partner, Robert Helpmann, with whom she danced from the 1930s to the 1940s.
  In 1946, the company, now renamed the Sadler's Wells Ballet, moved into the Royal Opera House at Covent Garden where Fonteyn's most frequent partner throughout the next decade was Michael Somes.
context_section_description: Fonteyn began her greatest artistic partnership at a time when many people, including the head of the Royal Ballet, Ninette de Valois, thought she was about to retire. In 1961 Rudolf Nureyev, star of the Kirov Ballet, defected in Paris and was invited by de Valois to join the Royal Ballet. She offered Fonteyn the opportunity to dance with him in his debut, and though reluctant because of their 19-year age difference, Fonteyn agreed. On 21 February 1962, Nureyev and Fonteyn performed together in Giselle to an enthusiastic capacity crowd, for which they received 15 minutes of applause and 20 curtain calls. The performance was followed by a show-stopping performance of Le Corsaire Pas de Deux on 3 November. The press described their performance as "otherworldly"; The Observer called it a "knockout" and the pairing "history-making". A few days later, they performed Les Sylphides to rave reviews, which were carried in United States newspapers. Fonteyn was awarded an honorary Doctor of Laws from the University of Cambridge in 1962.
  Sir Frederick Ashton choreographed Marguerite and Armand for them, which no other couple danced until the 21st century. The 1963 premiere was well publicised before its 1963 opening and teamed them with Michael Somes, who played the disapproving father. Composed as a series of pas de deux, interrupted by only one solo, the ballet built intensity from the initial coup de foudre to the death scene. According to Somes, the pairing of Nureyev and Fonteyn was brilliant, as they were not partners but two stars of equal talent who pushed each other to their best performances. Attended by the Queen Mother, Princess Margaret and Princess Marina, the production was an immediate success. It became a signature work for the duo, sealing their partnership.
  In 1964, Fonteyn and Nureyev toured from Sydney to Melbourne, performing in Giselle and Swan Lake with The Australian Ballet. After a brief break, they resumed their performances in Stuttgart. On 8 June that year, while the duo were performing in Bath, they were advised that a rival Panamanian politician had shot Fonteyn's husband Arias, but it was unclear if he was in imminent danger. Fonteyn, though shaken, danced in MacMillan's new pax de deux, Divertimento, on 9 June, before flying home to Panama. She found that Arias had been shot four times by Alfredo Jimenez, leaving him a quadriplegic for the rest of his life. Thoughts of retirement receded, as she needed to continue working to pay Arias' medical bills. Though he was wheelchair-bound, Fonteyn, who was devoted to his well-being, took him with her on most of her travels. Within two weeks, she had returned to London, having arranged for Arias to be treated at the National Spinal Injuries Centre of the Stoke Mandeville Hospital, and resumed dancing. Over the next ten days, Fonteyn danced in six performances of La Bayadère, Giselle, and Marguerite and Armand while rehearsing Nureyev's production of Raymonda. A coma and relapse in Arias' condition forced her to miss all but the final performance of Raymonda in Spoleto.
  Fonteyn and Nureyev were especially noted for their performance of classics, such as The Sleeping Beauty and Swan Lake, which Fonteyn stripped to the essence of the roles and constantly improved her performance. Nureyev insisted that Fonteyn partner with him in La Bayadère and Raymonda, and wrote his own version of Swan Lake for them to perform with the Vienna State Opera Ballet in 1964. The performance was filmed and Lord Snowdon took pictures for the 27 November 1964 issue of Life. On 20 January 1965, Fonteyn and Nureyev performed the Le Corsaire Pas de Deux at the inaugural ceremonies for President Lyndon B. Johnson in Washington, D. C. Later that year, the couple debuted the title roles in Romeo and Juliet choreographed by Sir Kenneth MacMillan. MacMillan had intended the roles would be performed by Lynn Seymour and Christopher Gable, but the David Webster manager of the Royal Opera House insisted on Fonteyn and Nureyev.  A year after the debut, the production was still drawing queues for i
caption: Fonteyn, Fred Astaire and Nureyev on The Hollywood Palace show, 1965
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