10 Facts About Margot Fonteyn

1. Out of money, Margot Fonteyn began to sell her jewellery to pay for her care and Nureyev anonymously helped to pay the bills.

2. In 1979, Margot Fonteyn wrote The Magic of Dance which was aired on the BBC as a television series in which she starred and was published in book form.

3. For her 60th birthday, Margot Fonteyn was feted by the Royal Ballet, dancing a duet with Ashton in his Salut d'amour and a tango from Ashton's Facade with her former partner Helpmann.

4. On 21 February 1962 he and Margot Fonteyn performed together in Giselle to an enthusiastic capacity crowd, for which they received 15 minutes of applause and 20 curtain calls.

5. In April 1959, Margot Fonteyn was arrested, detained for 24 hours in a Panamanian jail, and then deported to New York City.

6. In 1948, Margot Fonteyn went to Paris to perform as Agathe, a role created for her, in Les Demoiselles de la nuit by the choreographer Roland Petit.

7. In August 1943, Margot Fonteyn took an unexplained sick leave from the company for two months, missing their opening season performances.

8. In 1935, Margot Fonteyn had her solo debut, playing Young Tregennis in The Haunted Ballroom.

9. In 1972, Margot Fonteyn went into semi-retirement, although she continued to dance periodically until the end of the decade.

10. In 1961, when Margot Fonteyn was considering retirement, Rudolf Nureyev defected from the Kirov Ballet while dancing in Paris.