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Margot Fonteyn: Autobiography
Her book is herself. It is, of course, about dancing. About loving to dance as a small child in Shanghai. About ballet classes and ballet teachers, about practice and rehearsal. About making her debut--as a Snowflake, at fifteen--with the emerging Sadler's Wells Company, under the demanding rule of the brilliant and volatile Ninette de Valois. About her almost magical earl
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Paperback
,
0 pages
Published
February 1st 1977
by Warner Books (NY)
(first published April 12th 1976)
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Fonteyn's style is easy and secure, with a touch of naiveté which is at time beguiling but at times markedly self-conscious. She is candid about her little faults, but at times she relates events which suggest that she's actually a lot scrappier than she believes herself to be. The two most interesting facets of her life come towards the end: her marriage to Panamanian dictator Tito (Roberto) Arias, and her partnership with Nureyev. The scenes with the former often read like a bad spy novel, and
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We are going to see "Swan Lake" next month. To prepare, we are watching DVD's of Margot Fonteyn and Rudolph Nureyev dancing in this ballet, and reading the fairy tales that accompany the ballet. So I got interested in reading more about Margot Fonteyn, the most accomplished ballerina in the 20th century. She danced until she was 58. Her career was given an Indian summer when she began dancing with the newly defected Nureyev who was 20 years her junior. She married the Panamanian Ambassador, who
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Setahun yang lalu, di saat saya sedang liburan di Australia, di kota Melbourne, saya baru saja memasuki toko buku dan naksir berat buku yang mengisahkan Rudolf Nureyef. Ingin sekali membeli buku tersebut yang berharga 27 $AUD, tapi kakak saya bilang, cobalah ke toko buku bekas. Siapa tahu ada yang lebih murah.
Lalu saya melihat buku ini dan saya tahu lebih baik saya membeli Margot Fonteyn, mungkin karena sama-sama wanita dan hati saya lebih tergerak melihat kaum wanita yang terkenal.
Autobiografi ...more
Lalu saya melihat buku ini dan saya tahu lebih baik saya membeli Margot Fonteyn, mungkin karena sama-sama wanita dan hati saya lebih tergerak melihat kaum wanita yang terkenal.
Autobiografi ...more
Margot Fonteyn was one of my heroines when I was a child, when I desperately wanted ballet lessons. This book is her story, from her first dance lessons in London to dancing for presidents. Her style is chatty, and is rather like talking to an exotic and slightly dotty aunt. I enjoyed the book, but I would have liked to know more about the people she spent so much of her life working with - not the gossip, but how they ticked. I got the impression her life was so consumed with ballet there was v
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I felt like I was in the room with Fonteyn and just listening to her talk about her life while reading this book. Fascinating even when I wanted to stop her and ask why she felt as she did as various times of her life. I remember my sister talking of going to see Fonteyn and Nureyev dance in San Francisco and how wonderful the whole evening was. I think I must have been in Europe or living in elsewhere at the time or I would have gone with Linda to the ballet.
What a life she lived!
What a life she lived!
Jan 12, 2007
Elizabeth
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
dance book lovers people who like biographies
She has an incredible story to tell. Part Brazilian, part British, Fonteyn became a prima ballerina, revived her career at 40 with recent USSR defector Rudolph Nureyev as her new partner. He was in his 20s. Then she also married a Panamanian diplomat. When her husband ran for pres. he was shot and became paralyzed, she took care of him financially as a dancer and also opened a cattle farm with him later in life. My mini-synopsis doesn't do the book justice.
sometimes I think autobiographies are harder to read than bios. She tells her story, but not in as flowing way as I would have liked. Esp. the parts about her husband Tito and the Panamanian revolution. But it is the remarkable story of a remarkable ballet great.
I was given a hardback, first American edition of this book by a family friend who, when she was much younger, actually stood in line and met Fonteyn and got her to autograph the book. Not only is the book a gorgeous book, but it is also a very enjoyable read.
I loved this book. However (disclaimer) I find her fascinating as a person. I'm not sure how one rates an autobiography as a book, per se, as it's really a recap of her experiences. Also this may be more enjoyable for those who like ballet, which I do.
Loved this book, Margot Fonteyn has had a very colorful life both on and off the stage. Whilst the story could be disjointed it follows the authors story as she flits from one story to the next as only a true artist can. Definitely a fantastic read.
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