Norma Fontenla (June 28, 1930 – October 10, 1971) was an Argentine

prima ballerina A ballet dancer ( it, ballerina fem.; ''ballerino'' masc.) is a person who practices the art of classical ballet. Both females and males can practice ballet; however, dancers have a strict hierarchy and strict gender roles. They rely on yea ...

Life and work

Fontenla was born in 1930, and while still a child, began attending the National Conservatory of Music and Scenic Art, in

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

. She was later accepted into the dance school of the

Colón Theatre Colón may refer to: Places ;Argentina * Colón, Entre Ríos * Colón Department, Córdoba * Colón Department, Entre Ríos * Colón, Buenos Aires ;Colombia * Colón, Nariño * Colón, Putumayo * Colón Department (Colombia) ;Costa Rica * Ciu ...

, the nation's premier opera house. Fontenla was made part of the opera house's ballet company and was eventually named its prima ballerina. She joined the

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...

Ballet in the early 1960s, and with them made her first European tours. Returning to Buenos Aires, she led the Colón Theatre Ballet in works such as

Frédéric Chopin Frédéric François Chopin (born Fryderyk Franciszek Chopin; 1 March 181017 October 1849) was a Polish composer and virtuoso pianist of the Romantic period, who wrote primarily for solo piano. He has maintained worldwide renown as a leadin ...

's '' Les Sylphides'', Adolphe Adam's ''

Giselle ''Giselle'' (; ), originally titled ''Giselle, ou les Wilis'' (, ''Giselle, or The Wilis''), is a romantic ballet (" ballet-pantomime") in two acts with music by Adolphe Adam. Considered a masterwork in the classical ballet performance canon, ...

'',

Léo Delibes Clément Philibert Léo Delibes (; 21 February 1836 – 16 January 1891) was a French Romantic composer, best known for his ballets and operas. His works include the ballets ''Coppélia'' (1870) and '' Sylvia'' (1876) and the opera ''Lakm� ...

' '' Coppelia'', and as Odette in

Peter Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky , group=n ( ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer of the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music would make a lasting impression internationally. He wrote some of the most popu ...

's ''

Swan Lake ''Swan Lake'' ( rus, Лебеди́ное о́зеро, r=Lebedínoye ózero, p=lʲɪbʲɪˈdʲinəjə ˈozʲɪrə, link=no ), Op. 20, is a ballet composed by Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky in 1875–76. Despite its initial failur ...

''. Her 1967 performance in ''Giselle'' was notable also for her collaboration with Margot Fonteyn and

Rudolph Nureyev Rudolf Khametovich Nureyev ( ; Tatar/ Bashkir: Рудольф Хәмит улы Нуриев; rus, Рудо́льф Хаме́тович Нуре́ев, p=rʊˈdolʲf xɐˈmʲetəvʲɪtɕ nʊˈrʲejɪf; 17 March 19386 January 1993) was a Soviet ...

. Fontenla performed in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

in 1968 and in

Santiago, Chile Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital (political), capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated Regions of Chile, region, t ...

in 1969, where she opened the Municipal Theater's ballet season that year. She organized a tour of opera houses in the Argentine hinterland in 1970, and was invited to direct the ballet company in

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

's renowned

La Scala La Scala (, , ; abbreviation in Italian of the official name ) is a famous opera house in Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as the ' (New Royal-Ducal Theatre alla Scala). The premiere performan ...

.Buenos Aires: Anniversary of the Colón ballet tragedy
Her previous collaboration with Nureyev earned the Colón Theatre his choosing that venue to perform Tchaikovsky's ''

The Nutcracker ''The Nutcracker'' ( rus, Щелкунчик, Shchelkunchik, links=no ) is an 1892 two-act ballet (""; russian: балет-феерия, link=no, ), originally choreographed by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov with a score by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaiko ...

'' for the 1971 season. The success of the program was followed by a series of performances by Nureyev for Argentine television, alongside Fontenla and her primo ballerino,

José Neglia José Neglia (April 2, 1929October 10, 1971) was a notable Argentine ballerino, who perhaps more than any other figure, helped popularize the classical ballet in his country. Life and work Neglia was born in Buenos Aires to an Italian Argentine f ...

. Fontenla, Neglia and seven other members of the ballet company boarded a flight at Jorge Newbery Airfield on October 10, 1971, en route to

Trelew Trelew (, from cy, tref "town" and the name of the founder, Lewis Jones) is a city in the eastern part of the Chubut Province of Argentina. Located in Patagonia, the city is the largest and most populous in the low valley of the Chubut River, wit ...

, a city in Patagonia where they were scheduled to perform. Shortly after takeoff, however, the twin-engine plane stalled, nose-diving into the Río de la Plata and killing all aboard. Their remains lay in state at the Colón, and on the first anniversary of the tragedy, a monument in their honor was unveiled on Lavalle Plaza (within steps of the opera house).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fontenla, Norma 1930 births 1971 deaths Argentine people of Galician descent Argentine ballerinas Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in Argentina Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1971 Prima ballerinas Burials at La Chacarita Cemetery