Margot Fonteyn: Autobiography

by Margot Fonteyn

Libro usado en buenas condiciones, por su antiguedad podria contener señales normales de uso

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction, Autobiography, Memoir

Paperback

First published April 12, 1976

Reviews

[Surreysmum · Rating 3 out of 5]

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 I must admit I began to find them tedious, for she eschews any sort of personal analysis of her husband - nor does she let us very close to her own feelings when major things (like the assassination attempt which left Tito paralyzed) happened. The same with Nureyev, of whom, however, she tells some very funny stories. Despite one's expectation that they'd move in different circles, Fonteyn & Nureyev seem to have hit the town quite often together, and Margot explains somewhat ingenuously that this does not mean in the least that she and Rudi were romantically involved! (In fact, she manages to describe several wild parties without once mentioning Nureyev's homosexuality!) It seems to have been a very interesting life happening to what appears to be - but perhaps wasn't - a very ordinary person. [These notes were made in 1984].

[Erin]

What a lovely person and what an incredibly fascinating life she had.

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

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.

[Terri · Rating 3 out of 5]

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.

[Melinda · Rating 3 out of 5]

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 was shot and paralyzed after they had been married 10 years. So I was interested in reading in her own words the events that had shaped her life.

The book is interesting, and fairly thorough in an analytical way. She loved to dance, focused on that to the exclusion of almost everything else, and got incredible opportunities given to her at exactly the time she was ready for them. These things paired with a balanced and sound physical anatomy made her the perfect ballerina.

The interesting aspect of the story, which is not developed much at all, is the sacrifice of her mother to place Margot where she would succeed. Fonteyn's father was an engineer working in Shanghai. Fonteyn's mother moved to London with Margot to support her ballet study. WWII intervened, and they did not see her father for 10 years! This statement is made very casually, but I was more interested to hear about her mother and father. They seems to be deeper and more giving characters, while Margot rose higher and higher in the ballet world while being a flat character off stage because she was not "acting". She herself admits that her on-stage personalities were much more interesting, because she thought about and developed them. Her off-stage personality seemed very stilted and flat because she developed so little outside of ballet.

Her marriage to "Tito" provides education for her in areas outside of ballet, and from that point in the book she seems to grow and develop as a person. Her support of him after he is shot and paralyzed was also the reason for her continued dance career. I was touched by her faithfulness to him and to his care. I felt it terribly sad that she had never desired to have children.

I would recommend this book to anyone interested in reading how a genius grows and develops into their art (whether ballet, science, music, painting...). But I am sorry that Margot's mother never wrote a book about what it was like to support a genius in the making! I think that would be a deeper and more interesting book!

[Nuning Soedibjo · Rating 5 out of 5]

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 ini menceritakan kisah hidup Fonteyn dari semasa kecil, penggemblengan dirinya oleh sejumlah balerina yang sangat terkenal di masanya, kisah asmaranya dengan diplomat dari Panama, kisah-kisah sejumlah tariannya yang dipentaskan di panggung dunia, juga bagaimana dia bisa terkenal bersama-sama dengan Rudolf Nureyef.

[Sallie · Rating 4 out of 5]

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!

[Meghan · Rating 5 out of 5]

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.

[Morgan Sylvia · Rating 4 out of 5]

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.

[Annie · Rating 4 out of 5]

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.

[Genoveva Uzunova · Rating 5 out of 5]

I truly enjoyed reading this book. I had seen a movie about the life of the great ballerina Margot Fonteyn, but learning about her life in her own words is most important. It seems to me that she is a very expressive and sensitive person, and the book is written in a very engaging style that I loved reading. I was amazed at the details Margot Fonteyn remembers about her life from childhood, about events, people, and places. She describes everything quite vividly.

Margot Fonteyn has been dancing since a little girl, and I enjoyed a lot reading about her ballet learning process, teachers, fellow dancers, choreographers, and the ballets that she danced. Due to her dancing career, and later, her husband, Dr. Roberto Aria, Tito, she has travelled a lot all over the world and met very notable and interesting people. She describes her travels in great detail.
She has danced a lot in the US at the Metropolitan Opera, the Kennedy Center, Chicago, and other places, and met state, political figures, actors, and celebrities.

Margot Fonteyn has been dedicated a lot to her art and describes her working relationships with famous choreographers such as Sir Frederick Ashton and Roland Petit, and fellow dancers Michael Somes, Rudolf Nureyev, and others. I found this quite interesting.
Her dancing during World War II was not easy, and I thought it was wonderful how the dancers kept their spirits up and those of the audience in troubled times.

Fonteyn describes her romance and marriage to Tito Arias, which is very interesting and unusual.

I admire her dedication to ballet and to her colleagues, teachers, friends, and loved ones. I read in a different source that she died in poverty due to ovarian cancer illness and large medical bills, and previously had to care for her husband, who was quadriplegic. I thought it was quite sad when she had brought joy to so many people during her life with her dancing to be left to struggle financially at the end of her life.

[Ewrre__ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nie znałam wcześniej autorki, znalazłam książkę na strychu u babci (xd) i mnie zaciekawiła. Brakowało mi czegoś więcej o II wojnie światowej, choć doceniam wspomnienie Polski i zrozumienie sytuacji ze strony Margot. Oprócz tego, balerina wydawała się być wrażliwą, romantyczną osobą, odrobinę naiwną, ale to dodało szczególnego uroku. Żałuję, że nie znam się na balecie, bo gdybym wiedziała więcej w tym temacie, na pewno odebrałabym książkę inaczej, bo jest w niej wiele (wiele) informacji o pas, fountes, czymkolwiek. To zawsze intrygujące zajrzeć ,,w głąb kogoś" gdy był ciekawą osobą. Przenosiłam się myślami wraz z czasem opisywanym i bawiłam się dobrze.

[Atanea · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting but the self-censorship is a bit too apparent. There is no critical reflection regarding her husband. Nureyev and their not always easy relationship are also very rarely mentioned. It is sort of understandable, autobiographies are what you would like to be remembered. A part that I found very touching was the mentioning of her teachers. As every dancer knows thus relationship is special..to dance us also always to learn.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well-written book about an interesting, colorful life.

[Chris Mitchell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very well researched and written

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Of primary interest to me with this book was the matter of her early training, and secondarily and predictably, her partnership with Nureyev. The latter is touched upon with disappointing brevity. There is far too much of her husband in this book, which other people might find fascinating, but since I dislike him for the obvious reasons, I mostly skimmed through the lovesick and frankly uncomfortable passages in which he's featured, which by and large dominates the second half of the book. The first half, however, about her early career and the war, was excellent.