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The Dancer Who Flew, A Memoir of Rudolf
Nureyev, by Linda Maybarduk
Rudolf Nureyev's
Chinchilla Cape
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In tribute to Rudolf Nureyev, the
Rudolf Nureyev®
Dance Foundation wishes to provide some meaningful information about Rudolf
Nureyev and financial assistance to benefit 501(c)(3) organizations to promote
the study, performance and appreciation of dance in the United States.
  
Rudolf
Nureyev
 
Rudolf Nureyev was born of Tartar parents on March 17th, 1938 on a trans-Siberian train
en route to Vladivostock where his father was serving in the Russian army. He studied folk dance and music in Ufa,
his childhood home, and had his first ballet lessons with Madame Anna Udeltsova at age eleven.
He studied under Alexander Pushkin at the Kirov School in Leningrad and
in 1959, joined the Kirov Ballet performing with
Natalia
Dudinskaya, Alla Shelest, Irina Kolpakova and Alla Sizona. He
quickly became a soloist, performing in ballets such as Swan Lake.
Click here for photographs of
Anna Udeltsova, Alexander
Pushkin and Natalia Dudinskaya.
 
Ann Udeltsova
Rudolf Nureyev's Career
(News from the Library of Congress)
Rudolf Nureyev's dance career spanned 3 decades, from 1958/59 with the Kirov in Leningrad to 1992 when he staged his
final production of La Bayadere at the Paris Opera. He danced with great energy and spirit, constantly on the
move performing with dance companies all over the world, some of which are
listed below, and in one
instance getting arrested in Toronto for dancing in the street. His
incredible vitality and insatiable curiosity enabled him to
perform diverse roles from Princes to puppets, 19th century heroics to modern comedy.
| de Cuevas |
San Francisco Ballet |
| Royal Opera Ballet |
American Ballet Theater |
| Australian Ballet |
Martha Graham Dance Company |
| National Ballet of Canada |
Paul Taylor Dance Company |
| National Ballet of China |
New York City Ballet |
| Stuttgart State Ballet |
Murray Louis Dance Company |
| Rome Opera Ballet |
Boston Ballet |
| Norwegian Ballet |
Pennsylvania Ballet |
| Matsuyama Ballet |
Miami Ballet |
| Ballet de Monte Carlo |
Chicago Lyric Opera |
| Zurich Ballet |
Scottish Ballet, |
| Berlin Opera Ballet |
Ballet de Nancy |
| Ballet National de Marseille |
Iranian Ballet |
| Northern Ballet Company |
Paris Opera Ballet |
When Rudolf Nureyev landed dramatically in the West in 1961, abandoning
the Kirov Ballet on the tarmac of Le Bourget airport, he was hailed as the
most sensational male dancer since Nijinsky, changing the male dancer's
role from one of support to one of dominance. He performed
leading male roles with virile virtuosity, romantic grace and stylish high
spirits. He re-choreographed ballets such as Le Corsaire
and Don Quixote making them more exciting and strikingly personal versions of
the classics leaving him free to display his sharp, clean
footwork and his tremendous leaps and turns in the air. His debt to his Kirov training was evident in his expressiveness,
scrupulous attention to detail and a pure melodic line. Always
striving for perfection, he continued his dance education throughout his
life.
He often appeared on TV and in movies. Never afraid to learn
something new, for "Exposed", a film made in Paris with Nastassia
Kinski, he learned to play the violin like a maestro in a week and to fire
a revolver. He also co-directed a film of his Don Quixote and in
1992 learned to conduct an orchestra.
The Rudolf Nureyev Dance Foundation hopes Rudolf Nureyev's spirit and
energy will be a continuing influence on the art of dance. He
set the standard for us to follow.
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Short biographies in
Dance Spirit.
A compilation of dance articles, dance tips, news, forums, dance listings,
and educational information for the aspiring and professional dancer can be
found at www.dancehelp.com.
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