"A pair of star-crossed lovers"

 

 
There has been little time to write anything, let alone produce a half-way reasonable post over the past week. Just the odd Tweet . . .  

While this is not an excuse (2009 was supposed to be the Year of Dance on 60 Going On 16, after all), last week was something of a ballet-fest on the box for dance lovers, starting with BBC4's Margot, based on part of Meredith Daneman's superb biography. If you're still wondering, all these years later about the nature of the relationship between Fonteyn and Nureyev, this might fill in the gaps. On balance, I'd go with the biography - for the life in full and to put this brief period in Fonteyn's life and career into context.

BBC4 also screened the 1963 film of Marguerite and Armand, choreographed for Fonteyn and Nureyev by Sir Frederick Ashton. On Friday the same channel had a rerun of its 2007 programme, Nureyev: from Russia with Love, about the dancer's early years in the then Soviet Union, as well as  Kenneth McMillan's Romeo and Juliet, filmed not entirely successfully in 1966 by Paul Czinner. Ballet and film have an uneasy relationship . . . 

But, imperfect as the film was and remains, it still captured something of the essence of the Fonteyn-Nureyev partnership and the magic that they created when they danced together. Anyone who was fortunate enough to see them on stage, knew that they were watching something truly remarkable and that they would probably never see anything quite like it again. Nureyev was, well, Nureyev, and Fonteyn, while lacking the athleticism that is now the norm for so many ballet dancers, had a lyricism and musicality to her dancing that was unsurpassed. 

It wasn't simply their dancing that marked them out. As theatre director Peter Brook observed, they were: "Extraordinary actors who lend depth to every movement, which suddenly makes the most artificial of all forms become natural and human."

So ignore the poor quality, the frustrating camera angles and the judders and jumps: here's the balcony scene. It's the moment when he clutches at the hem of her dress that always gets me.

Comments

[Jay]

It's such a long time since I saw Nureyev and Fonteyn perform that I'd forgotten what it was like to watch them. They did have something rather special, didn't they? And I'm not really a ballet afficionado. Thanks for that!

[colleen]

My goodness, that made me feel old...

[Barbara]

There's real celebrity for you. I enjoyed the TV Margot and thought it the best of the three plays about women; Nureyev was very believable. I did see Fonteyn dance when I was much too young to appreciate her. When I was old enough to choose my own outings, I spent my money on theatre rather than ballet. If we only knew at the time!

[Kate]

Exquisite. Thank you for that.

[60 Going On 16]

Jay: yes, Fonteyn and Nureyev's appeal stretched way beyond die-hard ballet lovers.

Colleen: but no too old I hope. (Colleen is posting another of her brilliant Advent calendars this month, over at her blog http://www.rusinurbis.com/ Do take a look.)

Barbara: totally agree about celebrity and, by contrast with 21st century celebs, their private lives remained largely private - in Fonteyn's case until after her death.

Kate: glad you enjoyed it. Loved those reindeers at Dancing Beastie, by the way. (Christmas creatures over at Kate's blog http://dancingbeastie.wordpress.com/2009/11/24/prehistoric-encounters-on-cairn-gorm/ )

[Fiona Staats]

My God, how beautiful they both were. Truly, creatures from another planet. We were blessed to have the chance to see such perfection. And the chemistry....lets not forget as women, the difference in their ages!