The greatest male dancer of the 1960s/1970s was born on a Trans-Siberian train to poor Asiatic Mongol parents. When his mother smuggled him into a performance of the ballet ‘Song of the Cranes,’ Nureyev fell in love with dance. After studying ballet at the Leningrad Choreographic School, he joined the Kirov Ballet as a soloist in 1958. During the company’s tour to Paris in 1961 he defected. As the first dancer to defect from the Soviet Union he became an instant celebrity. The same year, at Margot Fonteyn’s invitation, Nureyev danced at the Royal Academy of Dance in London and thereafter became Fonteyn’s principle dancing partner. He was a sensation — combining an intensely romantic sensibility with stunning muscularity and technique. Ever the innovator, he became the first major ballet star to begin working regularly with established modern dance choreographers. Nureyev ‘s dance repertoire was enormous including all the classics as well as standards — he acquired over 90 roles and appeared with over 30 major ballet and modern dance companies. He choreographed new versions of the ballets ‘Romeo and Juliet,’ ‘Manfred,’ and ‘The Nutcracker’ — changing and expanding the roles of male dancers. Several films were made of his brilliant ballet performances including ‘I Am a Dancer’ (1972) and ‘Don Quixote’ (1972). He also acted in films, portraying the title role in Ken Russell’s ‘Valentino,’ and even toured the U.S. with a stage revival of ‘The King and I.’ From 1983-1989 he was the artistic director of the Paris Opera Ballet. Nureyev died of complications from HIV in 1993 at the age of 54. He remains perhaps the most famous male ballet dancer of the 20th-century.
The Legacy Project recognizes the many roles Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgendered people have played in the advancement of world history and culture. “THE LEGACY WALK” – the only outdoor International GLBT History Museum in the World – is coming to North Halsted Street in Chicago to be dedicated on October 11, 2011.
For information, to donate or to volunteer, go to www.legacyprojectchicago.org
