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Rudolph Nureyev (1938-1993)
Rudolph Nureyev (1938-1993)

Of Tatar origin, Rudolph Nureyev, the only boy in a Russian family, was born, as though in a legend, aboard the Trans-Siberian railway, near Lake Baikal. Not at all predestined for a career as a dancer, he fought against his father in Ufa to take dance classes, first folkloric then classical. His dance teacher finally sent him at the age of fifteen to the prestigious Kirov school in Leningrad. The ballet master, Alexander Pushkin, took him as a pupil and gave him his stage debut.

From the beginning of his career, the technical virtuosity and dramatic interpretations of Nureyev attracted public admiration. In 1961, during a tour abroad by the Kirov, the young dancer decided to stay in the West: he would not leave from Le Bourget airport. In the context of the Cold War, this decision was a state affair. But from that moment on, ballet companies around the world began to invite the young Soviet prodigy: Nureyev chose the Royal Ballet as home base and an exceptional partner: Dame Margot Fonteyn. With her, he danced the greatest roles of the classical repertoire. A classic repertoire that he would himself renew by choreographing the ballets of Marius Petipa forgotten in the West. He gave the male role its rightful place in pieces where hitherto the man had only been a partner. A taste of adventure never abandoned him, and he would dance a repertoire where he was not expected with as much joy as the classical repertoire like Merce Cunningham.

He finished his career as director of the Paris Opéra. He expanded his repertoire from "Don Quixote" to "In the Middle Somewhat Elevated" and "La Bayayadère.

15-501751
Crickmay Anthony (1937-2020)
Royaume-Uni, Londres, Victoria and Albert Museum
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