Rudolf Nureyev(1938 — 1993)
Rudolf Nureyev
Autriche, Union soviétique
7 min read
A principal dancer and choreographer of Soviet origin, Rudolf Nureyev (1938-1993) was one of the greatest classical dancers of the 20th century. After defecting to the West in 1961, he revolutionized the role of the male dancer and directed the Paris Opera Ballet.
Frequently asked questions
Key Facts
- Born in 1938 on a train near Irkutsk (USSR), trained at the Kirov Theatre in Leningrad
- Chose freedom at Le Bourget Airport in Paris on 16 June 1961, the first major defection of a Soviet artist during the Cold War
- From 1962, formed a legendary stage partnership with the British ballerina Margot Fonteyn at London's Royal Ballet
- Director of dance at the Paris National Opera from 1983 to 1989, where he trained a new generation of principal dancers
- Died of AIDS in 1993 in Paris, having transformed the perception of the male dancer in ballet
Works & Achievements
The first great triumph of the Nureyev-Fonteyn duo at the Royal Ballet, which sealed their legendary partnership.
Nureyev introduced the West to this masterpiece of the Russian repertoire, restaging its famous “Kingdom of the Shades” act.
A personal version of the ballet set to Prokofiev's music, in which he brought out the dramatic depth of the roles.
A virtuoso production that he also brought to the screen, showcasing his flair for total spectacle.
A reinterpretation in which the prince's role grows in importance, illustrating his revolution of the male dancer.
An adaptation in which he heightened the psychological dimension and the richness of the male variations.
Reform of the repertoire and the launching of young talents such as Sylvie Guillem and Laurent Hilaire.
His last great staging at the Paris Opera, presented when he was already gravely ill.
Anecdotes
Rudolf Nureyev was literally born on the move: on 17 March 1938, his mother was travelling aboard the Trans-Siberian Railway near Lake Baikal when the child was born on the train. The future dancer, who spent his life on the roads of the world, thus began his existence in the middle of a journey.
On 16 June 1961, at Le Bourget airport, Nureyev escaped his KGB minders, who wanted to send him back to Moscow by force. He rushed toward two French policemen, repeating that he wanted to remain free: this “leap to freedom” made headlines and became one of the most famous defections of the Cold War.
His meeting with the English ballerina Margot Fonteyn, almost twenty years his senior, gave rise to one of the most legendary partnerships in the history of ballet. Their chemistry on stage, notably in “Giselle” and “Romeo and Juliet,” was so intense that audiences would sometimes call them back for dozens of curtain calls amid the applause.
Nureyev established the idea that the male dancer was not merely the ballerina's support, but a star in his own right. He enriched and added complexity to men's roles in classical ballets, multiplying leaps and virtuoso variations to give them as much brilliance as those of the female dancers.
Stricken with AIDS, he kept working almost until the end. In October 1992, gravely ill, he still directed the premiere of his version of “La Bayadère” at the Paris Opera and greeted the audience; he died a few months later, on 6 January 1993.
Primary Sources
Autobiographical account published shortly after his defection to the West, in which Nureyev recounts his impoverished childhood in Ufa, his late start in training, and his admission to the Kirov school in Leningrad.
International newspapers report that the young Soviet Kirov dancer requested asylum from the French police at Le Bourget airport, refusing to board the plane to Moscow.
In numerous interviews, Nureyev affirms that dance was for him an absolute, and that the freedom to dance mattered more to him than anything else.
Key Places
A city in the Urals where Nureyev grew up in a modest Tatar family and discovered dance at the local theatre. It was there that he took his first lessons before Leningrad.
The prestigious dance school in Leningrad (Saint Petersburg) where Nureyev trained under Alexander Pushkin before joining the Kirov Ballet.
This is where Nureyev defected on 16 June 1961, escaping the KGB to seek the protection of the French police.
Home of the Royal Ballet, where Nureyev formed a legendary partnership with Margot Fonteyn during the 1960s.
Nureyev directed the Paris Opera Ballet here from 1983 to 1989, renewing the repertoire and bringing a generation of young dancers to prominence.
Nureyev rests here beneath a famous tomb adorned with a mosaic imitating an oriental carpet, a tribute to his origins and his nomadic life.
