Rudolf Nureyev

Rudolf Nureyev (1938-1993), Russian-born ballet dancer and choreographer, perhaps the most virtuosic and charismatic male dancer of his generation. His performances and the productions that he staged influenced the development of 20th-century dance. In discussing his life, Nureyev, who often danced more than 200 performances in a year, said: “I need the dance, the lights, the excitement…I go on stage to find myself, to reassert myself, to find my energy.” His passion for dance was such that it was a rare injury or illness that prevented him from appearing. He was a perfectionist and could be very demanding on his colleagues, but he could also be generous to young dancers and to his friends.

A Tartar from Ufa near the Russian Urals, Rudolf Hametovich Nureyev was born on a trans-Siberian train on March 17, 1938. His family was poor and his father disapproved of his study of folk dance and later ballet. Nonetheless, at the age of 17 Nureyev travelled to Leningrad to audition at the famous Leningrad Choreographic (Vaganova) School. In spite of his late start in training and non-conformist behaviour, Nureyev’s talent was recognized and he became a pupil (1955–1958) of Alexander Pushkin. He attracted considerable attention when he danced Le Corsaire pas de deux at the Moscow Competition in 1958 and was invited to join both the Bolshoi and Kirov companies. He chose to return to Leningrad where he danced leading roles with the Kirov, including in Giselle and Don Quixote.

As a performer Nureyev tackled dramatic roles and comedy. He could be a prince, a dancer noble, but at the same time he always presented living, motivated, characters. He was concerned with his appearance and keen to show off his body. He preferred his costumes to fit like a second skin and at the outset of his career he appeared “naked” to Soviet audiences unused to dancers wearing simply tights and a short tunic. When preparing to dance his feet were crossed in a tight fifth position and the use of a high demi-pointe appeared to lengthen his legs. He did not entirely disguise effort but made his performances highly charged events.

Nureyev was determined to escape the restrictions placed on dancers in the Soviet Union and on tour in Paris he “leapt to freedom”, defecting at Le Bourget airport in June 1961. (He only returned to Russia briefly in 1987, to visit his ailing mother, and danced there again in 1989 in La Sylphide by August Bournonville—too late to show his home country his real talent.) His subsequent career in the West over three decades was remarkable for the variety of his roles, classical and modern. He was inspired by meeting the dancer Erik Bruhn and performing choreography by George Balanchine. Nureyev was to have a significant relationship with Bruhn in spite of their different temperaments (sometimes compared to fire and ice) and competitive careers, and he danced a number of Balanchine’s ballets (Apollo was a particular favourite) although Balanchine never considered Nureyev suitable for his ensemble company.

Having performed in The Sleeping Beauty with the Grand Ballet de Marquis de Cuevas, Nureyev made his London debut in late 1961 at the Royal Academy of Dancing Gala of Margot Fonteyn. He was then invited to partner her in Giselle as a guest artist with the Royal Ballet in February 1962, launching an acclaimed partnership that continued for almost two decades. Nureyev gained Austrian citizenship in 1982, but made homes in many other countries. He travelled between cities and companies to perform dance works that interested and challenged him. He created roles for choreographers as varied as Frederick Ashton, Kenneth MacMillan, Roland Petit, Glen Tetley, Maurice Béjart, Rudi van Dantzig, and Martha Graham. Nureyev also introduced a wealth of 19th-century Russian ballets (including La Bayadère, Raymonda, and Don Quixote) to Western audiences, revitalizing their presentation for modern times and enlarging the dancing opportunities for the male dancer (usually initially himself). He reworked the ballets again when he was the artistic director of the Paris Opéra Ballet (1983-1989). His original choreography was generally of lesser importance but his Romeo and Juliet (1977), created for the London Festival Ballet (later renamed English National Ballet), incorporated details from Shakespeare’s play and of Renaissance Italy.

Nureyev was concerned that dance films should present the essence of performances and his own film of his Australian Ballet production of Don Quixote provides a benchmark for the filming of dance. His dancing is also notably well filmed as illustrated in the recordings An Evening with the Royal Ballet (1963) and Le Jeune Homme et la Mort (1966). Nureyev also appeared in feature films, including Valentino (1977) directed by Ken Russell, and on stage as the King of Siam in a long United States tour of the Broadway musical The King and I (1989). Shortly before his death of complications arising from AIDS he began to work as an orchestral conductor. He died in Paris on January 6, 1993.