The World of Arts

The black and white symphony; immortalised to live on

Gwen Herat

Like the piano, ballet is synonymous with black and white until a couple of decades ago when colour was introduced to ballet costumes, especially the tutus. One associates black and white with classical ballet handed down the centuries until contemporary and modern dancing came into clash with it. The legendary Rudolf Nureyev was a dancer between these two era and sailed smoothly to wear colour.

In the early sixties when Nureyev defected from Russia to the West, it was like a bombshell dropped from a speeding fighter jet. So volatile was its impact both on the dancing and his dancing, west was stunned by his appearance. He teamed up with Marget Fonteyn of the Royal Ballet when she was in the process of thinking of her retirement but everything reversed.

Fonteyn was losing her lustre at 42 when the magical Nureyev 20 years younger to her, turned the clock on her. Vitality and virtuosity was restored on her and the new Fonteyn was ‘born’ again. The West had never seen her so attractive, graceful, dynamic in dancing evening her youth. It was like though she had waited for the Mesiah to come and ‘resurrect’ her.

Though Nureyev occupied centre stage even with her, his virtuosity lit up because of her as he went on to partner her in all the major ballets around the world.

So, the star was born who was even able to ‘translate’ Shakespeare classics into explosive dancing. He was a dream-come-true to all choreographers and the leading ladies of ballet.

Nureyev’s progression was extremely remarkable given his late entry into a strictly classical training in the summer of 1955 when he was barely seventeen. Six ears later, the security net of the Kirov had become more of a caste for his escape and exposed him to fresh dangers of freedom like in the West since his childhood had been marked by poverty and uncertainty. So, there were certain inevitability about his next moves.

After his explosive defect from Russia with the KBG trailing on his track, he finally settled down in Paris before moving over to London at the invitation of Margot Fonteyn to the Royal Ballet. In the spring of 1963, the entire main company of the Royal Ballet after its initial delayed performance of Ashton ballet, embarked on a marathon visit to North America.

Nureyev was carefully integrated into the company to the extent that Fonteyn opened in the Sleeping Beauty with Blair which left Nureyev to make a brief appearance as the Bluebird in Act Three. Though Fonteyn received rave review, Nureyev was headlined.

Rudolf Nureyev was born in a train between Lake Baikal and Irkusk on March 17, 1938. After his initial training at ballet, he joined Pushkin from 1955-8 where he was polished up technically and professionally by Pushkin who found a brilliant future dancer in him. Later he joined Korov as a soloist.

He crossed swords with Kirov once too often and decided to visit Paris where he had sensational debut in Sleeping Beauty and decided not to return to Leningrad and sought political asylum on 17 June, 1961 at Le Bourget. After being chased around by the K. B. G, he finally settled down with The Grand Ballet du Marquiis de Cuevas. He was snapped up by Margot Fonteyn to dance in the R A D Gala in London. This was the opening he had dreamed about.

He became her partner and danced in all the classics and all full-length ballets especially with the Royal Ballet as well as with other major companies around the world, touring all his life. His feet never rested nor his spirit. He became the enigma of the last century and the best dancer the world ever produced.

He was a dancer of dazzling virtuosity, electrifying charisma, controlled expressiveness with an athletic body in perfect proportion. Handsome, charming but his outbursts had been nasty. Nureyev died in 1993, fifteen years ago but his spirit is kept alive by those who were close to him by way of festivals and tributes on his birthday. Some of his major dancing roles with all leading ballerinas are from:

Nargarite and Armond - 1963

Paradise Lost - 1967

L’estasi - 1968

Pellias at Melisande - 1969

The Ropes of Time - 1970

Songs of a Wayfarer - 1971

Tristan - 1974

Lucifer - 1975

Blown in a

Gentle Wind - 1975

Moment - 1975

Ulyaaes - 1975

Le Bourgeois

Gentilhomme - 1975

Marco Spada - 1981

Pas de Deux from

Sov Repertory - 1981

Hamlet - 1981

La Bayadere - 1964

Spoleto - 1964

Raymonda - 1965

Don Quixote - 1966

Sleeping Beauty - 1966

Tancredi - 1966

Nutcracker - 1967

Romoe and Juliet - 1977

Manfred – 1979

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