Margot Fonteyn Movies

The pas de deux -- a dance for a ballerina and danseur noble, comprised of an entrée, adagio, a variation for each performer, and a coda -- represents one of ballet's most revered and enduring forms. The home video release The Art of the Pas de Deux pays homage to that form by compiling into one 85 minute program twelve of its most legendary enactments. Included here are: Galina Ulanova and Yuri Zhdanov performing the dance in Juliet's bedroom from Prokofieff's Romeo and Juliet, as choreographed by Leonid Lavrovsky c. 1954; Maria Tallchief and Rudolf Nureyev performing a pas de deux from Helsted and Paulli's Flower Festival in Genzano, as choreographed by Erik Bruhn, based on Bournonville, c. 1962; Maya Plisetskaya and Vladimir Vasiliev in 'The Queen-Maiden and Ivan' dance from Shchedrin's The Little Humpbacked Horse as choreographed by Alexander Radunsky, c. 1961; Nina Ananiashvili and Aleksei Fadeyechev in the Act I pas de deux from Glazunov's Raymonda, as choreographed by Petipa and revised by Yuri Grigorovich, c. 1993; Dame Margot Fonteyn and Michael Somes in the "Prince & the Firebird" pas de deux from Igor Stravinsky's Firebird, as choreographed by Michel Fokine c. 1961; Alicia Alonso and Azari Plisetsky in the Act II pas de deux from Adam's Giselle, as choreographed by Alonso after Coralli and Perrot, c. 1963; Maya Plisetskaya and Nikolai Fadeyechev in the 'Don José Pas de Deux' and 'Carmen' from Shchedrin's Carmen Suite, as choreographed by Alberto Alonso c. 1969; Erik Bruhn and Maria Tallchief dancing the 'Grand Pas' from Minkus' Don Quixote, as choreographed by Petipa c. 1961; Vladimir Vasiliev and Natalia Bessmertnova in 'The Reunion of Sparcacus and Phyrgia' pas de deux from Khachaturian's Spartacus, as choreographed by Yuri Grigorovich c. 1977; Jacques d'Amboise and Lupe Serrano; Jacques d'Amboise and Lupe Serrano in the 'Black Swan Pas de Deux' from Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake, as choreographed by Petipa and Ivanov c. 1960; Dame Margot Fonteyn and Michael Somes in the 'Cinderella and the Prince' pas de deux from Prokofieff's Cinderella, as choreographed by Sir Frederick Ashton c. 1957; and Patricia McBride and Reid Olson in the Tchaikovsky pas de deux, as choreographed by George Balanchine c. 1984. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide

The Margot Fonteyn Story is the only authorized documentary about British ballerina Dame Margot Fonteyn, released during the year of her death. Fonteyn herself serves as the narrator, recalling the high points of her nearly 50-year career in dance. Features interviews with Rudolf Nureyev, Robert Helpmann, and Frederick Ashton. Includes home movies, archival footage, and a personal discussion about her marriage to a Panamanian diplomat. Some of the dance excerpts come from Sleeping Beauty, Ondine, and Giselle. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide

A superb performance of Prokofiev's ballet, choreographed and performed by Nureyev and the ballet company of La Scala in Milan. ~ All Movie Guide

Visit the theaters which gave the fledgling art of ballet its beginning. Dame Margot serves as host. ~ All Movie Guide

Swan Lake is a filmed record of the Tchaikovsky ballet, brilliantly brought to life by Rudolph Nureyev and Dame Margot Fonteyn. Backed by the Vienna State Opera Ballet, the peerless dance duo perform with the enthusiasm and freshness of newcomers, but with the flawlessness that can only stem from genius. Unlike other ballet films, Swan Lake is purely cinematic in approach. Without ever detracting from the dancing, the camerawork is both fluid and innovative. Filmed in Munich, Swan Lake earned back every penny of its $1 million budget and then some. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Listed as sole director of the British documentary Evening with the Royal Ballet in many sources, Anthony Asquith was actually co-director. Asquith's collaborator on this project was Anthony Havelock-Allen, who also produced the film. Starring Rudolph Nureyev and Margot Fonteyn, highlights of An Evening with the Royal Ballet include selections from "Sleeping Beauty" and "Les Syphildes." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Choreographer Sir Frederick Ashton's take on Perrault's the timeless fairy tale is captured live at the Sadler's Wells Royal Ballet in this performance starring Dame Margot Fonteyn in the title role. Originally telecast on April 19, 1957 on NBC, this particular incarnation of the Cinderella fable soon became a staple of the Royal Ballet's repertoire, and features Ashton himself in the role of one of the cruel and ugly step-sisters. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Prolific British second-feature director Lewis Gilbert made his cinematic debut with The Little Ballerina. Yvonne Marsh stars as a girl of modest means who hopes to get into the Sadlers-Wells ballet troupe. Her only hope is to win a scholarship, and to this end she pleads directly to the troupe's star performer Margot Fonteyn. The spectre of the successful 1948 ballet movie The Red Shoes looms large over the thriftily assembled Little Ballerina. The film's highlight is a vignette from Les Sylphides, performed by Margot Fonteyn and a talented group of dancing students. Although production wrapped on this film -- and it was classified in the UK -- circa late April 1947, The Little Ballerina didn't receive its stateside release for several years, premiering on the near side of the Atlantic in March 1951 - hence the presence of British actor George Carney, who died in 1948. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide