Margot Fonteyn Memorial Scholarship for Dance

Scholarship Information

Dr. Johann Norstedt, a retired Virginia Tech professor and Radford University contributor created this scholarship in memory of Margot Fonteyn. Dame Margaret Evelyn de Arias, b. 1919, was an English ballerina known as Margot Fonteyn. She spent her entire career as a dancer with the Royal Ballet (formerly Sadler’s Wells), eventually being appointed by Queen Elizabeth 11 as prima ballerina assoluta of the company. Before and after the Second World War, Fonteyn performed in televised broadcasts of ballet performances in Britain, and in the early 1950’s appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show. This resulted in the increased popularity of dance in the United States.

In 1961 Rudolf Nureyev defected from the Kirov Ballet while dancing in France. Fonteyn, because of their 19-year of age difference, (she was 42 and he was 23) reluctantly partnered with him in his debut with the Royal Ballet in Giselle. The result was a sensation, and a breathtaking partnership for formed. The pair partnered together for 17 years.

Scholarship Criteria

• Eligible students must be pursuing a major in dance, with a preference for a ballet-focused student pursuing a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance.
• The scholarship may be renewable annually through reapplication.