what is such a finely dressed lady doing out in the desert? the desert is a seriously rough place. apparently nureyev and fonteyn never went to burning man, or read dune.
what is such a finely dressed lady doing out in the desert? the desert is a seriously rough place. apparently nureyev and fonteyn never went to burning man, or read dune.
Ballet is so much more artistic and powerful on film (rather then video)I hope we have more ballet movies made. Also its kind of nice not having to put up with all the boring bowing etc.
I honestly believe that this is an historical performance. This one will be watch for centuries to come. Two of the finest artists of the 20th century.
This just reduces one to a wreck!! She was just the perfect ballerina of her time and he was just so magnificent a dancer and unashamedly and gloriously sexy !
Don' like the music. Don't think the choreography is that good. But they are such incredible dancers. I know that Fonteyn does not have Guillem's technique ; but she's so graceful. Nureyev, of course, is always incredible.
@vpgspot legs don't have to be high al the time. I trained at the RAD in London, and one of my teachers pointed out that sometimes legs are meant to be at 90° or lower. It's not all about splits, it's about line.
The variation Fonteyn does is different in this video than many of the ones I've seen. In most, it's a faster variation with a lot of turns, but the one she does is the one I learned at a summer intensive. Does anyone know why there are two different ones?
One must remember that Fonteyn was the last of the 'old school' of ballerinas. To watch Fonteyn dances the "Le Corsaire" pas de deux in the exact same manner as it was danced when it was first staged. Fonteyn comes from an entirely different time - before the obsession with being "techincally correct" ruined al else - this is why ballet is dying a slow death.
Sorry, but to compare Zackarova with Dame Margot is like to compare Norman Foster with Michelangelo. Many years will pass and we will always be in Love with the beauty of the Vatican, and many years will pass and we will be in love with Margot dancing, maybe not the best, but really beautiful and touching. She is so poetic!
Are you kidding???!!! Michelangelo wasn't exactly a good example for explaining your point! You're saying that we will always love the David and the Vatican, but people like Andy Warhol have come along and raised the bar in the world of art. I am not comparing Margot to Michelangelo or Svetlana to Andy Warhol - in fact I think it would be the other way around - I'm just reinforcing your point.
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Ofcourse Svetlana is better than Margot...thats because time has changed, and ballet dancers in the 60s were not that great. you leg was only required to be at 90 degrees back then and now is alot more.
Yes. And don't forget Margot was born in 1919, and Zakharova in 1979. Sixty yerss of development of tecnique, fisical preparation, sportiv medicine. This explain much things. But artisticaly, Margot continue in the first team.
It's called the evolution of technique. So while Zakharova ( who seems to be the favorite of the current genre of ballet lovers- no further comment) is technically superior to Fonteyn, Fonteyn is artistically superior to Zahkarova. You also have to know more about Fonteyn's history, and the place she held in English Ballet, and of course the entire dance world. She had that certain something that's hard to put your finger, but whatever it is, she had it.
yeah it was me who wrote that comment that i thought that svetlana was better than margot... sorry! now i realize what a ridiculous comment it was it embarrasses me! but that was when i'd only gotten into ballet so I didn't know much at all. I know, Fonteyn + Nureyev are incomperable. I don't think anybody knows what to call it but it was definitely magic blessed by God. and true inspiration :)
Don't be sorry, I should remember not too judge other people's opinion / understandings. The fact is that it's perfectly understanble to be enchanted with pyrotechnics. Zarhova is an incredible dancer, but it's a let down to see that she's not spent enough time thinking through the emotional aspects of the roles. Your honesty is refreshing - I'll take a lesson from you. What Fonteyn did was invest herself and her mind apart from the dancing. She served her art completely and it showed.
The reason Margot wasn't very amazing at this point was because she was kind of oldish... And Svetlana Zakharova is great but definitely not my favorite dancer.
what's the difference between the ballerinas today?? Nearly all of them are tall, really thin, perfect legs and feet...but...can you feel anything...some are just scratching the line that makes an artist differen from an athlet...
just enjoy it and stop arguing...the really are the best partnership ever...
It is really so sad that you're discussing about great feet and high legs....just look at them....if you really like dancing you'll feel their power...their just awesome
I suggets people who are just looking for arched feet and 180+ degreed legs go and look at some artistic gynastics...
Balley is an art...and an artist is good if he/she has the power to make you feel what they're feeling. and both fonteyn and nureyev could do this....thats why thy're good...they are unique....
4. ...Oh, and the Fouettes are travelled because that is how they were choreographed in this piece. In other words it is intended, and not due to a shortcoming on Fonteyn's part.
igh you do need to see beyond the technical aspects, otherwise I suggest you just go watch the 12 year-old children doing gymnastics at the Olympics...
I speak as a trained (mature) ballet teacher, in case you're wondering.
see i'm not watching just the technical factors, its that other fonteyn x factor that i just haven't seen in recordings ... i have to believe it was real because i've heard so many people describe it, at the theatre and online, but i think maybe the recordings were too late or just didnt really capture it
@sylphida you need to look for the joy she has in dancing. Her personality shines through. Technique is a means to an end, and that only. If we only look at technique then we can just go see circus tricks. Fonteyn and Nureyev enlivened ballet in the West for many years. They were superstars in their time, and not only in the confines of the ballet world.
@margondine well said Margondine. too many people are quick to criticise Fonteyn for her technique, but if you want all legs and no artistry, then just go and watch gymnastics, as you said!
I am a dancer myself, and I'm sick of these things about Fonteyn being said...she was and always will be the greatest in my eyes.
3. ...However one must also recall that there is no law that says legs must be higher than 90°. Sometimes less is more. Her lines are perfect, and it doesn't matter that she stays at 90°, or her penchée is not at 6.30. This is not Olympic Gymnastics here, it's ballet, and that means you can vary the extensions and still show perfect line.
2. From a purely technical point of view (seen from today's standards) Fonteyn is not perfect. As someone else stated, she wore very soft pointe shoes, and a lot of young dancers today would be hard pushed to manage their pyrotechnics in similar shoes. Her turnout is not spectacular. Her arabesques are lower than we are used to seeing these days.
1. I'm a bit dismayed at some of the comments here.
That this partnership was one of, if not THE, most important partnership in classical ballet is, I think, indisputable. This pas de deux in particular sums up the wonderful contrast in their styles and personalities, which complement each other in a way that few other partnerships have achieved.
Thanks for all your coments. I could't have better expess my feelings. Pleople these days confund ballet with Circus, and No it is not the same, ballet is art!!
never mind that she was nearly 20 years older than nureyev when they first partnered, she was at the standard retirement age of 42 for dancers. he re-enlivened her for another nearly 2 decades as the star partnership of the 20th century. they would get 20-25 callbacks for bows to the audience. they alone popularized dance leading up to my generation, growing up in the 70's, when barizhnikov's defection and athletic romanticism caused him to be the poster boy in every young girl's room
wow this is ridiculous!!!! this video is gorgeous and no dancer has every had the grace or stage presence of Fonteyn and if u dont understand this im very sorry for u...
dancing is an art not a freak show. good feet and extensions are great but nothing without the ability to communicate with the audience which Fonteyn could do like no other ballerina
i agree with your premise, but i don't really feel that when i watch fonteyn, still i am open to the possibility that this is because i have only seen tapes and that her live performances were something different ... tapes rarely capture the same feeling of being in the audience, but i can't speak on this with regards to fonteyn because i'm 23 ;)
Also keep in mind that Fonteyn wore insanely soft pointe shoes by today's standards. Her Freeds had a Phillips insole only, which most modern ballet dancers would be hard put to stand on! This also explains why her legs are kept so low and why her feet don't look as articulated.
Let us remember that Fonteyn was perhaps the last of the old gaurd of Ballerinas. She is from a time when Ballerinas were not the greyhound look alikes we see taking over the world of dance today. If one ever sees footage of Ballerinas b4 the 60s, most of them looked like this. There was a time when a Ballerina was an entirely different animal. Fonteyn's prinipal teachers were Kschessinaka & Preobrajenska. look at photos of these Ballerinas.
I saw Fonteyn in her youth and prime, and she was magnificent and moving. All dancers lose something in middle years, and fouettes are just a circus trick; I rather like Fonteyn's 'touring' ones. Try and see beyond the surface and the obvious. Technically perfect dancers don't always have soul. And if Pravilad had seen Fonteyn's post-war Aurora, he would have seen magnificence.
I watched ballet for very many years and without doubt Fonteyn was the greatest ballerina I've ever seen. Not an acrobat, a ballerina. There's a difference. Perhaps it doesn't really come across on film.
somebody should do Maggy a favor and destroy these clips... let the story and the legend of Assoluta go on...clips are sooo dissapointing to watch SO DISSAPOINTING
Margot Fonteyn is amazing. She is incredibly musical - you can watch it on mute and still feel the music. And she is not over the top like some of the russians, every movement is perfectly sincere.
Prima ballerina assoluta Margot Fonteyn was not an acrobat.Her performances were judged as a whole,not in individual steps.Her strength was her perfect upper body placement.Her attitude derriere was textbook.Not the demi arabesques favored by soviets.A magical presence onstage and off. VIVA MARGOT!
Watching this ideo makes her look rather pathetic in particular when one compares her with her Russian counterparts of today; she can't even put her legs all the way up. Anyone in a corps de ballet could do a better fouetee. He is still amazing despite the slow tempo and lack of brilliancy of this orchestra.
i dont really think its that she can't put her leg "all the way up" that was the style, some purists are still not gung ho about 180 degree extensions, and it certainly isnt something you'll see in fonteyns dancing
1. I do not dispute that many artists may 'exude their love of dance'. Fonteyn may have been one of them as was Alicia Alonso who danced well past her prime. This does not conflict with their shortfalls which were many in particular in their technical aspects. Some sopranoss are excellent when they sing and crap when they try to act and viceversa.
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2. Whilst Fonteyn may have became a myth and danced into her well 'past-her prime' 'exuding emotion' to the dismay and exasperation of her much younger and certainly more tecnichally gifted Royal Ballet colleagues, it is a fact that this did happen more as a result of the 'romatic'perception of ofloving audiences who overlooked her shortcomings than anything else.
3. Fonteyn was completely out of the league of even her own contemporaries (who may not have done 180 degree extensions either)such as Makharova but still more gifted and techically more secure. I do strongly disagree with the assertion that Russian dancers don't have emotions, well...sorry to say... but then you have never seen Maximova, Bezmertnova, Sementeseva, Assylmuratova, Makhalina or the technically absolute best of all today, Svetlana Zakharova.
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4. I insist on Fonteyn's pathetic 32-turn fouetee (of which she barely negotiated 11!!!) and that only because she did it across the stage from right to left (instead of turning around at the same point) to disguise her lack of confidence and vulnerability. Look at Zakharova's fouetee, if you mark the point of spin with a chalk you will not see it again until she has moved to another point at the end of the pas. Absolute brilliancy!
Zakaharova, I find has a very limited range of facial expressions, I do find something lacking in her dancing compared to the others you listed (and the three I mentioned). There are some who take issue with her technique for valid reasons. 180+ extensions and some of the things she does with placement and her back are a no-no for purists
The list of Russians can go on forever I totally agree with you, also with the fact that Zakharova's facial expressions may not be the best but hey! Callas stage presence was electrifying yet her singing wasn't the best, it's individualism rather than perfection what makes divas exactly that. As with regards to purists I'm not one of them, all forms of art have to evolve one way or another.
rite on Ms 37 we agree totally none around nowadays to rival the matchless performances of great Fonteyn however we still love & appreciate the Bolshoi ballet super stars around nowadays Best wishes Ms 37 for your viewing enjoyment dear
It's same complaint with Somova (see the discussion under the Rose Adagio of Somova's I have posted). It's not something I mind personally, but when we say "technically absolute best" it would be beneficial to bear in mind that even for technique there is no absolute best, people who are equally knowledgeable about ballet place emphasis on different aspects of technique, like most things in life this too is a value judgment.
The only thing here that's a myth is the copy and paste job you put here. It's one thing to speak your own opinion ( which in your case seems to be weak ), but worse, to borrow someone else's. If the only thing you can see in Fonteyn's dancing are her "barely negotiated" fouette, then you are indeed the pathetic one here, not Fonteyn.
I don't do any cut and paste job. My opinions are just mine, if you don't like them that's fine. From there to tell me I am pathetic because I have an opinion of my own (however weak you may find it) says more about you and your education than me. It's funny how some people who supposedly have artistic interests so quickly overlook good manners.
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I know the ins and outs of the Royal Ballet and how people felt about MF, how difficult it was for her to let go of her position with the RB, how difficult it was to get rid of her, and how difficult it was for much better ballerinas to have to wait until she finally decided to go. There's much more to her mediocrity than the lack of extensions or the barely negotiated fouetees.
Entirely right. Fonteyn was a mystified prude english dancer with poor technique all her life and thanks to Nureyev who ruffled her faded feathers she enjoyed a longer career...I remember these Corsairs in London and she was pathetic just as she never was a great Swan neither white nor black. We just put up with her to see Nureyev.
Um... Sorry? Why am I a "shallow asshole"? It would help if you said what comment it was too, then maybe I could defend myself or let you win or whatever?
i am sorry, it wasn't random but i thought ud replied to a different comment ! and yes you're right, i just read some very retarded comments at the back of this list of comments.. sorry again :]
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why can't i stop staring at nureyev's ass?
deathzone12 1 day ago
why can't i stop staring at nureyev's ass?
deathzone12 1 day ago
no one can leap like Nureyev..
toddgaines 5 months ago
what is such a finely dressed lady doing out in the desert? the desert is a seriously rough place. apparently nureyev and fonteyn never went to burning man, or read dune.
tedrickart 5 months ago
what is such a finely dressed lady doing out in the desert? the desert is a seriously rough place. apparently nureyev and fonteyn never went to burning man, or read dune.
tedrickart 5 months ago
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Lovely performances - they were made for each other on stage.
bervy8 7 months ago
can you say perfect? cause thats what it was!
17emmarose 7 months ago
why this music was used for fonteyn's medora variation ? (:
jessDance00 1 year ago
Ballet is so much more artistic and powerful on film (rather then video)I hope we have more ballet movies made. Also its kind of nice not having to put up with all the boring bowing etc.
USABEAT 1 year ago
Ballet is so much more artistic and powerful on film (rather then video)I hope we have more ballet movies made.
USABEAT 1 year ago
I think she felt so secure with Rudi,that she attempted things that might never have with any other dancer(at any age).
She once said"I take my art seriously,but never myself" and having met both of them,I can assure you she did not(Rudi was another matter!)
MrSwifts31 1 year ago
Nureyev is so so so amazing....!
miniroweuse 1 year ago
The respect or reverence Margot was given by Nureyev is plain to see, and she deserves it. Their performance still outshines the others.
redunn 1 year ago
It is the greatest version.
Leonnidik 1 year ago
I honestly believe that this is an historical performance. This one will be watch for centuries to come. Two of the finest artists of the 20th century.
Wotan123456789 1 year ago 3
They were a great team, mainly BECAUSE of the fact that Margot was so happy & smiley, & Rudolph was so serious all the time....
Balletdancer980 1 year ago 3
This is a disgrace. I'M KIDDING! Actually, the music blended well with the dancers every move. I'm impressed with both of them.
cobalt100 1 year ago
Aren't they purely beautifull ! The kind of vison that can heal any dadness !
solwrappednpaperlips 1 year ago 3
Ahhh, what a breath of fresh air! Artistry takes the primary seat (a real woman's body and no" hyper arched" feet as well!).
VitricArt 2 years ago
Wow! A great definition of what is Dancing about...
Mesmerizing in spite of the recording and the sound ( Which are better and more complete than the other copies around)
Thanks Sylphida !!!
Zegismondo 2 years ago
This is supreme perfection.
Jan1990Jan1 2 years ago 6
Bliss
jonnythewhitefoot 2 years ago 2
This just reduces one to a wreck!! She was just the perfect ballerina of her time and he was just so magnificent a dancer and unashamedly and gloriously sexy !
talmadge1926 2 years ago 7
How can you evaluate something like this, it's perfection in every sense.
Breathtaking.
chichitoo100 2 years ago 16
Don' like the music. Don't think the choreography is that good. But they are such incredible dancers. I know that Fonteyn does not have Guillem's technique ; but she's so graceful. Nureyev, of course, is always incredible.
elsiebeckmann 2 years ago
choreography of male solo by vaktang chabukiani,for himelf at his time,respect please
pediatrapaola 2 years ago 2
elsiebeckman. I think you will be able to appreciate this more when you become an adult. It's not 'Britain's Got Talent' my dear.
jonnythewhitefoot 2 years ago 3
Even at home in private, I applauded this dance. Have seen it before, and it retains its majesty and beauty.
betvet2001 2 years ago 6
So true! I love your comment. This is so beautiful it deserves applause whenever one happens upon it.
MonaAllegra 2 years ago
Were is video of Makarova and Nureyev?
Genrietta 2 years ago 5
Hola Genrietta.
She is not Makarova. She's Margot Fonteyn.
0Montse 2 years ago
wat id love is to c fonteyn's legs get higher... man it would look awesome!!!! this video is stupendous!!!! the dancers are stupendous!!!!!!
vpgspot 2 years ago 4
@vpgspot legs don't have to be high al the time. I trained at the RAD in London, and one of my teachers pointed out that sometimes legs are meant to be at 90° or lower. It's not all about splits, it's about line.
margondine 1 year ago
Fonteyn and Nureiev, the more I see then, the more I love then.
Mariosergio61 2 years ago 7
quien es el mas mejor nurelleb o varichnicob?
mimata17 2 years ago
Considerando k Nureyev era Rudolf Y Baryshnikov teknikov.... Pues tu decide kien era mejor...
raulishnikov 2 years ago 2
Pra mim a variação que ela faz nesse video é de Paquita... :S
Nureyev é Fantasticoo!
Freitaslud 2 years ago
3:13&6:03 Nureyev!!!
hangamejairo51 2 years ago 5
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hangamejairo51 2 years ago
probably my favorite pas de deux.
luv2laughhaha 3 years ago 2
my god they're perfect
Vegan007 3 years ago 3
amazing how he sustains himself for so long and effortlessly in the coda. BRAVO! but 6:21 wtf is up with his arms?!?!
SoulMan381 3 years ago 2
haha yah...idk why he is doing with his arms there????
ABTBluebird 2 years ago
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SoulMan381 3 years ago
Meister der Kunst!!!
Phoenixluna90 3 years ago
The variation Fonteyn does is different in this video than many of the ones I've seen. In most, it's a faster variation with a lot of turns, but the one she does is the one I learned at a summer intensive. Does anyone know why there are two different ones?
Emilia901 3 years ago
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mrlopez, I agree in every way, acrobatics are killing ballet... LETS GO BACK TO THE OLD TIMES!
odile77 3 years ago
Bravo!!
Andante735 3 years ago
One must remember that Fonteyn was the last of the 'old school' of ballerinas. To watch Fonteyn dances the "Le Corsaire" pas de deux in the exact same manner as it was danced when it was first staged. Fonteyn comes from an entirely different time - before the obsession with being "techincally correct" ruined al else - this is why ballet is dying a slow death.
mrlopez2681 3 years ago
gaier
hausthc 3 years ago
me encantaaaaaa,,,!!!!
888ballet888 3 years ago 2
fantastico!
stefanodanza 3 years ago 2
Sorry, but to compare Zackarova with Dame Margot is like to compare Norman Foster with Michelangelo. Many years will pass and we will always be in Love with the beauty of the Vatican, and many years will pass and we will be in love with Margot dancing, maybe not the best, but really beautiful and touching. She is so poetic!
merluzasfritas 3 years ago 9
Very right.
Mariosergio61 3 years ago
Are you kidding???!!! Michelangelo wasn't exactly a good example for explaining your point! You're saying that we will always love the David and the Vatican, but people like Andy Warhol have come along and raised the bar in the world of art. I am not comparing Margot to Michelangelo or Svetlana to Andy Warhol - in fact I think it would be the other way around - I'm just reinforcing your point.
kissobsessed 3 years ago
WHAT CAN I SAY?????!!!!!!
merluzasfritas 3 years ago
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not that fonteyn isn't amazing but Zakharova is better than her.
hoffgranny 3 years ago
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Ofcourse Svetlana is better than Margot...thats because time has changed, and ballet dancers in the 60s were not that great. you leg was only required to be at 90 degrees back then and now is alot more.
Loveisme09 3 years ago
Yes. And don't forget Margot was born in 1919, and Zakharova in 1979. Sixty yerss of development of tecnique, fisical preparation, sportiv medicine. This explain much things. But artisticaly, Margot continue in the first team.
And hers partner is out of question.
Mariosergio61 3 years ago 11
It's called the evolution of technique. So while Zakharova ( who seems to be the favorite of the current genre of ballet lovers- no further comment) is technically superior to Fonteyn, Fonteyn is artistically superior to Zahkarova. You also have to know more about Fonteyn's history, and the place she held in English Ballet, and of course the entire dance world. She had that certain something that's hard to put your finger, but whatever it is, she had it.
Andante735 3 years ago 8
I completey agree with you.I think with Dame Margot ballet became poetry.
merluzasfritas 3 years ago 6
yeah it was me who wrote that comment that i thought that svetlana was better than margot... sorry! now i realize what a ridiculous comment it was it embarrasses me! but that was when i'd only gotten into ballet so I didn't know much at all. I know, Fonteyn + Nureyev are incomperable. I don't think anybody knows what to call it but it was definitely magic blessed by God. and true inspiration :)
nastasya696 3 years ago
Don't be sorry, I should remember not too judge other people's opinion / understandings. The fact is that it's perfectly understanble to be enchanted with pyrotechnics. Zarhova is an incredible dancer, but it's a let down to see that she's not spent enough time thinking through the emotional aspects of the roles. Your honesty is refreshing - I'll take a lesson from you. What Fonteyn did was invest herself and her mind apart from the dancing. She served her art completely and it showed.
Andante735 3 years ago 2
The reason Margot wasn't very amazing at this point was because she was kind of oldish... And Svetlana Zakharova is great but definitely not my favorite dancer.
kissobsessed 3 years ago
Thanks, Sylphida, for such a marvelous video. Nureyev and Fonteyn are perfect in this cene. A great moment in human art.
Mariosergio61 3 years ago 3
I agree with all of you. Watching this level of artistry makes my eyes water. This is why I dance. I never want to became a gymnast.
lovelydancer1 4 years ago 3
im speechless...it is just wonderfull
blaslo 4 years ago 3
what's the difference between the ballerinas today?? Nearly all of them are tall, really thin, perfect legs and feet...but...can you feel anything...some are just scratching the line that makes an artist differen from an athlet...
just enjoy it and stop arguing...the really are the best partnership ever...
just breathtaking...
lmi88 4 years ago 6
It is really so sad that you're discussing about great feet and high legs....just look at them....if you really like dancing you'll feel their power...their just awesome
I suggets people who are just looking for arched feet and 180+ degreed legs go and look at some artistic gynastics...
Balley is an art...and an artist is good if he/she has the power to make you feel what they're feeling. and both fonteyn and nureyev could do this....thats why thy're good...they are unique....
lmi88 4 years ago 6
Please enjoy without measuring or comparing.
Let yours senses take as much as they can.
Carpe Diem !
eutuve 4 years ago 6
Corsaire by Adam it's gorgious.
07Karenina 4 years ago 2
corsaire has 11 composers credited, though the original score was adam's, this part is by drigo if i remember correctly.
sylphida 4 years ago
4. ...Oh, and the Fouettes are travelled because that is how they were choreographed in this piece. In other words it is intended, and not due to a shortcoming on Fonteyn's part.
igh you do need to see beyond the technical aspects, otherwise I suggest you just go watch the 12 year-old children doing gymnastics at the Olympics...
I speak as a trained (mature) ballet teacher, in case you're wondering.
margondine 4 years ago 7
see i'm not watching just the technical factors, its that other fonteyn x factor that i just haven't seen in recordings ... i have to believe it was real because i've heard so many people describe it, at the theatre and online, but i think maybe the recordings were too late or just didnt really capture it
sylphida 4 years ago
@sylphida you need to look for the joy she has in dancing. Her personality shines through. Technique is a means to an end, and that only. If we only look at technique then we can just go see circus tricks. Fonteyn and Nureyev enlivened ballet in the West for many years. They were superstars in their time, and not only in the confines of the ballet world.
margondine 1 year ago
@margondine well said Margondine. too many people are quick to criticise Fonteyn for her technique, but if you want all legs and no artistry, then just go and watch gymnastics, as you said!
I am a dancer myself, and I'm sick of these things about Fonteyn being said...she was and always will be the greatest in my eyes.
eleanorrosemattley 1 year ago 3
3. ...However one must also recall that there is no law that says legs must be higher than 90°. Sometimes less is more. Her lines are perfect, and it doesn't matter that she stays at 90°, or her penchée is not at 6.30. This is not Olympic Gymnastics here, it's ballet, and that means you can vary the extensions and still show perfect line.
margondine 4 years ago 7
2. From a purely technical point of view (seen from today's standards) Fonteyn is not perfect. As someone else stated, she wore very soft pointe shoes, and a lot of young dancers today would be hard pushed to manage their pyrotechnics in similar shoes. Her turnout is not spectacular. Her arabesques are lower than we are used to seeing these days.
margondine 4 years ago 2
1. I'm a bit dismayed at some of the comments here.
That this partnership was one of, if not THE, most important partnership in classical ballet is, I think, indisputable. This pas de deux in particular sums up the wonderful contrast in their styles and personalities, which complement each other in a way that few other partnerships have achieved.
margondine 4 years ago 6
Thanks for all your coments. I could't have better expess my feelings. Pleople these days confund ballet with Circus, and No it is not the same, ballet is art!!
merluzasfritas 4 years ago 4
I held the dame in my very own hands....super the good old times - prof.christiaan Danhoff arad. "laird of glencairn"
ptfauen 4 years ago 3
never mind that she was nearly 20 years older than nureyev when they first partnered, she was at the standard retirement age of 42 for dancers. he re-enlivened her for another nearly 2 decades as the star partnership of the 20th century. they would get 20-25 callbacks for bows to the audience. they alone popularized dance leading up to my generation, growing up in the 70's, when barizhnikov's defection and athletic romanticism caused him to be the poster boy in every young girl's room
cchoney 4 years ago 3
he can still be a poster boy in mine ... ok, digression.
sylphida 4 years ago
wow this is ridiculous!!!! this video is gorgeous and no dancer has every had the grace or stage presence of Fonteyn and if u dont understand this im very sorry for u...
dancing is an art not a freak show. good feet and extensions are great but nothing without the ability to communicate with the audience which Fonteyn could do like no other ballerina
calbalgal 4 years ago 19
i agree with your premise, but i don't really feel that when i watch fonteyn, still i am open to the possibility that this is because i have only seen tapes and that her live performances were something different ... tapes rarely capture the same feeling of being in the audience, but i can't speak on this with regards to fonteyn because i'm 23 ;)
sylphida 4 years ago
Also keep in mind that Fonteyn wore insanely soft pointe shoes by today's standards. Her Freeds had a Phillips insole only, which most modern ballet dancers would be hard put to stand on! This also explains why her legs are kept so low and why her feet don't look as articulated.
Biologicalgoth 4 years ago 7
I love this variation and I love this version. Fouettes are over rated anyway!
sorayabunny 4 years ago 3
Let us remember that Fonteyn was perhaps the last of the old gaurd of Ballerinas. She is from a time when Ballerinas were not the greyhound look alikes we see taking over the world of dance today. If one ever sees footage of Ballerinas b4 the 60s, most of them looked like this. There was a time when a Ballerina was an entirely different animal. Fonteyn's prinipal teachers were Kschessinaka & Preobrajenska. look at photos of these Ballerinas.
mrlopez2681 4 years ago 5
I saw Fonteyn in her youth and prime, and she was magnificent and moving. All dancers lose something in middle years, and fouettes are just a circus trick; I rather like Fonteyn's 'touring' ones. Try and see beyond the surface and the obvious. Technically perfect dancers don't always have soul. And if Pravilad had seen Fonteyn's post-war Aurora, he would have seen magnificence.
judyanddavid 4 years ago 4
the only ballerian who had soul and technique was alicia alonso fonteyn had soul and she was the last ballerina of the old school training
mdancer01 4 years ago 2
I watched ballet for very many years and without doubt Fonteyn was the greatest ballerina I've ever seen. Not an acrobat, a ballerina. There's a difference. Perhaps it doesn't really come across on film.
Dulciethecat 4 years ago 3
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somebody should do Maggy a favor and destroy these clips... let the story and the legend of Assoluta go on...clips are sooo dissapointing to watch SO DISSAPOINTING
strahonja 4 years ago
Margot Fonteyn is amazing. She is incredibly musical - you can watch it on mute and still feel the music. And she is not over the top like some of the russians, every movement is perfectly sincere.
ACXH 4 years ago 3
Prima ballerina assoluta Margot Fonteyn was not an acrobat.Her performances were judged as a whole,not in individual steps.Her strength was her perfect upper body placement.Her attitude derriere was textbook.Not the demi arabesques favored by soviets.A magical presence onstage and off. VIVA MARGOT!
qbendanny1 4 years ago 6
Watching this ideo makes her look rather pathetic in particular when one compares her with her Russian counterparts of today; she can't even put her legs all the way up. Anyone in a corps de ballet could do a better fouetee. He is still amazing despite the slow tempo and lack of brilliancy of this orchestra.
jgh37 4 years ago
i dont really think its that she can't put her leg "all the way up" that was the style, some purists are still not gung ho about 180 degree extensions, and it certainly isnt something you'll see in fonteyns dancing
sylphida 4 years ago
plus... the "russian counterparts of today" dont have any emotions or feeling. when she danced, you could see here exude her love of dance.
milodude116 4 years ago
this, i completely disagree with (about the russians having no emotion or feeling)
sylphida 4 years ago
1. I do not dispute that many artists may 'exude their love of dance'. Fonteyn may have been one of them as was Alicia Alonso who danced well past her prime. This does not conflict with their shortfalls which were many in particular in their technical aspects. Some sopranoss are excellent when they sing and crap when they try to act and viceversa.
jgh37 4 years ago
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2. Whilst Fonteyn may have became a myth and danced into her well 'past-her prime' 'exuding emotion' to the dismay and exasperation of her much younger and certainly more tecnichally gifted Royal Ballet colleagues, it is a fact that this did happen more as a result of the 'romatic'perception of ofloving audiences who overlooked her shortcomings than anything else.
jgh37 4 years ago
3. Fonteyn was completely out of the league of even her own contemporaries (who may not have done 180 degree extensions either)such as Makharova but still more gifted and techically more secure. I do strongly disagree with the assertion that Russian dancers don't have emotions, well...sorry to say... but then you have never seen Maximova, Bezmertnova, Sementeseva, Assylmuratova, Makhalina or the technically absolute best of all today, Svetlana Zakharova.
jgh37 4 years ago
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4. I insist on Fonteyn's pathetic 32-turn fouetee (of which she barely negotiated 11!!!) and that only because she did it across the stage from right to left (instead of turning around at the same point) to disguise her lack of confidence and vulnerability. Look at Zakharova's fouetee, if you mark the point of spin with a chalk you will not see it again until she has moved to another point at the end of the pas. Absolute brilliancy!
jgh37 4 years ago
you are right
hnbballerina 4 years ago
And Vishneva and Lopatkina and Plisetkaya.
Zakaharova, I find has a very limited range of facial expressions, I do find something lacking in her dancing compared to the others you listed (and the three I mentioned). There are some who take issue with her technique for valid reasons. 180+ extensions and some of the things she does with placement and her back are a no-no for purists
sylphida 4 years ago
The list of Russians can go on forever I totally agree with you, also with the fact that Zakharova's facial expressions may not be the best but hey! Callas stage presence was electrifying yet her singing wasn't the best, it's individualism rather than perfection what makes divas exactly that. As with regards to purists I'm not one of them, all forms of art have to evolve one way or another.
jgh37 4 years ago
rite on Ms 37 we agree totally none around nowadays to rival the matchless performances of great Fonteyn however we still love & appreciate the Bolshoi ballet super stars around nowadays Best wishes Ms 37 for your viewing enjoyment dear
troubadour8 4 years ago 2
It's same complaint with Somova (see the discussion under the Rose Adagio of Somova's I have posted). It's not something I mind personally, but when we say "technically absolute best" it would be beneficial to bear in mind that even for technique there is no absolute best, people who are equally knowledgeable about ballet place emphasis on different aspects of technique, like most things in life this too is a value judgment.
sylphida 4 years ago
ole Ms37 we agree you rite hit nail on head
Fonteyn far superior to Svetlana Zakharova in all areas Thanks for your illuminating comment of them both
sweatysarita 4 years ago
The only thing here that's a myth is the copy and paste job you put here. It's one thing to speak your own opinion ( which in your case seems to be weak ), but worse, to borrow someone else's. If the only thing you can see in Fonteyn's dancing are her "barely negotiated" fouette, then you are indeed the pathetic one here, not Fonteyn.
Andante735 4 years ago 3
I don't do any cut and paste job. My opinions are just mine, if you don't like them that's fine. From there to tell me I am pathetic because I have an opinion of my own (however weak you may find it) says more about you and your education than me. It's funny how some people who supposedly have artistic interests so quickly overlook good manners.
jgh37 4 years ago
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I know the ins and outs of the Royal Ballet and how people felt about MF, how difficult it was for her to let go of her position with the RB, how difficult it was to get rid of her, and how difficult it was for much better ballerinas to have to wait until she finally decided to go. There's much more to her mediocrity than the lack of extensions or the barely negotiated fouetees.
jgh37 4 years ago
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LoveBallet2007 3 years ago
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Entirely right. Fonteyn was a mystified prude english dancer with poor technique all her life and thanks to Nureyev who ruffled her faded feathers she enjoyed a longer career...I remember these Corsairs in London and she was pathetic just as she never was a great Swan neither white nor black. We just put up with her to see Nureyev.
Pravilad 4 years ago
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LoveBallet2007 3 years ago
sorry darling you've made a 'faux pas': you replied to the wrong person.
jgh37 3 years ago
learning about dance history is essential to being a great dancer...to know about the successful artists themselves helps you become a better dancer
CaptainJenna7 3 years ago 6
seriously loveballet2007 you must be a retard. you don't love ballet you're just a shallow asshole aren't u
nastasya696 3 years ago
Um... Sorry? Why am I a "shallow asshole"? It would help if you said what comment it was too, then maybe I could defend myself or let you win or whatever?
LoveBallet2007 3 years ago
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LoveBallet2007 3 years ago
i am sorry, it wasn't random but i thought ud replied to a different comment ! and yes you're right, i just read some very retarded comments at the back of this list of comments.. sorry again :]
nastasya696 3 years ago
It's okay, I think I'm gonna delete the comment I posted before, because it's just clogging up the page now. Anyways, I ♥ Fonteyn and Nureyev!
LoveBallet2007 3 years ago
well done
mdancer01 4 years ago