Rudolf Nureyev: biography and interesting facts from life. Rudolf Nureyev: biography, personal life, career and interesting facts from life, photo Nureyev nationality

Which is woven from conflicting facts, rumors and unimaginable adventures, and today, after his death, is considered the brightest star of the world ballet.

Childhood

Rudolf was the fourth child in the family of the military political officer Khamet Nuriyev. He was born on a train on March 17, 1938, when his mother, in her last month of pregnancy, having collected her children and meager luggage, followed her husband to Vladivostok. Khamet Nureyev was in seventh heaven when he saw a boy in Farida's arms, because before that his wife gave him only daughters, and decided to name him Rudolf.

The family settled in Vladivostok, but after a year and a half, Hamet received a new assignment - to Moscow. In the capital, they were given a small wooden house. The Nureyevs lived in poverty, and yet life gradually began to improve. All plans and ideas were ruined by the war. In 1941, my father was one of the first to be called to the front. The family remained in Moscow, but under the onslaught of Hitler, it was decided to evacuate the military families - first to Chelyabinsk, then to the suburb of Ufa, the village of Shchuchye. Cold, hunger and constant darkness - this is how the great dancer remembered his childhood in Ufa. Rudolf grew up as a nervous and whiny child, it was all the fault of the struggle for a piece of bread and terrible living conditions.

At the age of five, after watching the ballet production of "Crane Song", Rudolf told his mother that he wanted to dance. Farida without hesitation gave her son to a dance club in kindergarten. The boy willingly studied, their circle spoke to the wounded. Everyone who saw Rudolph dancing exclaimed that the child had a huge talent.

Youth

In 1945, the father returned from the front; for the children, he was a stranger. With his return, the life of the family began to gradually improve, they were given a warm room in a communal apartment. The father did not share his son's passion. I did not want to hear about further training in choreography. Hamet dreamed that his son would become an engineer.

At the age of ten, Rudolph was invited to a dance club at the Pioneer House. The first teacher of Radik was Anna Ivanovna Udaltsova, who previously danced in the corps de ballet with Diaghilev. The ballerina immediately noted the remarkable talent of her student and recommended that he go to Leningrad for further training in classical dance. Rudolf Nureyev, whose biography has become public today, took these parting words with excitement.

In 1955, fate presented him with a huge gift. A festival of Bashkir art was held in Moscow. The dance troupe of his ballet theater was going to conquer the capital with the production of "Crane Song", but the soloist fell ill. Nuriev proposed his candidacy. He was approved, although the young dancer did not know his part. Per short term he learned it and undermined his health. Not fully recovered from the injury, he nevertheless entered the stage of the capital's theater and captivated the audience. From that moment on, his teachers from Ufa realized that Russian ballet was replenished with a new "violent Tatar".

After a successful performance, Nuriev decided to enter the choreographic studio of the capital, but there was no hostel there. Fate brought him to Leningrad. Here he entered the choreographic school at the age of seventeen.

After graduating, Rudik went to the competition in the capital with his partner Alla Sizova. They performed brilliantly, but the commission was indelibly impressed by the solo part of the young talent. Rudolf Nureyev, whose dance was discouraging, wild and barbaric, captivated critics. In terms of novelty, his manner of dancing was extraordinary, but technically it was absurd. For "Lawrence" he and his partner received gold at the competition, Nureyev refused to accept the award. Upon arrival in Leningrad, he danced "Gayane" with his partner Ninel Kurgapkina. This was followed by productions such as "Sleeping Beauty" and "Swan Lake". Life at the Mariinsky Theater was in full swing, Rudolf "boiled" with her.

Character of a great dancer

Despite the talent and dedication on stage, the talented young man was not loved behind the scenes, and his arrogant character was to blame for everything. The life of Rudolf Nureyev from childhood was not sweet; hunger, cold, poverty, echoes of the war - this vulnerable boy had to go through a lot.

At a more mature age, Rudolph, seeing his superiority over his peers, often forgot the rules of elementary education. He could be rude to his partner, shied away from collective rules, ignored discipline. He considered many of his colleagues mediocrity and spoke to them about it in a harsh manner.

In more mature years, when Rudolph became a star of the first magnitude, despite the huge fees, he refused to pay in restaurants, staged wild antics and tantrums in the theater. The public idolized him, but people who knew him a little better found him repulsive and rude.

"Freedom Leap"

Russian ballet in post-war period experienced its heyday, all thanks to bright talented artists. Nuriev always stood out from the crowd. Admirers went to the Kirov Theater precisely "to Nuriev". The performances of "Giselle or Wilis", "The Nutcracker", "Swan Lake" were especially popular with the audience.

In the late 50s, Rudolf Nureyev, whose biography is full of extraordinary gifts of fate, danced in nine performances of the Mariinsky Theater. The main troupe went on tour, and then he appeared in all his glory, a bright Tatar youth. In 1958, he was offered to become a partner of the theater's leading prima Natalia Dudinskaya. Their first joint performance was Don Quixote. This was followed by the unforgettable La Bayadère, with which Nureyev conquered Paris.

In 1961 the Mariinsky Theater toured Europe. First on the list was Paris. Rudolf Nureyev, whose work was very colorful, among connoisseurs and ballet lovers was the highlight that I wanted to "taste". The Parisian public was ecstatic from "La Bayadère" and Nureyev's dance. The young balleron immediately found friends-fans in the high society of Paris. He went with them to the theater, cinema and restaurants. Such behavior was categorically unacceptable for a Russian person of the "Khrushchev" era. After Paris, London was on schedule, but the theater management was informed that Nuriev was flying home.

Death of Rudolf Nureyev

The death of the great dancer was a real tragedy for his fans. The official cause of his death is called problems with the heart, but in fact it is not. Like many talented people of the last century, Rudolf Nureyev, whose biography was, like ballet, filled with ups and downs, died of AIDS. It happened in one of the clinics in Paris on January 6, 1993. For a long time, the great dancer did not admit that he had AIDS and refused to be examined. Some blame it on his unbridled sexual liaisons.

Someone talks about the rock of talented people of the 60s. Sex, drugs, rock 'n' roll and homosexuality were targeted by the powers that be. Some researchers claim that many well-known gay men were "deliberately" struck by the new

Few of the ballet stars managed to play out their lives like Rudolf Nureyev. Here, a little bit of different genres - detective, farce, melodrama, tragedy. He was called the Genghis Khan of the ballet, the first gay on the planet, the sexiest dancer of the 20th century. Indeed, sex for this frantic Tatar meant a lot. But besides sex, there was also love, and not only with a man named Eric Bruhn, but also with a woman, the great Margot Fontaine... Nureyev had affairs with Freddie Mercury, Yves Saint Laurent and Elton John; Rumor recorded Jean Marais and many others as his lovers ... But Nureyev's strongest, passionate and painful love was always Eric Brun - huge growth Dane unearthly beauty, a world-famous dancer who was considered one of the most outstanding dancers of the 20th century and the most refined Albert ever to dance in Giselle. Their romance lasted until Eric's death... SO COLD IT BURNS It is difficult to say who was Nureyev's first male lover, but there is no doubt that the outstanding Danish dancer Eric Brun became his first and greatest love. Moreover, Nuriev first fell in love with his dance, and then with him. Eric was the ideal for Nureyev. He was 10 years older than him, tall and handsome as a god. From birth, he possessed those qualities that Nureyev was completely devoid of: calmness, restraint, tact. And most importantly, he knew how to do what Nuriev did not know how to do. If not for Rudik, then Eric Brun might not have recognized himself as a hidden homosexual. Eric had a fiancee, the famous beauty ballerina Maria Tolchiff, whose father was an Indian. Maria and Eric Their first acquaintance with Rudik happened in 1960, when Eric Brun and Maria Tolchiff came with the American Ballet Theater on tour to the USSR. Nureyev burned with impatience to see the famous Dane, but it so happened that the twenty-two-year-old Rudolf went on tour to Germany, and when he returned, the whole ballet Leningrad only talked about Brun. Intrigued, Rudolf got hold of Brun's amateur footage taken by someone in Leningrad and survived the shock. “It was a sensation for me,” he recalled a few years later. “Brun is the only dancer who managed to impress me. Someone called him too cold. He really is so cold that it burns.” MEXICAN PASSIONS A year later, Nureyev burned himself on this ice, not on the screen, but in life. By that time, Rudolph had escaped from the iron embrace of the Land of the Soviets and was taking the first steps towards world triumphs. Fate brought him together with Maria Tolchiff, who had recently experienced a break in a stormy love relationship with Brun, whom, according to her, she loved "more than life." Parting with the Dane, she promised him revenge and find herself a new partner. Very soon she meets a young and hot Tatar, with whom the thirty-six-year-old ballerina instantly falls in love. And he invites him to go with her to Copenhagen, where her performances with Brun are planned. On the way, Tolchiff calls Brun and happily announces: "There is someone here who wants to meet you. His name is Rudolf Nureyev," and passes the phone to Nureyev. So they met thanks to Tolchiff, who will soon regret this very much. Eric and Carla Fracci DANISH PRINCE AND TATAR TERRORIST“The day was coming to an end, it was dark in the room,” Brun recalled years later of their first meeting, which took place at the Angleterre Hotel, where Rudolf and Tolchiff were staying. “I greeted Maria, next to whom was this young dancer, casually dressed in a sweater and slacks. I sat down and looked at him more closely and saw that he was very attractive. He had a certain style, a certain class. It was not natural elegance, but it made an impression. He did not talk too much, maybe that's why ", which still did not speak English very well. The situation was awkward because of my relationship with Maria. She and I tried to cover it up by laughing too much and unnaturally. Much later, Rudik said that he hated the sound of my laughter." After that, they saw each other only in the studio during classes. Nuriev was delighted with Brun's impeccable long-legged figure, his infallible technique, and his outward appearance, reminiscent of a noble prince. Eric and Rudik Once, during a break, Nuriev conspiratorially whispered to Brun that we should talk. He wanted to dine alone with Brun, without Maria. But when Nuriev told her about his plans for dinner, she threw a tantrum, rushing out of the dressing room with a squeal. Nuriev rushed after her, followed by Brun. At that moment, after the morning class, the whole troupe came out and watched with interest how Nureyev, Brun and Tolchif were chasing each other around the theater.
Eric, Rudy and Maria But no matter how angry Maria is and no matter how many tantrums she throws, between the frantic Tatar and the cold Danish prince a powerful attraction had already arisen, which at that moment no one could destroy. Even the imperious mother of Brun, who had a huge influence on her son. PRIVATE BEDROOMS FOR DECREME Ellen Brun, as soon as Rudolph moved to live in their cozy house in the suburbs of Copenhagen in Gentoft, immediately disliked Rudolph. She saw him as a threat to her son's respectability, as well as her rival for his love. And although for the sake of propriety Rudolph and Eric occupied separate bedrooms, Ellen guessed the nature of their relationship. As did many others who saw them together. These two immediately caught the eye, people turned around after them, so beautiful and so different.
Brun, tall and aristocratic blond, resembling in appearance Greek god, with a high forehead, a regular, sharply defined profile, fine features, and mournful gray-blue eyes, was refinement itself. He attracted the eyes of almost all women ... Rudolf, with burning eyes, flying hair, a wild temper and sharp cheekbones, resembled an erupting volcano. Their attitude towards sex was also very different. Eric both craved and feared intimacy at the same time. Secretive, cautious, he did not allow a single emotion to manifest, moreover, he was not ready for the sexual frenzy that Nureyev showed. Rudolph always wanted sex, twenty-four hours a day. And he considered it natural, and Eric quickly got tired of this carousel. Therefore, their romance initially developed violently and rapidly. One was advancing, the other was running away. Rudolph, when it seemed to him that something was wrong in their relationship, could scream in a rage and scatter things around the apartment, and Eric, shocked by this outburst of emotions, ran away from home. And then Rudolf rushed after, in search of his beloved. A few years later, Brun will liken their meeting to the collision and explosion of two comets. (Fragment from the memoirs of the famous Bulgarian ballerina Sonya Arova, a close friend of Eric) If Brun was the only dancer Rudik recognized as his equal, he was also the only one he allowed to exercise power over him. "Teach me this," he always told Eric. "If Eric played a role brilliantly, Rudik did not rest until he began to play the same role equally brilliantly," Sonya says. "It was the greatest stimulus for him for a very long time." Equally bewitched by him, Brun helped him with all possible ways, passing on all his knowledge, even when Nureyev threatened to outshine him. Their relationship from the very beginning was turbulent and endlessly intense. "Pure Strindberg" - Brun evaluated them a few years later. "Rudolf was overwhelmed with feelings for Eric," says Arova, "and Eric didn't know how to deal with him. Rudolph was exhausting him." In addition, Rudik was constantly and painfully jealous of Eric for women, because Eric, unlike Rudik, was bisexual, not gay, and he often felt attracted to some girls. Violette Verdi remarks: "Rudy was so strong, so new, so hungry after the Russian desert. He just wanted what he wanted." He did his best to subdue the soft, delicate Eric. “Their relationship was never easy,” concludes Arova. “Eric kept himself in complete control, and Rudolf obeyed the mood. Eric tried to make him understand all sorts of things, and when it didn’t work out, he got upset, and they had quarrels. Rudolf wanted a lot from Eric. He always demanded something from him, and Eric said: "But I give everything I can, and after that I feel squeezed out." Brun soon became convinced that Nuriev wanted more from him than he could give Close friends knew Brun warm, generous, with a lively, dry sense of humor, but one of them says that he could "transform in a second, becoming cold and extremely hostile" when he felt that someone was getting too close to him." EATING BOYS LIKE PANCAKES Fleeing from the taboos and prohibitions of the socialist homeland, Nureyev longed to taste the sexual paradise that he found in the West. There were no complexes or remorse: when he saw something he liked, Nureyev had to get it. His desires were in the first place, and he satisfied them under any circumstances, day and night, on the streets, in bars, gay saunas. Sailors, truck drivers, merchants, prostitutes were his constant targets. By the way, appearance here did not really matter, size and quantity were important. He liked it to be a lot. There are a lot of jokes about Nureyev's sexual excess. Here are a few. One day during lunch London house Rudolf, where respectable friends of the artist gathered, his housekeeper said that two young men were standing at the door. A few days ago, Rudolph made an appointment with them and apparently forgot about it. Rudolf jumped up from his chair and ran out of the dining room. The guests, hearing how he and the visitors went upstairs, fell silent, there was an awkward pause. Then Rudolf's secretary, laughing, exclaimed: "It's always like that with him! He eats them like pancakes!" soon clapped Entrance door, and Rudolf, flushed, with a mischievous and contented gleam in his eyes, returned to the table. "It's very tasty," he said ambiguously as his cook served him the dish. Once, leaving the service entrance of the Paris Opera and seeing a crowd of admirers, Rudolf exclaimed: "Where are the boys?" Dancing in "Giselle", Nureyev struck one of the artists with his exhausted appearance. "What's wrong with you?" the dancer asked him. "I was very tired, I fucked all night and all morning, until the very rehearsal. I didn't have any strength left." "Rudolf," the artist asked, "do you never have enough sex?" - "No. Besides, I fucked myself at night, and me in the morning." A NIGHTMARE ON BOARD At the same time, Rudolph believed that sex is one thing, and intimacy is quite another. But for Eric, it was the same. He was afraid of random meetings and anonymous sex, he could not understand the promiscuity of a friend, which he considered a betrayal. He was horrified by Rudolf's exorbitant physical hunger for lovers. Eric was very selective and could not get used to this promiscuity. This boiling cocktail of love, jealousy, resentment, irritation was mixed with another component - Brun's alcoholism. This was his dark side, which was revealed after drinking, which happened alarmingly often in the 60s. "Alcoholism was one of Eric's painful secrets," says Violette Verdi. "When drunk, he had bouts of cruelty, he became very sarcastic, he liked to hurt." Frustrated by the constant rumors about Rudolf's attempts to sit him down, Brun once accused him of having come from Russia only to kill him. He knew he had said a terrible thing, but he felt a certain need to say it. “Hearing this, Rudik was so upset that he cried,” recalls Brun. “He said:“ How can you be so vicious? ”Sometimes being cruel, Brun was unusually generous; many dancers owe their careers to his leadership, which he always recognized Rudolf himself. But he continued his love chase for Eric, who was so tired of the Tatar tiger that he fled from him to the ends of the world. When Eric flew to Australia on tour, Rudolph called him almost every day from London, wondering why he was not very nice to him on the phone. “Maybe it’s worth calling once or twice a week?” Rudolf’s acquaintances advised. “Perhaps Eric wants to be alone.” But Rudolph did not understand this, and finally decided to fly to him in Sydney. During the flight, Rudolph experienced one of the most powerful shocks. He never forgot that the KGB was looking for him all over the world in order to steal him away and return him to his socialist homeland. On the way to Sydney, this nightmare almost happened. During the stop of the plane at the Cairo airport, the pilot suddenly asked the passengers to get off the plane, explaining this with some technical problems. Nureyev internally went cold, feeling a trap. He did not go out, convulsively shrinking into a chair. When a flight attendant approached him to take him out, he pleaded for help, saying that he was afraid to leave the plane. Then the stewardess, seeing through the window two men approaching the plane, quickly led Nureyev to the toilet. "I'll tell them it's not working," she promised. Nureyev was there while the KGB officers searched the plane and knocked on the toilet door. “I stared in the mirror and saw myself turning gray,” he later recalled. LADY OF HEART When in 1961 Nureyev met Eric in Copenhagen, the famous English ballerina Margo Fontaine entered his life at the same time. Here, as in the case of Brun, he also played a role phone call. Once Rudolf came to visit his teacher Vera Volkova, and the phone rang. Volkova picked up the phone and immediately handed it to Nuriev: "This is you, from London." - "From London?" Rudolph was surprised. He didn't know anyone in London. "This is Margot Fontaine speaking," said the voice on the phone. "Would you like to dance at my gala concert?" There is no more elegant, courageous and wise ballerina in the history of ballet than Fontaine. A light smile, a hot sparkle of eyes, temperament, and also a steel back and an iron will - this is Margot. Her husband, Roberto Tito de Arias, was from a family of prominent Panamanian politicians and at the time was Panama's ambassador to the UK. After Rudolph performed at her gala concert, the management of Covent Garden invited Fontaine to dance Giselle with him. Margot hesitated at first. She first performed at Giselle in 1937, a year before Nureyev was born, and by the time of his escape from the USSR, she had been a star for fifteen years. Wouldn't she, a forty-two-year-old prima, look ridiculous next to a twenty-four-year-old young tiger? But finally she agreed and won. Their performance sent the audience into a frenzy. Nuriev's sensual ardor was the perfect contrast to Fontaine's expressive purity. They merged into a single dance impulse, and it seemed that their energy and musicality had one source. When the curtain closed, Fonteyn and Nureyev were called for bows twenty-three times. To the roar of applause, Fontaine pulled out a red rose on a long stem from the bouquet and presented it to Nuriev, he, touched by this, fell to his knee, grabbed her hand and began to shower with kisses. The audience from this spectacle lay in a swoon.
But that evening did not become a complete triumph for Nureyev. Although Brun rehearsed the role of Albert with him, he left the theater, tormented by jealousy. “I ran after him, and the fans ran after me. It was very unpleasant,” Rudolph later recalled. TREE OF WHITE CAMELIAS"God! I never did half of the things I do now in dance," Fontaine admitted with surprise, speaking of Nureyev's influence on her. And Rudolph admitted: "If I had not found Margo, I would have been lost."
Soon the choreographer Frederick Ashton created for them the ballet "Marguerite and Armand" based on "Lady of the Camellias" by Dumas son to the music of Liszt's piano Sonata in B minor. This ballet became the most long-awaited event of the 1963 season and gave rise to a lot of rumors and gossip on the topic: were Rudolph and Margot lovers in life? Some categorically argue that yes, others just as zealously reject it. There are those who say that Fontaine carried Nureyev's child, but lost it due to a miscarriage. But this is rather from the realm of fantasy, since Margot by that time could not have children. Rudolph and Margot themselves talk about their relationship like this: “When we were on stage, our bodies, our hands joined in the dance so harmoniously that I think nothing like this will ever happen again,” recalls Nuriev. “She was my best friend , my confidant, a man who only wanted the best for me." “A strange attraction arose between us for each other, which we never managed to explain rationally,” Fontaine admits, “and which, in a sense, resembled the deepest affection and love, given that love is so diverse in its manifestations. premiere of "Marguerite and Armand" Rudolph brought me a small tree of white camellias - it was intended to symbolize the simplicity of our relationship in the terrible world around us.
DID NOT HAPPEN But in relations with Eric, this simplicity was not. Brun, tired of Rudolf's disorderliness, complained to his friends: "I can't be with him, we are ruining each other." But Rudolf continued to pursue Eric. Speaking in 1968 in Copenhagen, Rudolf met with choreographer Glen Tetley. Tetley was invited to dinner with Brun, who warned him not to say anything about this invitation to Rudolf. But Nureyev, as if guessing where the choreographer was going, imposed himself on him as a companion. Tetley refused, but Rudolph got into his car. When the car pulled up to country house Erica in Gentoft, smiling Brun went out to meet the car. But, seeing Rudolph, he ran into the house, disappeared upstairs and did not appear all evening. "I'm sure Rudolph was very upset," recalls Tetley, "but he never made it clear." And Nureyev told his friends that he would forever connect his life with Eric if he allowed it. To which Eric replied: "Rudolf declared me a model of freedom and independence - I always did what I wanted. Well, what happened between us in the early years - explosions, collisions - this could not last long. If Rudolph wanted it was different, well, I'm sorry."
Soon their stormy love story finally collapsed when Rudolph learned that in Toronto (where Eric then directed the National Ballet of Canada), Eric began an affair with one of his students, who eventually gave birth to a daughter from him. But although with love relationship everything was over between them, the spiritual connection lasted until the end of their lives, having survived all the betrayals, conflicts, separations. "My Danish friend Eric Brun helped me more than I can express," Nureyev said in an interview. "I need him more than anyone."
When Brun was dying of lung cancer in 1986, Nuriev dropped everything and came to him. They talked until late, but when Rudolf returned to him the next morning, Eric could no longer talk, but only followed Rudolf with his eyes. Rudolf took Eric's death hard and never recovered from this blow. Together with Eric, his youthful recklessness and ardent carelessness left his life. He was left alone with himself, the advancing old age and a deadly disease. And although Nureyev somehow passionately threw: "What do I need this AIDS for? I'm a Tatar, I'll fuck him, not he me," Rudolph understood that he was running out of time. I HAD TO MARRY HER Five years after the death of Eric, Rudolph said goodbye to the lady of his heart, Margot Fontaine. Prior to this, Margot experienced a terrible tragedy. In Panama, the car in which her husband was was shot. Two bullets got stuck in the chest, another pierced the lung, the fourth hit the back of the neck, near the spine. According to one version, it was a political order, according to another, forty-seven-year-old Arias was shot by his party colleague for sleeping with his wife. Paralyzed, chained to wheelchair Arias became a constant concern for Margot. She did not allow him to turn into a body in a stroller, so she took him with her on tour, on yachts to friends. Margot stubbornly earned a living and medical care for her sick husband by dancing. "I will dance as long as they walk on me," she told reporters. And she dances, and when she returns home in the evening after the performance, before eating, she cooks food for her husband and feeds her like small child, from a spoon. By the way, the last time "Margarita and Armand" Margot and Rudolf danced in Manila in August 1977. And then she retired with Arias on a farm in Panama, where she was dying of ovarian cancer. Only Rudolph, who anonymously paid her medical bills, knew about this. In 1989, Margo buried Tito Arias, underwent three surgeries and was almost bedridden: "I used to tour theaters, and now I'm touring hospitals," Fontaine joked. Margot died on February 21, 1991, twenty-nine years after she and Rudolf first danced in Giselle. After that, he was her partner almost 700 times. They say, having learned about her death, he bitterly exclaimed: "I should have married her." But it seems that it was just a phrase of a man who knew that he himself was dying of AIDS. Rudolf outlived Margot by two years. He died on January 6, 1993, on the eve of Orthodox Christmas, he was fifty-four years old. Christmas Eve came down to earth without him. Updated on 31/08/10 23:05: A short video about Eric and Rudik :)

Rudolf Nureyev - the great ballet dancer

The life of the brilliant dancer Rudolf Nureyev was not always cloudless. In childhood, he had to know real poverty, which, however, forced him to achieve a comfortable existence with extreme perseverance. But the path to a decent life was not easy. Although Nureyev was engaged in ballet since childhood, he began to master the professional technique quite late.

Rudolf Nureyev: plunging into the image.

Contemporaries claimed that when Rudolf mastered various movements at the Vaganova school, it was clear that the guy had significant problems with technique. Moreover, Nureyev himself saw this, and it drove him crazy. He did not hesitate to show his rage in public and often ran away from the hall during rehearsals with tears in his eyes.

He often appeared on stage bare-chested.

But when everyone left, he returned and persistently practiced various steps alone until he achieved perfection. This is how the dancer was formed, about whom the great Plisetskaya would later say: "Before Nureyev, they danced differently." After all, men traditionally played a secondary role in ballet, emphasizing the importance and professionalism of the fair sex. But Nureyev's dance was so bright that it was simply impossible to ignore him.

Eric Brun - the genius of ballet art

Two great dancers.

Eric Brun is the exact opposite of Nureyev. Restrained and cold-blooded, the Dane had amazing technique, charisma and instantly won the favor of the audience. In 1949, he was accepted into the troupe of the American Ballet Theatre, and each of his performances was a real sensation. Tall and aristocratic, blond, resembling a Greek god in appearance, with a high forehead, a regular, sharply defined profile, fine features, and sad gray-blue eyes, he was refinement itself. He attracted the eyes of almost all women ... Eric Brun had a bride, the famous beautiful ballerina Maria Tolchif. But she would have known that his heart would not be given to her.

Correspondence acquaintance

Rudolf Nureyev on stage.

When Bruno toured the USSR in 1960, Nureyev failed to get to his performances. But Rudolf was so impressed by the admiring reviews of acquaintances about the Dane that he even tracked down several amateur recordings of this foreign dancer. Nureyev sincerely admired the elegance of the dance of the great Eric and then said about Bruno: "So cold that it burns."

Meeting

From dance to love is one step.

Ironically, two ballet geniuses were brought together by Maria Tolchiff. She was connected by tender feelings with Eric, and after the break she fell in love with Rudolf without memory. It was she who, in 1961, asked Nureyev to accompany her to Bruno, with whom she performed the part in a ballet production in Copenhagen. During the trip, she called Eric and said nonchalantly, "There's someone here who really wants to meet you!" It was then that future lovers would hear each other's voice, and Tolchiff herself would lose both of her boyfriends at once.

Nureyev, Bruno, Maria Tolchiff and ballerinas of the troupe.

The first meeting took place at the Angleterre Hotel, and Bruno will take a liking to a handsome Tatar dressed with a certain casual elegance. Nureyev did not know English well, so it was difficult for him to keep up a conversation when they met, and Tolchiff and Eric, trying to hide the embarrassment and awkwardness of the situation, also did not seek to communicate.

Together.

After this meeting, they periodically met at rehearsals, and even then Rudolf became more and more attached to Eric, who conquered on stage with incredible grace and grace, and besides, he was handsome, like an ancient god.

Development of a relationship

Love comes unexpectedly.

Nureyev's affection for Bruno was mutual. Eric caught himself thinking that he wanted to spend more and more time with Rudik, and on one of those days the dancers decided to dine alone, without Maria Tallchiff. This infuriates the ballerina, she throws a real tantrum. The entire troupe is watching the love triangle relationship. But Tolchiff fails to extinguish the flame that flared up between her two partners.

Rudolf and Eric at rehearsal.

They were direct opposites. Nureyev is a passionate, frantic Tatar, almost a savage, and Brun is a calm, reasonable Scandinavian. Brun was refinement itself. Restrained, balanced. Tall blond with blue eyes. And at the same time, they could not imagine life without each other.

Nureyev at the machine.

Passions just boiled! Rudolph, when it seemed to him that something was wrong in their relationship, yelled, stamped his feet and scattered things around the apartment, and a frightened Eric ran away from home. Nureyev rushed after him and begged him to return. “Our meeting was like a collision and explosion of two comets,” Eric commented loftily on these kitchen showdowns.

What should I be afraid of?

Once Rudy was asked if he was afraid of exposure? In response, he laughed and promised to shout to the whole world that he loved Eric: “Why should I be afraid? They will find out that I am gay and stop going to my performances? No. Nijinsky, Lifar, but Diaghilev himself. And Tchaikovsky ... That women will they want me less?

Nureyev in the dressing room

Nureyev also constantly cheated on his beloved. Eric didn't like this kind of licentiousness. He was jealous, suffered and periodically collected belongings. Nureyev begged to stay, swore that he loved only him, swore that this would not happen again ... He told the unfortunate Eric everything that walking men usually say to their unfortunate wives in such cases. Nureyev had affairs with the legendary lead singer of the group "Qween" Freddie Mercury, with Elton John; and according to rumors, even with the unforgettable Jean Marais.

Nureyev and mapeds.

But there was one more thing that haunted Eric, perhaps even more than the constant betrayal of a partner - that he, a talented dancer, in many ways even more talented than Nureyev, was completely overshadowed by the insane popularity of his lover. In the West, the image of Nureyev, who fled the USSR, was so promoted that no one else could simply compete with him. “It was enough for him to move his toe to make hearts beat like tom-toms,” wrote one of the critics. This hysterical interest convinced Brun that he himself would forever go unnoticed.

Parting

Dance genius Rudolf Nureyev.

Tired of Tatar yoke, Eric fled to the ends of the world - to Australia. Nureyev called his beloved every day and wondered why Eric was rude to him on the phone. “Maybe you should call once or twice a week? - Rudolf's acquaintances advised. "Maybe Eric wants to be alone." But Rudolph didn't think so.

Gravestone of Rudolf Nureyev.

But he flew in vain, their relationship never improved. “I can’t be with him, we are destroying each other,” Brun complained to friends. Nureyev, on every corner, declared that he was ready to stay with Eric for life. To which Eric retorted: “- explosions, collisions, - this could not last long. If Rudolf wanted things to be different, well, I'm sorry." So unoriginal - "I'm sorry" - and ended this stormy love affair.

In 1986, when it became known about Brun's serious illness, Nureyev dropped everything and flew to him. They talked until late at night, and in the morning, when Nureyev came to him, he could no longer talk and only followed Rudolf with his eyes. In March, Brun died, according to the official version of cancer, but evil tongues claimed that it was from AIDS. Rudolf did not recover from this blow until the end of his days. Eric's photograph was always on his desk. He survived his lover and idol by 12 years.

The cause of Rudolf Nureyev's death is inextricably linked with the history of his entire life, in which the high and the low are bizarrely intertwined: feelings and instincts, aspirations and whims, ups and downs of merit and weakness ...

One of the most famous "defectors" of the USSR asked for political asylum abroad in 1961 in Paris, where his ballet troupe gave tours. The decision to stay abroad was provoked by Nureyev's conflict with the KGB: his non-traditional sexual orientation and meetings with Parisian gays aroused the indignation of the "inspectors". After persistent suggestions and threats to remove him from the upcoming theatrical tour in London, Rudolf decided to break with his homeland.

His debut in France immediately attracted the attention of professionals and the public, but he did not receive refugee status in this country despite his talent and was forced to move to Denmark, and then to England. The extraordinary abilities of Rudolf Nureyev became a happy guarantee of concluding a contract with the London Royal Ballet, and this cooperation lasted 15 years. He became a permanent partner of the famous Margot Fontaine.

Nuriev was the most talented successor of the traditions of Vatslav Nezhinsky, who strives to convey to the viewer the freedom and beauty of the human body. With his work, he achieved equality between the female and male parties in ballet, where a woman used to reign. The audience now went to the theater to watch the star Rudolf Nureyev, whose brilliant dance perfectly conveyed the subtlest shades of dramaturgy.

Nuriev and Fontaine became the most famous dance couple of their time and they were even connected by personal relationships, but not for long: he preferred men and often changed partners, although one constant relationship - with the Dane Eric Brun, lasted for 25 years.

Nuriev devoted himself entirely to ballet and toured extensively around the world. He gave up to 200 performances a year and performed all the most important male parts of the classical repertoire. In addition, Rudolf was, like many talents, multi-talented. He turned out to be an excellent director and independently staged several ballets, excelled in conducting and teaching, willingly starred in films and on TV. He was granted citizenship in 1982 by the Austrian government.

Rudolf Nureyev was a passionate and enthusiastic person: he loved life in all its manifestations and knew how to use its benefits: he enthusiastically made acquaintances and romances, recklessly spent money on his whims, luxurious stage costumes and a collection of works of art. He bought an island in the Mediterranean with a luxurious villa. His person has acquired many legends and anecdotes about his greedy insatiability and eccentricity.

The whole world knows why Rudolf Nureyev died - everything that concerned the great dancer of our time immediately became known. In 1984, he went to a French clinic, where, after an examination, he was diagnosed with AIDS 4 years ago. The disease was difficult to treat and in 1991 began to progress. Death came in January 1994. The Russian "genius of dance" found his peace in the cemetery of Saint-Genevieve de Bois near Paris.

Nureyev Rudolf Khametovich is one of the most famous "defectors", that is, people who left the Soviet Union and did not return. Nureyev became famous not only as an outstanding dancer and choreographer. He is known to many for scandalous stories and a stormy personal life.

Childhood

Officially, the city of Irkutsk is listed as the birthplace of Nureyev, but this is not entirely true. Hamet, the father of the future dancer, was a political commissar of the Red Army and served in Vladivostok. In March 1938, Farida, Rudolf's mother, who was in her last month of pregnancy, went to her husband. On March 17, on the train at the Razdolnaya station (near Irkutsk), she gave birth to a healthy boy. Nureyev himself paid special attention to the first fact of his biography, finding in it a kind of omen for his whole life.

Rudolph was not the first child in the Nureyev family. He had three older sisters: Lilia, Rosida and Rosa, and Rudolf had the warmest relationship with the latter. After a year and a half of living in Vladivostok, the Nureyevs moved to Moscow. But as soon as they began to establish life in a new place, Soviet Union opposed Nazi Germany in World War II. Hamet, being a military man, went to the front among the first. The successful advance of the Wehrmacht to Moscow led to the fact that his family was evacuated: first to Chelyabinsk, and then to the village of Shchuchye located near Ufa.

Rudolf Nureyev remembered the same thing about the war years as the rest of the children: darkness around, lack of food, excess cold. This was reflected in his character: the boy grew up very nervous, quickly broke into crying, reaching hysterics.

First ballet

But not everything was so bad during the evacuation years. At the age of five, Rudolf first appeared at the ballet. They put on the "Crane Song". From that moment on, he got excited about the idea of ​​dancing, and Farida sent her son to a dance club at a kindergarten. Rudolph eagerly studied and even with the rest of the circle members spoke to the wounded soldiers.

Father returned from the war when Nureyev was eight years old. The upbringing of his son shocked his father: he was the complete opposite of what some call a "real man." Not only was Rudolf physically very weak, but he was also engaged in dancing, which was not at all welcomed in the martinet environment. Hamet immediately set about "re-educating": he beat his son when he attended a dance club, painted him all the delights of a worker's life. When almost all the children from the dance circle went to Leningrad to continue their studies, Hamet did not let his son in, citing a lack of money.

But his father could not turn Rudolph's heart to the construction of the Stalinist five-year plans. Weak physically, Nureyev Jr. was very strong in spirit. Together with his mother, he managed to break the stubbornness of his father. Lived in exile in Ufa former soloist Diaghilev Ballet Anna Udaltsova. It was she who studied with Rudolf, and she insisted that the capable boy enter the school in Leningrad.

In 1955, a festival of the art of Bashkiria was held in Moscow, at which Nureyev's dance troupe was supposed to perform with the same "Crane Song". Rudolph was lucky: the soloist suddenly fell ill. In a short time, despite the danger to health, the young man learned the entire part and conquered the entire hall, despite the injury received during rehearsals. So the future "indomitable genius" appeared on the stage - Rudolf Nureyev.

Years of study

After a resounding success, Rudolph was determined to study. He could enter the Moscow choreography studio, but there was no hostel provided. Then Nureyev goes to Leningrad, where he successfully passes the entrance tests. But it immediately became clear that the seventeen-year-old Nureyev was catastrophically behind his peers in terms of skill and technique: usually children from the age of twelve were accepted into the choreography studio. The young man begins to work hard on himself, all his time is absorbed by rehearsals and training. At the same time, relations with other students do not add up: they laugh at him, call him a redneck. For a short period of time, Nureyev actually found himself on the verge of nervous breakdown. A. Pushkin, one of the teachers of the school, who saw significant potential in Rudolph and respected his desire to master all the basics of dance skills, actually saves the young man by offering to live with him.

With teachers, however, it was not always smooth either. Pushkin appeared in Nureyev's life due to the fact that, having barely entered the school, he demanded to replace another teacher, who was also the director. Anyone else for such a demand would have been immediately expelled, but Nureyev, due to his undoubted talent, was forgiven for this trick and really replaced the teacher.

During his studies in Leningrad, Nureyev also took care of raising his cultural level. In addition to dancing, he took music lessons, visited museums and theaters. Despite the suffocating Iron Curtain, Rudolph managed to get foreign magazines, which he studied Western dance techniques.

In 1958, Rudolf Nureyev graduated from college. One of the most famous Soviet ballerinas, Natalia Dudinskaya, closely followed his successes. Despite the significant difference in age (she was 49 years old, and Rudolf - 19), she invited the young talent to become her partner in the Laurencia ballet. The performance was a huge success with the public, and Nureyev's partners will always be older than him.

Life in the USSR

At the Opera and Ballet Theater named after S. M. Kirov (now the Mariinsky Theater), Nureyev served for three years. Although his late admission to a specialized educational institution, and many critics saw a number of rather gross mistakes in Rudolf's dance, in this short time Nureyev managed to make a real revolution in Soviet ballet. Previously, the unspoken rule was that the star on the stage is a ballerina, while the partner plays a supportive role. This was not to Rudolph's liking. He was able to make the male dance self-sufficient. All errors and deviations from the canon soon began to be considered a special manner of dancing.

At the ballet competition held in Moscow, Nureyev, together with Alla Sizova, took first place, but refused to accept the award: Soviet reality disgusted him. He was especially annoyed that the government allocated him and Alla a two-room apartment for two, referring to the lack of free housing. In this act, Rudolph saw a kind of pandering: as if they wanted to marry him to Sizova. If the Soviet government really set itself such a goal, it would be unpleasantly surprised. Although in his youth, according to Nureyev himself, he entered into sexual relations with women, he liked men much more. Soon he left the apartment, again settling with his teacher and his wife.

Success in the USSR allowed Nureyev to travel around Europe as part of a dance troupe. He visited Bulgaria, the GDR and even Egypt, and everywhere performances with his participation frustrated the frenzied applause of the public. At the age of twenty-three, he was declared the best dancer in the world.

France

Tours in Paris became a turning point in the biography of Rudolf Nureyev. Soviet authorities who feared that the image of "rotten capitalism", carefully cultivated in the minds, could crumble when people come into contact with culture and way of life European countries, introduced special rules for finding guest performers abroad. Among others, there was a requirement not to walk around the city alone: ​​only five people could move around. There was also a list of persons with whom communication was strictly forbidden. And so that the artists would not be forgotten, KGB officers kept a close watch on them.

Nureyev at first was not the main object of surveillance. Alla Osipenka, Rudolf Nureyev's partner in Swan Lake, was of greater interest. She had been abroad before, and in 1956 she was offered a contract by a Western impresario. She was quickly sent to the airport, and from there back to the USSR. Five years later, this story was still remembered, and they did not take their eyes off the ballerina. The KGB officers took up their work so zealously that every evening in the restaurant they sat down at a table with Osipenko and so exhausted her with conversations that she was forced to say so directly.

But it soon became clear that more attention should be paid to Nureyev. First, he walked around Paris alone. Secondly, he made acquaintances without looking back at the list of banned persons. And thirdly, and this was the most dangerous, I dated men. The chairman of the KGB was forced to report to the Central Committee of the CPSU that, despite many preventive conversations, Nureyev did not change his behavior.

Conversations with KGB officers clearly showed the artist that after his adventures in Paris, he should not return to a country where homosexuality was a criminal offense. In addition, the reaction of the punitive authorities was not long in coming. When the whole troupe was supposed to fly to London to continue the tour, Nureyev was informed that he was going to Moscow. In any case, this meant that the dancer's career was over. Then he decided to take a chance. There is a legend that Nureyev jumped over the barrier and escaped, but this version is disputed in numerous books about Rudolf Nureyev. It is possible that he was told how to deceive the special officer. Nureyev tried to catch up with the plane, but did not have time: the ladder was already leaving. Then he turned to the police who watched the whole scene with a request to grant him political asylum.

On the other side of the iron curtain

Although Nureyev was out of reach, in Moscow they nevertheless decided to punish the escaped artist and staged a trial in absentia over him. The dancer was accused of treason. The court very quickly turned into a farce when the friends of the "defector" managed to prove that the betrayal was "involuntary". As a result, Nureyev was sentenced to seven years in prison. An interesting fact: this sentence was never lifted from Rudolf Nureyev. Later, he managed to enter the USSR for his mother's funeral. Nobody punished him for it. Perestroika reigned in the country. Later, when the terminally ill Nureyev visited the USSR again in 1989, the sentence was again not enforced. The dancer was able to perform for the last time on the stage of the Kirov Theater, from which his career began. But, not faced with a judicial verdict, Nureyev found out what a public verdict is. It turned out that he is known all over the world, but not at home. The Soviet authorities tried to prevent society from knowing how famous the "defector" was. Therefore, during the performance, people did not even imagine what scale the star was performing in front of them.

At the time of his flight, Nureyev had only 36 francs. But he did not have to worry about food for a long time. Two months later he became a member of the Ballet troupe of the Marquis de Cuevas. However, Nureyev did not have a chance to stay there for a long time. The French government, having considered the case of the dancer, came to the decision not to grant him political asylum. Rudolph had to look for other ways to stay in the West. To this end, he goes to Denmark, which is more loyal to such issues. While the Danish authorities settled the matter with the documents, the public could enjoy the dance of Rudolf Nureyev at the Royal Theater in Copenhagen. After Denmark, the artist went to New York, and after that to London, where an exceptional event took place: he was accepted into the London Royal Ballet, although the regulations forbade the signing of contracts with persons who were not subjects of the British crown. Nureyev's talent and fame made it possible to make an exception for him. In London, Nureyev became a partner of another world-famous star: Margot Fontaine.

Eric Brun

A trip to Denmark not only allowed the fugitive dancer to receive political asylum. Although in the biography of Rudolf Nureyev, personal life is one of the most controversial and difficult questions, many researchers agree that main love his life was Eric Brun, whom Rudolf met in Copenhagen.

Their couple has become the personification of the thesis that opposites attract. Nureyev had a difficult character: he was rude, harsh, sometimes hysterical. Brun, in all situations, showed calmness and restraint, was distinguished by an innate sense of tact. If Rudolph, despite his talent and skill, could not completely get rid of the mistakes associated with his late admission to the choreographic school, then Eric was famous primarily for his skill and technique.

For the first time, Nureyev heard about Eric back in 1960, when he performed on tour in the USSR. He did not manage to get to the performance, but the rave reviews of his acquaintances forced him to find amateur videos. The skill of the Dane sincerely delighted Rudolf.

A face-to-face acquaintance of two talents was arranged by Brun's bride, Maria Tolchiff. She knew about the admiration that Rudolph felt for the Dane, and she herself called her fiancé. The first meeting turned out to be laconic: Nureyev still spoke English poorly. However, sympathy between them arose immediately. For a while they met at rehearsals, and then Eric invited Rudolph to dinner. Tolchiff, realizing what was happening, threw a tantrum, which was watched by the entire dance troupe.

Relations developed rapidly, despite the difference in characters. Nureyev often broke down, staged real pogroms in their apartment, Brun ran away from home, and Rudolf then rushed after him and persuaded him to return. Photos of Rudolf Nureyev and Eric Brun demonstrate the real closeness between the two men. At that time, society was rather wary of homosexuality. This did not stop Nureyev from flaunting his orientation. Emancipation did him a disservice. So, rumors about the betrayal of a partner constantly reached Eric's ears. Freddie Mercury, Anthony Perkins were called among his lovers, and someone claimed that even Jean Mare had been in Nureyev's bed. There was also professional envy: in the West, the image of Nureyev - a fugitive from the depressing Soviet reality - was too hyped. Professional Brun was very hurt by this.

However, their relationship ended for a completely different reason. Nureyev firmly decided on his orientation, and Brun was bisexual. It turned out that he regularly meets with a woman from whom he even has a child. After twenty-five years of relationship, the separation was painless. The men managed to maintain friendly relations. In 1986, Brun fell seriously ill. Since AIDS was perceived by society as a shameful disease, punishment from above for a homosexual lifestyle, it was officially announced that Brun was dying of cancer. Nureyev immediately went to him and was there until the very end. Rudolf Nureyev kept a photo of Eric Brun on his desk until his death.

Ballet

Margot Fonteyn contributed to the growth of Rudolph's international popularity, which delivered so many difficult minutes to Eric. With her filing, Rudolph becomes a regular at social events. Their creative duet has become one of the most harmonious and successful in the history of ballet. The indomitable genius Rudolf Nureyev breathed new life dance Fontaine, who was already thinking about leaving the stage. In 1964 they performed at the Vienna Opera. Then the dancer tried his hand as a choreographer: it was he who staged the play "Swan Lake". Rudolf Nureyev and Margot Fontaine received deafening applause. The standing ovation went on so long that the workers were forced to raise the curtain more than eighty times. This creative union lasted ten years.

Savor and world success did not affect the performance of the dancer. On tour, he traveled the whole world, having no idea about the weekend or vacation. Within one week, Nureyev could appear in Paris, London, Montreal and Tokyo. Although he was advised to slow down the pace, which was detrimental to health, Rudolf did not listen to anyone. Normal sleep was also an unattainable luxury for him: Nureyev slept for about four hours a day and most often in a taxi or plane. After 1975, Rudolph began to give more than three hundred concerts a year. Success on stage very soon made Nureyev a very rich man. There was even enough money to buy a small island in the Mediterranean. But the hardships that affected the Nureyev family during the Second World War left a strong imprint on the personality of the dancer. Unlike other wealthy people, Rudolph was distinguished by stinginess. He could never forget that as a child he had to wear his sisters' clothes, and once his mother carried him to school on her back, because she could not buy shoes for her son. Of course, Nureyev did not tell anyone about this and generally brushed off questions about the past. Therefore, the stinginess of the world famous artist shocked his friends and acquaintances. According to their stories, he never paid for himself in a restaurant.

Nureyev repeatedly showed himself as an innovator. Among his productions, the one-act ballet "The Youth and Death" is the most famous. Fortunately, in 1966, Roland Petit filmed Nureyev's performance for television, and the modern viewer can appreciate the talent of the dancer and director. The innovation was manifested in the fact that Nureyev based his ballet on a tense plot. The girl, personifying death, mocks the young man who has fallen in love with her. When he desperately threatens to commit suicide, she graciously gives him the noose. To broadcast the performance on television, Nureyev used special effects: after the frame where he hangs himself on a hook in the room, another follows, in which the Young Man is already on the gallows.

director and actor

Since 1983, for six years, Nureyev headed the Parisian ballet Grand Opera. His appointment has received mixed reactions. The work of the director was accompanied by constant conspiracies and even open protests. But this did not stop Nureyev from defending his point of view. On his initiative, many Russian classics were staged, first of all, Tchaikovsky's ballets. "Grand Opera" has become a real trendsetter, and its troupe - the most authoritative association of dancers. Under Nureyev, a new building was also built on Place de la Bastille. The peculiarity of Rudolph, as a leader, was his desire to give way to a new generation of dancers. At the same time, he ignored the existing hierarchy and could give the solo part to a little-known ballerina over the head of a universally recognized star.

The harsh nature of Nureyev did not contribute to the fact that the troupe treated him with love, although they recognized his merits. In the heat of the moment, he could scold the ballerina for a minor mistake. At the same time, he did not hesitate in expressions. Mood swings also affected unfamiliar people. Having invited the Soviet choreographer Igor Moiseev to dinner, Nureyev, while still in a taxi, for some unknown reason, fell into a gloomy mood, and in response to an attempt to find out the reason, he used a Russian obscenity. Dinner was cancelled.

In addition to ballet, Rudolf Nureyev was interested in the actor's craft. Back in the USSR, he played in the film "Souls Fulfilled Flight", filmed especially for the All-Union Review of Choreographic Schools. But a special game from the dancer was not required then. He began to play real dramatic roles only in the West. The greatest success among his acting work became a role in the biographical film "Valentino", dedicated to famous actor silent film era. Another major role was obtained in the crime film "In plain sight". In this film, Rudolf Nureyev starred in a pair with a young, but already very famous Nastasya Kinski. Critics passed the picture in silence, and now only those who are interested in the work of the great dancer remember it. But it is unlikely that he aspired to more. Ballet subjugated the whole life of Rudolf Nureyev. Films for him were just a curious experiment.

Although the mood in society was gradually changing towards freedom, including sexual freedom, Nureyev continued to shock the public. So, for many, he was not a world-famous dancer, choreographer and actor, but a man who served as a model for an erotic photo shoot for Vogue magazine. Nude photos of Rudolf Nureyev divided society into indignant and sympathetic, but the dancer did not care about all the possible scandals. He perfectly understood that they would go to his performances in any case.

The monstrous burden on health, as well as the fight against AIDS, forced Nureyev to refuse to actively participate in performances. But he continued to engage in productions and even acted as a conductor. He could not imagine his life without ballet and attended his performances even in a very difficult condition. Once, when the audience wanted to see their idol, he was carried onto the stage on a stretcher.

Fighting disease and death

HIV was found in Nureyev's blood in 1983. Analysis showed that he was already there for a long time. The tactics of hushing up the true scale of the epidemic by the authorities, the lack of support in society have led to extremely low awareness of the population about the disease. According to one version, Nureyev did not contract HIV during intercourse. Once he crossed the road and was hit by a car. At the hospital, he received a transfusion of contaminated blood.

But the reasons why he was infected were of little interest to Nureyev. His wealth allowed him to hope that a cure would be discovered. Nureyev spent up to two million dollars annually on treatment. However, this was of little use. Doctor Michel Kanesi suggested that the famous dancer try a new experimental drug that was administered intravenously. The injections caused such pain that four months later Nureyev refused to continue the course. In 1988, he again voluntarily took part in the testing of a new drug, Azidothymidine, although he was aware of its severe side effects. Treatment did not bring recovery. In 1992, the disease entered its final stage. Nureyev desperately clung to life, as he wanted to complete his production of Romeo and Juliet. For some time, the disease receded, and Rudolf's dream came true. But at the end of the year, Nureyev's health deteriorated sharply. On November 20, he went to the hospital. AIDS destroyed the dancer's body so badly that he could hardly move or eat. On January 6, 1993, he died. According to Kanesi, the death was not painful.

Meaning and memory

The cause of death of Rudolf Nureyev was complications resulting from AIDS, and he insisted that things be called by their proper names. In this regard, the importance of Nureyev in expanding public awareness of deadly disease hard to overestimate. The dancer had no direct heirs. With the exception of the sisters who remained in the USSR, only the late Eric Brun was the family of Rudolf Nureyev. Therefore, after the funeral, his things were sold at auction. Nureyev was buried in the Russian cemetery of Saint-Genevieve-des-Bois.

The contribution made by Nureyev to the development of ballet was appreciated. Even during his lifetime, he was called the greatest dancer not only of his time, but of the entire 20th century. After the fall of the Iron Curtain, Nureyev became widely known in Russia. Now a college of choreography in Bashkiria, one of the streets in Ufa, as well as the annual festival of classical dance in Kazan are named after him. Details of the biography of Rudolf Nureyev attract writers and directors. Many solid books have been written about his life and work, theatrical performances are being made and documentaries are being shot.

The well-known director Roman Viktyuk dedicated the play "An Otherworldly Garden" to the memory of Rudolf Nureyev. According to the memoirs of the director, he personally promised the great dancer a performance about him. The result was somewhat far from this promise. The production was based on the play by Azat Abdullin. The image of Nureyev, as the playwright said, served as a prototype for reflections on willpower and talent.

The photos and videos left after the death of Rudolf Nureyev became the basis for various documentaries about his life. For obvious reasons, the episode at the Paris airport enjoys the greatest interest, when instead of living in the Soviet Union, the dancer chose freedom. One of the documentaries on this topic is the British film "Rudolf Nureyev: Dance to Freedom", released in 2015. The role of the dancer was performed by the soloist of the Bolshoi Theater