Rudolf Nureyev, Star dancer

He was born Rudolf Gamelovitch Nureyev on 17 March 1938 to Tatar parents, on a train travelling through Siberia. He was raised in poverty and destitution in the industrial city of Ufa in the Republic of Bashkiria.  Impressed by a ballet he saw at the age of five, he managed to enrol in a dance academy in Leningrad at the age of 17. In 1959 he was accepted into the corps de ballet of the Leningrad Kirov and came to the West for the first time for a tour in May 1961. He danced the role of the warrior Solor in La Bayadère ("The Temple Dancer”) by Marius Petipa. During the tour, a star was born: the audience instantly adored Nureyev's performance, which he delivered in a variety of ethereal and feline tones.

Nureyev, however, was under close KGB surveillance due to his critical stance towards the Soviet regime. He was refused further touring in Britain with the rest of the troupe and was ordered to return immediately to the USSR. Convinced it was a trap, he took six steps away from the Soviet agents, six steps immortalised as the “Leap to Freedom”. He applied for asylum, which was granted by Ofpra on the same day, 16 June 1961.

Rudolf Nureyev went on to have a successful international career as a principal dancer. He danced with all companies. He had mastered every style and worked with Roland Petit at the Royal Ballet, Maurice Béjart, Paul Taylor as well as Georges Balanchine and Martha Graham. “I believe,” he said, “that I have broken down the barriers between classical and modern dance.”

Appointed director of dance at the Opéra in 1983, Rudolf Nureyev made the Palais Garnier “his home.” He left his mark on a whole generation of young soloists, whom he led to stardom, such as Sylvie Guillem, whom he appointed as a prima ballerina in 1984. He led the Opera Ballet to fame on international tours. He left seven great classical ballets acclaimed by the public: Sleeping Beauty, Swan Lake, The Nutcracker, Don Quixote, Raymonda, Cinderella, and La Bayadère.

Rudolf Nureyev became Austrian in 1982 and died in 1993. He is buried in the Russian cemetery in Sainte Geneviève des Bois. His distinctions include: Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur (Knight of the Legion of Honour) and Commandeur des Arts et Lettres (Commander of Arts and Letters).