Margot Fonteyn

I've almost finished this book about Margot Fonteyn, which is a good thing because I desperately need sleep. (I do most of my reading in bed, in an attempt to fall asleep.) I am currently obsessed with ballerinas & ballet, so much so that I just stay awake reading even when it's 5am & I have to get up in 2 hours. I'm also obsessed with going to hip-hop dance classes at Equinox but that's another subject.

Meredith Daneman has written a meticulously-researched biography of the great ballerina. She's an engaging writer & frequently quotes Margot's friends & contemporaries in a way that makes me feel like I'm right there with her. I was really enjoying myself, following Margot's career & all her triumphs, until she married Tito Arias. The more I read the more upset I get. Did Margot really think her marriage to a philandering, unsupportive, political bumbler was working? I almost can't believe that she watched him run around seducing tons of young women while she was dancing her heart out making money for his ill-conceived revolution. He couldn't even be bothered to care about her performances. Right when she finally starts considering divorce, one of his political rivals shoots him. He becomes quadriplegic & instead of taking her leave, Margot chooses to become a martyr. She continues dancing to pay their bills despite being in her fifties & takes care of her lousy husband like a saint.

I wish I could say I don't understand why she stayed, but I do. I stayed with my ex-boyfriend way too long as well, & though he didn't abuse me quite as much as Tito, it was transparent to everyone but me that he was a terrible choice. I guess it's a lot harder to be objective about a situation when you're in it. Anyway, the book is upsetting me, but it's well-written & makes me love dance even more, if that's possible. I wish my mother had made me take ballet class when I was little - I'd be a lot better at it now. Well, that's why we have hip-hop & jazz & all those other less stringent styles. :)