I’m on holiday and apart from
keeping up with some of my favourite Twitter feeds and ballet blogs, not much
going on here in the world of dance.
However, my old favourite BBC Radio 4 provided some dance again. Margot Fonteyn was profiled as one of
their “The New Elizabethans” series,
which profiles 60 public figures nominated to mark the Queen’s Diamond
Jubilee. The programme, narrated by
James Naughtie, mixed commentary and recordings of her speaking in a brief
history.
It was a fun 15 minutes, and
reminded me of my mother and the time she sat down next to Margot Fonteyn and
insisted that, and here I have to admit, I am not sure what she said, that the
Vic-Wells or Sadler’s Wells Ballet had danced “Polovtsian Dances” during the 1930s when my mother was living in
London. Dame Margot said my mother was
wrong (she was right, my mother was wrong), the Royal Ballet first dancing this
in the 1960s. I have wondered since who
my mother saw, and need to do a bit of research. If any one can supply an answer it would be
most welcome!
You may be wondering how my
mother came to be sitting next to Dame Margot.
Well, in 1975 Peter Darrell
choreographed “The Scarlet Pastorale” for Margot Fonteyn, and as we (my mother
and I) were Friends of Scottish Ballet, we got invited to a reception for Dame
Margot. My friend Steinvör and I were
eager to get autographs, and one of the dancers (Patricia Rianne) took our
programmes from us and got not only the signature of most of the company
members, but also Margot Fonteyn’s. I
still remember going back to the theatre the next day to collect the
programmes, and still treasure it in my collection.
This blog is not quite turning
out how I had intended, it is still needing to find a direction and focus, but
I can feel it is turning into a mix of memories linked to reviews. If so, then expect blogs on programme
collecting, memorable performances and other things in the future!
Picture source: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Choumoff_-_Adolph_Bolm,_Polovtsian_Dances.jpg
Picture source: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Choumoff_-_Adolph_Bolm,_Polovtsian_Dances.jpg
