The partnership of Rudolf Nureyev and Margot Fonteyn is one which dance audiences and balletomanes alike still speculate about. However, it remains that their partnership is perhaps one of the most celebrated and talked about in the world.
It was one of fantastic chemistry and strength, and is arguably reflected today in Daria Klimentova and Vadim Muntagirow of English National Ballet, who have a similar age gap and performance quality to Fonteyn and Nureyev.
Nureyev was invited to make his London debut in 1961 at the annual gala organised by Margot Fonteyn for the Royal Academy of Dancing (now Royal Academy of Dance) of which she was President.
Following the gala Nureyev went on to be invited to dance in Giselle with Fonteyn, in addition to Swan Lake and the Don Quixote pas de deux, amongst many others. Work such as this laid the foundations for Nureyev’s subsequent career and link with the Royal Ballet.
The relationship between Fonteyn and Nureyev was seemingly one of balance, despite one in pointe shoes and a tutu, and the other in tights and a tunic. At 23 years old, Nureyev gave Fonteyn new life and vigour and in return Fonteyn provided Nureyev with inspiration to focus on his future career. Each dancer learned much from the other, each having similar dancing goals: this developed into one of the most talked about partnerships of the dancing world, even after their deaths and presumably far into the future too.
In their era, audiences were desperate to witness the Fonteyn-Nureyev charismatic performances and engage with some of the magic they created on stage. As a result of the demand for seeing the pair dance together, their agent went on to charge much more for the dancers as a pair than the sum of their individual fees, which was already soaring.
Image courtesy of Wikipedia.