He is called the most significant, most famous dancer of the twentieth century.
Rudolf Nureyev is a ballet legend; he performed in the Soviet Union and abroad. His famous jump entered the anthology of ballet art, and the performances he staged entered the treasury of world ballet.
The future dancer was born in 1938 in Irkutsk - this is how it is written in official documents. In fact, everything happened on the train, at a station near Irkutsk, which is why it is recorded in the metric.
His wartime childhood was spent in Ufa, where he began dancing in the ensemble of the House of Culture. His talent was noticed and invited to the card ballet of the Ufa Opera House, and at the age of 16 he became a member of the troupe.
A year later, he already studied at the choreographic school in Leningrad, and after graduation he was accepted into the troupe of the Leningrad Opera and Ballet Theater.
Ballet career
His first part on stage was very warmly received - it was the role of Frondoso in the ballet Laurencia. A little later, he goes to the VII World Youth Festival in Vienna, where he receives a Gold Medal. Since then, his career has gone on ascending, he became an important person in the troupe, he was entrusted with difficult roles. The theater went on foreign tours, and the name of Nureyev was invariably on the list of "visiting" ones.
Then Rudolph was given a visa to travel to France to perform at the Paris Opera. But a few days after his arrival, an order came - to return the artist to the USSR for some violations. Nuriev was well aware that a prison awaits him in his homeland, he asked for political asylum in France and received it. The real reason for the demand to return to the country, as it turned out, was the dancer's unconventional orientation, which he did not hide.
And only in 1985, Nuriev came home for three days to attend his mother's funeral. At the same time, the authorities were forbidden even to talk with him to those who knew him.
Six months after receiving political asylum in France, Nuriyev moved to London with his partner Margot Fontaine. They perform on the stage of the Royal Ballet "Covent Garden", their performances are received with enthusiasm, and their duet is still considered a benchmark.
A few years later, Nuriev performed at the Vienna Opera, and received Austrian citizenship. However, his concerts take place in various countries, practically without interruption - 200 concerts a year. Rudolf Nureyev works like an obsessive, as if he cannot stop: by 1975, he already dances in 300 performances a year.
In addition, he manages to act in films: in addition to documentaries about ballet, he has two feature films in his portfolio. In the biographical drama Valentino, he played the role of Rudolph Valentino, and in the melodrama In Sight, he played the role of Daniel Jelin.
Nureyev also independently staged performances that were included in the golden fund of ballet classics.
In the 80s, Rudolf Nureyev became the head of the troupe of the Parisian Grand Opera and introduced many innovations there. In particular, he let young artists dance, which was an innovative technique. And when he himself could not dance, he began to conduct in the same theater.
Personal life
Rudolph's personal life is associated with men, although in his youth he paid attention to girls. He is also often credited with having a relationship with Margot Fontaine, his great partner, but they both denied this. Rather, it was a spiritual connection. When Fontaine fell ill with cancer, Nuriev paid for her treatment.
There were also rumors about Nureyev's connections with other famous artists, but his main love was always the dancer Eric Brun, a Dane. They have been together for over 25 years, having parted only with Eric's death in 1986.
At that time, Nuriev already knew that he was terminally ill with AIDS. He passed away in January 1993 and is buried in the Sainte-Genevieve-des-Bois cemetery.
