At the grand age of 13 when I was about to sit Elementary RAD (Royal Academy of Dance), Fonteyn was touring New Zealand. She was also taking Master Classes. On this particular day in Wellington, I recall climbing the very familiar but poorly lit stairwell, to take my daily position at the barre. But as I did so, I spied a shadow of a silhouette in a doorway observing a class in progress. Excited enough at the prospect of taking a Master Class, here this self-effacing prima-ballerina greeted me with "Are you here for my class?" My life had begun.

Margot Fonteyn Photo courtesy of Penguin Putnam Inc

Born 1919, Margaret (Peggy) Hookham, Reigate, Surrey, England. Fonteyn had an olive complexion with stunning dark eyes which came from her mother's side. Her father, Felix Hookham, was of lower-middle-class English; her mother the illegitimate daughter of a wealthy Brazilian businessman, Antonia Goncalvez Fontes, and an Irish beauty of a mother, Evelyn Acheson. Her Latin family's pride denied her the right to use the name Fontes for such a disreputable profession, and so after much deliberation the name of Fonteyn was seen as a suitable choice.

So why did this dumpy, technically incompetent, slightly conceited young dancer become, in the eyes of the English speaking world, the greatest ballerina of the 20th century?

Fonteyn's life had been shrouded in secrecy until her tragic death in 1991, which virtually went unnoticed as a result of the Gulf War. She was neither erudite nor a good judge of character, which ultimately was to be her downfall.

Margot Fonteyn as 'Aurora' Photo courtesy of Dance Works Online

Tony Palmer's film about Margot is informative and reveals everything about this stoic and very private person.

As a tribute to Fonteyn on her 60th birthday, Frederick Ashton, who had become her confidante, choreographed Salut d'Amour as a tribute to her life. This was to be one of the saddest days at Covent Garden for me and others, as we were farewelling a part of history. One was only to learn later that while she was giving her final curtain call, she could barely walk, let alone dance.

After Fonteyn's retirement we were to see Natalia Makarova who had defected to the West, while on tour with the Kirov Ballet, step into Fonteyn's shoes, showing us an agility and a technique that was so arousing that it brought the house down. But for all that, she showed us what Fonteyn had. That balance between restraint and display, that sense of period and character.

Tony Palmer's film Margot was directed & edited by Tony Palmer. Associate Producer Keith Money and Executive Producer Arthur Reynolds.