Dame Margot FONTEYN, the "charmingly lighthearted amateur revolutionary" (re: Panama)

[UTUSN]

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http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2010/05/27/world/AP-EU-Britain-Ballerinas-Coup.html?_r=1&ref=news

Secret Papers Show Ballerina's Role in Panama Coup

LONDON (AP) -- Previously secret papers declassified Friday revealed that British ballerina Margot Fonteyn was heavily involved in plotting a coup to overthrow Panama's government, detailing how her clandestine political activities both exasperated and amused officials on both sides of the Atlantic. ....

The officials believed that although Fonteyn was ''involved in the plot up to her neck,'' she was an amateur revolutionary who viewed the whole situation in a ''charmingly lighthearted way.''

Profumo wrote that Fonteyn described how, as the coup unraveled, she mistakenly dumped some incriminating documents into the sea. Officials later retrieved the items, including Arias' address book, which contained the addresses of actors John Wayne and Errol Flynn. The celebrities apparently had business dealings with Arias.

Mark Dunton, a historian at the archives, said the files gave an unusual glimpse into a previously little known chapter of Fonteyn's life.

''The extent of Dame Margot's personal involvement has not been in the public domain before,'' said Dunton. ''It adds to the slightly bizarre nature of this attempted revolution.''

Fonteyn, who was born Peggy Hookham in 1919, went on to reach even greater creative heights through her acclaimed partnership with Russian dancer Rudolf Nureyev. She returned to Panama with her husband years later and died there in 1991.

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[Canuckistanian]

1. That's bizarre, all right

A very famous ballerina involved in geopolitical affairs? Plots and subterfuge? Document dumps?

Sounds like a great movie script.....

[UTUSN]

2. No Hedy LAMARR, she. Ballerinas are fantasy creatures.

I had only heard the music of TCHAIKOVSKY's ballets on vinyl, so when I saw my first (& only) ballet, I was astounded to hear all the CLATTERING of shoes on the stage when all these spun-sugar creatures stampeded onstage.

[Canuckistanian]

4. That's the first person who came to mind

Hedy Lamarr. An engineering genius who influenced the war effort.

Fonteyn seemed to have been a dilettante with too much time on her hands.

[FarCenter]

5. More like Hedley Lamarr

[xchrom]

3. What a fabulous woman. Fonteyn was wonderful.

Although good rumour has it that Nureyev dumped
her on ass once during a performance.