The following is an archived discussion of the DYK nomination of the article below. Please do not modify this page. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as
this nomination's talk page,
the article's talk page or
Wikipedia talk:Did you know), unless there is consensus to re-open the discussion at this page. No further edits should be made to this page.
... that English prima ballerina assoluta of the Royal Ballet Margot Fonteyn danced for 44 years and then became a cattle rancher in Panama? Source: solo debut 1935; retirement 1979=44 yr: "In 1935, Dame Margot received her first solo role"
[1] "To mark her sixtieth birthday in May 1979 the Royal Ballet gave a gala in her honour...and at the end of the performance the Royal Ballet gave her, uniquely, the official title of prima ballerina assoluta. This had been widely assumed to be her farewell"
[2] "Dame Margot continued to be a globe-trotting ballerina until the late 1970's, after which she made occasional guest appearances"
[3] "In later years Fonteyn settled in a small house with no telephone in a remote village in Panama, where Arias had a farm...found a real interest in cattle farming"
[4] also
p 514
ALT1:... that English prima ballerinaMargot Fonteyn was performing in the Netherlands when the Nazis invaded in May 1940, forcing her to flee the country with nothing more than the costume she was wearing? Source: "The company, renamed Sadler's Wells Ballet, was in the Netherlands when the Germans invaded, and escaped with nothing more than what the dancers stood up in."
[5] (Note, she was not made "assoluta" until 1979)
ALT2:... that the Royal Ballet's prima ballerina assolutaMargot Fonteyn, considering retirement at the time, débuted with
Rudolf Nureyev on 21 February 1962 and died on the 29th anniversary of the première? Source: "Then in 1962, when she was 42 and was reportedly giving thought to retirement, she starred with Rudolf Nureyev, a 23-year-old defector from the Kirov Ballet of Leningrad, in the Royal Ballet's production of "Giselle"
[6], "Rudolf Nureyev, the runaway Russian ballet star was wildy [sic] cheered Wednesday night in his first appearance with Britain's Royal Ballet Company…danced with Margot Fonteyn in Giselle."
[7], "Dame Margot Fonteyn, whose blend of refinement and passion redefined 20th-century ballet style and made her an international idol as the prima ballerina of the Royal Ballet in Britain, died yesterday in Paitilla Hospital in Panama City"
[8]
I think we should go for ALT2.--
Ipigott (
talk) 08:05, 3 August 2018 (UTC)
I'd prefer to picture her dancing, and find this image most surprising and delightful.
Margot Fonteyn and Robert Helpmann in 1936
ALT3: ... that the first regular dancing partner of Margot Fonteyn was
Robert Helpmann in the 1930s (pictured) and 1940s, and the last
Rudolf Nureyev, 19 years her junior, in the 1960s and 1970s? Polishing welcome. --
Gerda Arendt (
talk) 15:05, 5 August 2018 (UTC)
COMMENT: So much to choose from. :) Thank you Gerda. I would like to ask that when approved, before the article appears on the main page, that it be protected. The last GA I promoted which was featured on the front page had many uncited statements and edits which broke references introduced when it appeared. Thanks!
SusunW (
talk) 15:22, 5 August 2018 (UTC)
This article is a newly promoted GA. It has been nominated for DYK within the requisite time frame and it meets the length criterion. The image is in the public domain, the article is neutral and I detected no copyright issues. ALT0, ALT1 and ALT2 are approved but ALT3 is too long. One nominator has expressed a preference for ALT2. A QPQ has been done. It would be nice to have this major article in the image slot.
Cwmhiraeth (
talk) 18:10, 17 August 2018 (UTC)