Rudolf Nureyev: Man-scandal. Brief biography of Rudolf Nureyev - a famous dancer and choreographer Ballet Nureyev biography

His temper, selfishness, stinginess and unbridled love for men were legendary. He lived greedily and mercilessly spent time, strength, talent, feelings. But he did not know that for his insatiability he would pay a terrible price, monstrous, but inevitable, like any payment on the account.

In his official biography they write that Rudolf Nureyev was born in Irkutsk. In fact real name Rudolf is not Nureyev, but Nureyev. He became Nuriev later, when he became famous. And Irkutsk arose because it was impossible to write in the passport that a person broke into this life swiftly and in an original way, to the sound of wheels of a train rushing across the expanses of the country, and so he lived his life on the road: in the morning in Paris, in the afternoon in London, in the next day in Montreal.
Nureyev was born swiftly, just as he had lived all his life. Flew into the light of day quite cold morning March 17, 1938 at the junction of the steppes Central Asia and the mountains of Mongolia - in a train rushing to Far East, falling right into the hands of his ten-year-old sister Rosa. His mother Farida was on her way to the place of work of her husband Khamit, a political officer Soviet army. On the train with my mother were his sisters: Rosa, Rosida and Lilya. In the family, the only person Rudolph was really close to in those days was his sister Rosa.
On both sides, our relatives are Tatars and Bashkirs." He was proud of his nation and, in general, really looked like a swift, headstrong descendant of Genghis Khan, as he was repeatedly called. On occasion, he could emphasize that his people in for three centuries ruled over the Russians. "Tatar - good complex animal traits, and that's what I am."

Just a few months after arriving in Vladivostok, his mother, Farida, and her four children were again on the train on the Trans-Siberian Railway. This time they were heading to Moscow together with Khamet Nureyev - a simple Tatar peasant who managed to take advantage of the changes that took place in the country after the October Revolution of 1917 and eventually rose to the rank of major - was transferred to Moscow.
Child new Russia, Hamet worked for the almighty military-industrial complex and this job required constant travel. He belonged to the new team of political instructors that the Soviet government brought up. The children already knew that the passion for travel had become second nature of the father, and it was this trait that his son Rudolf inherited from him.
But in 1941, after the German attack on the Soviet Union, the Second World War and Hammett goes to the front. From Moscow, Farida is evacuated with her four children to her native Bashkiria, where his childhood years pass. She lives in a small hut in the village of Chishuana with her children during the war years.
Their food all day long is a piece of goat cheese or an empty potato. One day, unable to wait until the potatoes were cooked, Rudik tried to get them, knocked over the pot on himself and ended up in the hospital. Where I could eat enough, which could not be said about home food. The Nureyevs lived very poorly. Rudik grows up without a father as a quiet and closed child. His favorite hobby at that time it was to listen to gramophone records, he especially adored the music of Tchaikovsky or Beethoven. He grew up; How The only son in a Tatar family; in the village.
The time was very difficult: as the dancer later recalled, the winters in Ufa were so long and cold that his nose froze, and when it was time to go to school, there was nothing to go - he had to put on a coat of one of the sisters.

However, there was a good opera house in Ufa, at one time Chaliapin himself made his debut there.
On the eve of the new year 1945, on December 31, Nureyev's mother Farida sees Rudolf and his sisters off with just one ticket in their hands to watch the performance of the Bolshoi Theater that arrived in Ufa for the ballet "Song of the Cranes" Crane Song "in which the Bashkir ballerina Zaytuna Nasretdinova performed the main part. He fell in love with ballet. Rudolf was delighted and recalls: “The first trip to the theater lit a special fire in me, brought inexpressible happiness. Something took me away from the wretched life and raised me to heaven. Only when I entered the magical hall did I leave real world and the dream took over. Since then I became obsessed, I heard the "call". At that time, I studied in the school choreographic ensemble and achieved new successes and dreamed of entering the Leningrad choreographic school. For about eight years I lived as a man possessed, blind and deaf to everything except dance ... Then I felt that I had escaped from the dark world, forever.

In 1948 elder sister Rudolf Roza brought him to the Teacher's House to Anna Ivanovna Udaltsova, with whom she herself studied.
Even before the revolution, the professional ballerina Udaltsova traveled all over the world as part of the famous Diaghilev troupe, performed with Pavlova, Karsavina, and was friends with Chaliapin. An intelligent, educated woman, she was fluent in three languages. She taught her students not only dance, but introduced them to music and literature. In addition, she was sincere person and her kindness transformed everyone who interacted with her.
Anna Ivanovna soon recognized the unique abilities, passion little boy to dance and practiced a lot with it. "This is a future genius!" she said.
He began to dream of ballet and danced every free minute in front of a mirror. “Mom laughed and clapped as I twirled on one leg.”

This led to a conflict between him and his father, who had returned from the war. Hamet Nureyev was tough and stern. Rudolf was afraid of him and did not like him. The son's penchant for dancing infuriated his father. My father brutally eradicated his strange passion for music and dancing, for visiting a dance club in the House of Pioneers he beat.
“It’s not even scary that he beat. He talked all the time. Endlessly. Not silent. He said that he would make a man out of me, and that I would also thank him, locked the door and did not let me out of the house. And yelled that I was growing up as a ballerina. At least in some way I fully justified his expectations. For us to listen, he turned off the radio. There is almost no music left."
But he could not beat the "nonsense" out of him. “Ballet is not a profession for a man,” said Nureyev Sr. and wanted his son to go to a vocational school and acquire a reliable working profession.
“I was lucky. Almost no one on our street had fathers. And everyone came up with their own folder. Strong, brave, who will take with him on a hunt or teach you how to fish. And my father is a hero! The whole chest is in orders. Even the traces of the rod on my ass were envied. Only I wanted him to leave ... Then he came to see me at the theater. Even applauded. And, remember, he shook my hand. And I looked at him and thought that here he was, a stranger, old, sick. And now I can hit him, but he doesn’t have the strength to hit back ... Strange, now I don’t feel resentment, I just deleted from my memory everything that hurt. ”

Nureyev himself later did not like to remember his past.
His motto was: "Never look back."
Rudolph was 14 years old when he secretly left home to dance in a children's folklore ensemble. He danced hopak, lezginka and gypsy with an exit. And before that, I must say, he danced so well that the teachers Anna Udaltsova, together with her friend Elena Vaitovich, decided to send him. And not just anywhere, but to Leningrad, to the Vaganova ballet school in one of the best ballet schools in the world!
So, as they say, sent so sent!

On August 17, 1955, seventeen-year-old Rudolf Nureyev found himself on a small Leningrad street built in the 19th century by Carl Rossi for the theater, music and drama schools at the Imperial Theatre. Exactly a week later he entered the Leningrad Choreographic School.

After the examination speech, Vera Kostrovitskaya, one of the oldest teachers of the school, approached the panting young man and said: “Young man, you can become a brilliant dancer, or you can become nothing. The second is more likely."
September 1, 1955, when classes began and he was given a place in the hostel, in many ways prepared him for the coming ascent. He already understood that determination leads to victory, he knew how to stand up for himself, and he felt the enemy unmistakably.

The whole school came running to look at the Ufa nugget - the nugget was 17 years old, and he did not know how to put his feet in the first position. “In Leningrad, he was finally seriously put his feet in the first position - this is very late for a classical dancer. He was desperately trying to catch up with his peers,” Baryshnikov wrote later. Every day all day - dance. could burst into tears and run away. But then, at ten o'clock in the evening, he returned to the class and worked alone on the movement until he mastered it.
When he came to the first rehearsal at the theater, he immediately rebuffed ballet hazing. According to tradition, the youngest had to water the floor in the classroom with a watering can. Everyone is standing, waiting. Nureyev is also waiting. Finally, he is hinted that it would be nice to water the floor. In response, he shows everyone a fig: “Firstly, I am not young. And then, there are such mediocrity who only need to be watered. The men were taken aback by such impudence. But they shut up. Moreover, there was nothing else left - they were taught to dance, not to fight.
Nuriev danced in Kirov for only three years, and far from brilliant - in the West his technique will become much
more polished. But even in this short time he managed to make important thing: returned value to the male dance. Before him, in the 1940s and 50s, a man on the ballet stage was just an assistant to a woman ballerina.
Nuriev showed himself to be an extremely hardworking student - he studied and trained a lot. “He soaked everything up like a sponge,” friends recall in unison.
For a whole year, Rudolf endured the curses of the first teacher Shelkov, and then he achieved a transfer to another teacher. When Nureyev entered his class, Alexander Ivanovich Pushkin was already known as the most respected teacher of male dance in the country.

The restraint of Pushkin's behavior and the seeming ease of his studies in some miraculous and imperceptible way gave rise to passion and obsession in his students. Nureyev felt the irresistible power of his influence: "He filled the soul with excitement and a desire to dance."
Under the tutelage of the great teacher, Alexander Pushkin, Nureyev's talent flourished.
His pedagogical fame was great. Nureyev was his favorite student. Nureyev's zeal conquered Pushkin, as did his musicality. Nureyev never took offense at criticism. Pushkin adored him. He was a great man, he gave everything to Nuriev.
Pushkin was not only interested in him professionally, but also allowed him to live with him and his wife - Ksenia Yurgenson, who was only 21 years old in the past, was a Kirovsky ballerina, was for Nureyev something like a guardian angel, and Nureyev had an affair with her. ... One of the few she knew how to extinguish his fits of rage. “I had a fight that day, yelled at Xenia, and then wept, buried in her knees. And she stroked my hair and kept saying: “My poor, poor boy.”
Over the years, his character became more and more nasty.
On May 11, 1961, the troupe of the Kirov Ballet flew to Paris, Nureyev never saw Alexander Ivanovich again, although he always remembered his cozy apartment in the courtyard of the Choreographic School. It was a house where he was loved.)
After graduating from the Institute, both the Kirov and the Bolshoi Theaters wanted to see Nureyev in their troupes. He chose the Kirov Theater and became its soloist, which was extremely unusual for his age and experience. Ballerina Ninel Kurgapkina repeatedly told Nureyev, who was her partner, that he danced too feminine. Nuriev was sincerely indignant at this: “Don’t you understand? I'm still a teenager!"

It was Nureyev who made the role of a partner in ballet significant. Before him, in the Soviet ballet, the partner was perceived as a minor participant, designed to support the ballerina. Nureyev's dance was amazingly powerful. He was the first among Soviet dancers to go on stage in one tights. Before him, dancers wore baggy short pants or underpants under their leotards. For Nuriev, the body could not be ashamed. He wanted to show not just the dramaturgy of dance, but the beauty and strength of the human body in motion.
“Rudolf stretched his body, stood on high, high half-toes and stretched all up, up. He made himself tall, elegant and beautifully built, ”Baryshnikov commented on his style.
He became one of the most famous dancers in the Soviet Union. Soon he was allowed to travel abroad with the troupe. He took part in the International Youth Festival in Vienna. But for disciplinary reasons, he was soon forbidden to leave the borders of the USSR. Nuriev was a homosexual, which was punishable by law in the Soviet Union.
Homosexual orientation unusually corrected Nureyev's dance.
“I lived on Sadovaya Street,” Trofonov said. “I look: two handsomest guy. One in uniform, Suvorov, the other in jeans (then no one had jeans yet) - Nuriev. And they kiss amazingly. I stopped. Nuriev turned around and asked: "Do you like it?" I replied: "Awesome!" And then we met in London. He recognized me. We started talking. And he gave me his book with a dedicatory inscription: "To the victim of the regime from the victim of the ballet." Gennady Trifonov "
There is a bitter truth in the words of the great artist - in the stagnant USSR, being a homosexual meant constantly being under the threat of arrest, police bullying and insults, and finally, a difficult fate in prison and colony. In this regard, the fate of the same Gennady Trifonov, a graduate of the Faculty of Philology, who was imprisoned for four years on a fabricated case, is very indicative.

In 1961, Nureyev's situation changed. The soloist of the Kirov Theatre, Konstantin Sergeev, was injured, and Nuriev replaced him (at the last minute!) European tour theater.
So Nureyev was recognized on the world stage!
LATER ten days Nuriev first appeared on the stage of the Paris Opera! La Bayadère was on, Solor was his favorite part. His divine plasticity was noted immediately. “The Kirov Ballet has found its cosmonaut, his name is Rudolf Nureyev,” the newspapers wrote. Fans crowded around him. He became friends with Claire Mott and Attilio Labis - the stars of the French ballet instantly appreciated his rare gift. And especially with Clara Saint, who adored ballet and was constantly spinning behind the scenes of the Opera. It was she who was destined to play a special role in his fate. She was engaged to the son of the Minister of Culture of France, AndréA Malraux, and her connections in the highest spheres were immense. First of all, he took Clara to watch his favorite ballet - "The Stone Flower" staged by Yuri Grigorovich, he himself was not busy in it. Grigorovich was not allowed into Paris, and Nuriev highly appreciated his talent as a choreographer.
He behaved freely, walked around the city, stayed up late in restaurants on Saint-Michel, went alone to listen to Yehudi Menuhin (he played Bach in the Hall Pleyel) and did not take into account the rules within which Soviet dancers existed.

In Paris, he could not keep contacts with the "blue" secret from the KGB agents. "Despite the preventive conversations held with him, Nuriev did not change his behavior ...". An order came from Moscow: Punish Nureyev!
At the airport, a few minutes before the troupe's departure to London, where the second part of the tour was to take place, Rudolf was handed a ticket to Moscow with the words: "You must dance at a government reception in the Kremlin. We have just received a telegram from Moscow. In half an hour, your plane" (although all his belongings were packed and were in the luggage sent to London).
Everything that happened at Le Bourget airport on that distant day, June 17, 1961, in Paris, was best described by Nureyev himself: “I felt the blood drain from my face. Dancing in the Kremlin, how ... A beautiful fairy tale. I knew that I would forever lose my trips abroad and the title of soloist. I will be forgotten. I just wanted to kill myself. I made the decision because I had no other choice. And whatever the negative consequences of this step may be, I do not regret it.”
Newspapers vying with each other on the front pages gave loud headlines: "Ballet star and drama at Le Bourget airport", "A girl sees how the Russians are persecuting her friend." This girl was Clara Saint. He called her from the police station, but she asked him not to come to her, as Soviet agents snooped around her house, it was easy to recognize them - they were all dressed in the same raincoats and soft velor hats.
Twenty minutes later, Clara was at the airport with two policemen. SHE came to escort Nureyev to the airport, came up to say goodbye, hugged and whispered in his ear: "You must go to those two policemen and say - I want to stay in France. They are waiting for you." In 1961, to stay in the West, you didn't have to prove that you were being persecuted in the USSR - you just had to throw yourself into the arms of the servants of the law. Here Nureyev tried. Not just rushed, but jumped. Gracefully. Especially since the cops were nice. Suspecting something was wrong, the state security officers began to push back Nureyev, but he escaped and made one of his famous jumps, landing right in the hands of the policemen with the words: "I want to be free"! In custody, he was taken to a special room, from where there were two exits: to the gangway Soviet aircraft and the French police. Alone, he had to make a decision. Then he signed a paper asking for political asylum in France.

When Rudik stayed abroad, Alexander Ivanovich had a heart attack.
A. I. Pushkin tragically died on March 20, 1970 in Leningrad. Alexander Ivanovich had an accident on the street heart attack. And when he fell, he asked passers-by for help, heard reproaches that he was drunk. After all, the question: - What is his name? - Answered: - Alexander Pushkin ...

For many years, Nureyev was harassed by anonymous threatening calls, and this happened especially often just before going on stage, his mother was forced to call her son and persuade him to return to his homeland. His dramatic "renunciation", an outstanding dance technique, exotic appearance, and amazing charisma on stage made him a world famous star ballet. But all this was later, and then ...
Should have started new life. When he decided to stay, he had only 36 francs in his pocket.
Initially, Rudolf was placed in a house opposite the Luxembourg Gardens, in a Russian family. Friends visited him.
In fact, the "world of freedom" turned out to be remarkably complex. Everywhere he was accompanied by two detectives.
Within a week, he was accepted into the Grand Ballet du Marquis de Cuevas. The daily routine was scheduled strictly by the minute, they were afraid of actions from the Soviet special services: class, rehearsals, lunch at a nearby restaurant and home.

He had a strange diet: he liked steak and sweet tea with lemon and ate more like an athlete than a gourmet.
The situation in which he found himself only contributed to depression - there were no classes to which he was accustomed, there was no familiar discipline that created the life of the body, without which it was impossible to become the ideal dance master that he aspired to. Mediocrity and bad taste reigned here, there were few good dancers.
It turned out that he knew very little about Western life and Western ballet. It seemed to him that this world was magnificent, now he was faced with reality: weak schools, handicraft performance. The young man became a skeptic.
There was no familiar atmosphere, no traditions to which he was accustomed. Sometimes he was overcome by despair: had he made a mistake? The Soviet embassy sent him a telegram from his mother and two letters: one from his father, the other from his teacher Alexander Ivanovich Pushkin. Pushkin wrote to him that Paris is a decadent city, that if he stays in Europe, he will lose moral purity and, most importantly, the technical virtuosity of the dance, that he must immediately return home, where no one can understand his act. The father's letter was short: the son betrayed the Motherland, and there is no justification for this. The mother's telegram was even shorter: "Come back home."

Two months after the escape, Nureyev danced in the troupe of the Marquis de Cuvas, and six months later he went to New York to the choreographer George Balanchine. In February 1962, he signed a contract with the London Royal Ballet, which in itself was an unprecedented fact: people without British citizenship were not taken to the Royal Ballet, but an exception was made for Nureyev - where he shone for more than 15 years. In England, Nureyev made his debut on November 2, 1961 in a charity concert, and in February 1962 he performed in the London Royal Ballet Covent Gar in the play Giselle.

His partner was Margo Fontaine.
Vera Volkova, his teacher in Copenhagen, urged Margot Fonteyn to take him to her gala concert for a long time. Having exhausted all the arguments, she exclaimed: "You should have seen what kind of nostrils he has!" These nostrils ultimately decided the fate of Nureyev: he became the prime minister of the Royal Theater in London. At 23, he became the permanent partner of the prima donna, this theatre, Dame (the female equivalent of a knighthood).
They danced together for fifteen years. They were considered not just an ideal ballet couple, but the most famous duet in the history of ballet. At the time of their meeting, she was 43 years old, he was 24. Their collaboration began with the ballet Giselle. And in 1963, choreographer Ashton staged the ballet "Margaret and Armand" for them. Nureyev himself revived the production of Petipa's La Bayadère. By the time she met Rudolf, her performing career was declining. With a new partner, she found a second wind. It was an inspired union of the most restrained ballerina in the world and the most irascible dancer. Together they - "the Tatar prince and the English Lady", as the press called them - conquered the jaded and snobbish New York at a gala concert on January 18, 1965.

Nuriev and Fonteyn hold the Guinness Book record for the number of calls to bow - after the performance of "Swan Lake" at the Vienna State Opera in 1964, the curtain rose more than eighty times !!!
"When my time comes, will you push me off the stage?" she asked one day. "Never!" he replied. In 1971, the great ballerina (her real name is Peggy Hookham) left the stage.
Many journalists wrote that they were connected by platonic love. According to one of the Western publications, Fonteyn gave birth to a daughter from Nureyev, but the girl soon died. Whether this is so is unknown. However, eyewitnesses recall the passionate glances that Margot sent to Rudolf.

In her book "Rudolf Nureyev on stage and in life," Diana Solway writes: "Rudolf did not recognize himself as a homosexual for a long time. Over time, he began to turn only to men for sexual satisfaction. "You have to work so hard with women, and this is not very satisfies, - he said years later to Violette Verdi. - And with men everything is very fast. Great pleasure". He never hid his orientation and declared it relatively openly, but at the same time he very skillfully avoided open questions from the press. "Knowing what it is to make love as a man and a woman is a special knowledge,"
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. But his greatest love was the dancer Eric Brun.
Despite a six-month contract with Cuevas, Nureyev left Paris at the end of the summer and settled in Copenhagen, mainly to get acquainted with the teacher Vera Volkova, who had emigrated from Russia. The great Danish classical dancer Eric Brun also lived in Copenhagen; considered the most refined Prince ever to dance in Giselle. First, Nuriev fell in love with his dance, and then with him.

Eric Brun was an outstanding dancer who captivated the Russian audience during the tour of the American Ballet Theater in 1960. Nuriev was fascinated by him, his manner, elegance, classicism of his art, human qualities. Brun was 10 years older than him, tall and handsome as a god.
“Brun is the only dancer who managed to amaze me. Someone called him too cold. It really is so cold that it burns." And years later, Nureyev burned himself on this ice.
Many noted that they were complete opposites to each other. Nuriev 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. In general, Nuriev disappeared. Oh, why do you, I'm sorry, girls, love beautiful ...

They fought constantly. As the saying goes: “They got together. Wave and stone, poetry and prose, ice and fire. 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. Nuriev 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.
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? Will they find out that I'm gay and stop going to my performances? No. Nijinsky, Lifar, and Diaghilev himself. And Tchaikovsky ... That women will want me less? It would be nice ... But, I'm afraid , they will not be stopped even by the statement that I am a hermaphrodite, rather, it will only spur curiosity.
Nuriev also constantly cheated on his beloved. Eric didn't like this kind of licentiousness. He was jealous, suffered and periodically collected belongings. Nuriev begged to stay, swore that he loved only him, swore that this would not happen again ...
Blah blah blah ... In short, he told the unfortunate Eric everything that usually in such cases walking men say to their unfortunate wives.

In addition to jealousy, he was also tormented by the fact that he, a talented dancer, in many ways even more talented than Nureyev, was completely overshadowed by the insane popularity of his lover. This, of course, was unfair. But the myth of Nureyev in the West was promoted with such force that no other dancer could compete with him. Any appearance of Nureyev on stage was greeted by the audience with a standing ovation. “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. Frustrated by the constant talk about Nureyev's triumphs, the drunken Brun once broke loose and accused Rudolf of having come from the USSR only to destroy him, Brun. Hearing this, Nuriev sobbed: “How can you be so cruel ?!”
In short, it could not last long. Tired of the Tatar yoke, Eric fled to the ends of the world - to Australia. Nuriev 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. He decided to fly to Sydney, but disaster nearly struck during the flight. Nuriev knew perfectly well that the KGB was looking for him all over the world in order to steal him and return him to the USSR. During a stop in Cairo, this almost happened. The pilot suddenly asked all passengers to leave the plane, explaining this by technical problems. Everyone left, and only the genius of world ballet remained sitting, convulsively squeezing the arms of the chair. He was very scared. “Help,” Nuriev said to the stewardess who approached. “The KGB is after me.” The stewardess looked at him as if he was crazy, but, looking out the window, saw two men quickly heading towards the plane. “Go to the toilet,” she whispered to Nureyev. "I'll tell them it's not working." The KGB officers thoroughly searched the plane and even knocked on the door of the locked toilet. “I stared in the mirror and saw myself turning gray,” Nureyev later recalled.
And relations with Eric never improved. He flew in vain. “I can’t be with him, we are destroying each other,” Brun complained to friends. And Nuriev told the same friends that he would forever connect his life with Eric if he allowed it. To which Eric replied again: “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 Rudolf wanted things to be different, well, I'm sorry."
So unoriginal - "I'm sorry" - and ended this stormy love story.

Nuriev gave at least 300 performances a year in all corners of the world and never left the stage for more than two weeks. It was said that he did not dance only in Antarctica.
Traveling around the world, Nuriev was influenced by a variety of ballet schools - Danish, American, English - while remaining faithful to the Russian classical school. This was the essence of "Nureyev's style". During his career, he danced, perhaps, all the main male parts. He skillfully maintained the interest of the audience to himself. He teased and teased. As critics said: "One of the main lines of creating his own stage image was the desire to undress as much as possible during the performance." Nuriev often went on stage bare-chested, and in his own version of The Sleeping Beauty, he first appeared wrapped in a long, floor-length cape. Then he turned his back to the audience and slowly lowered her until she finally stiffened just below the perfectly defined buttocks. This art of presenting himself Nureyev carefully kept until the very end of his career. “I dance for my own pleasure,” he said more than once. "If you're trying to please everyone, it's not original."
He was constantly surrounded by a swarm of admirers - old ladies and handsome young men. He was shocked by the fact that he publicly kissed passionately. Seeing the embarrassment of those around him, he was delighted. And he said that this is an old Russian custom (!!!).
He never suffered from nostalgia. To his Parisian friend, who complained that he yearned in a foreign land without relatives and friends, he snapped: “Don’t attribute your thoughts to me. I’m completely happy here, I don’t miss anyone or anything. Life has given me everything I wanted , every chance." So he lived not for a year or two, but for decades.
He did not think that very soon he would have to pay the highest price for his gluttony.
In the meantime, he worked hard, drank a lot.

The dancers of the ballet school practiced abstinence before the performance, and Nureyev claimed that he could not dance if he had not been in someone's embrace. The routine is this: first - sex, then - dinner.
“Another night; - said Roland Petit. - Rudolph took me to the backyards central station, in an area where travesty reigned. We walked past powdered men with unnaturally full lips, long braids and fishnet stockings balancing on high heels. Someone coquettishly wrapped himself in a nylon fur coat, someone boldly opened the hem, demonstrating a naked body. Theater of the Absurd! Nightmare in reality, a dream or delirium ... I won’t say for sure! At some point, I got really scared. Rudolph, on the other hand, was obviously amused by my confusion, he himself laughed heartily and felt, I must say, magnificently. Danger turned him on. Off stage, he needed the same dose of adrenaline ... I did not understand how this “god”, who dances brilliantly on stage in the light of day, turns into a demonic character at nightfall.”
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. Once, leaving the service entrance of the Paris Opera and seeing a crowd of admirers, Rudolf exclaimed: "Where are the boys?"

Excess wealth greatly ruined and corrupted. He thought that he could buy everything, but for a lot, he simply did not consider it necessary to pay. He hid his financial statements literally from everyone. His pathological stinginess has become the talk of the tongue.
A noble lover on stage, in real life he could be quite rude and harsh. With Igor Moiseev, they did not even get to the restaurant where they were going to have dinner together. “In the car, I noticed,” Moiseev recalled, “that Nureyev’s mood had changed dramatically. At the end of a phrase, he swore obscenely. even sharper. Here I could not resist: "Is this really all that you have left of the Russian language?" My phrase infuriated Nureyev. So without having time to make friends and talk like a human being, they parted.
Tatyana Kizilova - Russian emigrant of the first wave in Paris: "We collected money for Russians in need in Paris, and I personally turned to Nureyev, who was then in charge of the Grand Opera. And he drove me away with the words:" You can’t give to all the poor. "Soon Nureyev came to our church and wanted to donate, but he was refused. And literally a year later he died. Apparently, he came already a completely sick person, he wanted to repent and help ... But he was refused."
For performances, the master asked for fabulous fees and at the same time he never carried pocket money: everywhere, both in restaurants and in shops, friends paid for him. At the same time, Nuriev could spend tens of thousands of dollars on the purchase of dubious art and antiques. Friends shrugged, believing that this was compensation for the hungry Ufa childhood.
His Parisian apartment was literally crammed with such things, the dancer especially liked painting and sculpture with naked male bodies. Houses and apartments were a separate passion: he owned mansions around the world - a villa near Monaco, a Victorian house in London, an apartment in Paris, an apartment in New York, a farm in Virginia, a villa on St. Caribbean, a property on the island of Li Galli near Naples ..., Nureyev even had his own island in the Mediterranean. The most stunning purchase in the form of two islands in the Mediterranean cost him $ 40 million. Nuriev's fortune was estimated at 80 million dollars.

For more than 20 years, the dance genius took what he wanted from life: pleasure, money, fame and admiration.
In 1983, Nureyev accepted the offer of the Paris Grand Opera, becoming at the same time a soloist, choreographer and director. And here again he found himself in his usual and beloved role - one against all. The troupe, torn apart by intrigues and scandals before his arrival, now rallied against the new choreographer. Nuriev demanded unquestioning obedience, and the artists did not like some of the chief's behavioral habits and his manner of communicating. The war, which was waged for all six years of his tenure in this position, ended in favor of the "strong" Nuriev, who managed to create a single ensemble from the troupe.
It seemed that his strength and energy were limitless, like his wealth and fame. Credit accumulated for a long time. Fate gave too much to him without demanding anything in return. But the time came, and Rudolph had to pay a terrible price on the bills.
The disease was discovered in the great dancer at the end of 1984. Nuriev himself came to see a young Parisian doctor, Michel Canesi, whom he had met the year before at the London Ballet Festival. Nuriev was examined in one of the prestigious clinics and was diagnosed with AIDS (he had already developed in the patient's body over the past 4 years).

He accepted his diagnosis calmly. He was sure that his money and the professionalism of the doctors would not let him die. He is used to buying everything. Can't he pay off even now?
Ho every year life takes everything from Nuriev more strength and brings more and more challenges. In 1986, Brun fell seriously ill, Nuriev, having abandoned all his affairs, came to him. “My friend Eric Brun helped me more than I can express,” Nuriev said in an interview. “I need him more than anyone.” 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. Brun died in March 1986. The official diagnosis was Cancer, but evil tongues claimed that Brun was ill with AIDS. Rudolf took Eric's death hard and never recovered from this blow. Do not give your loved ones too beautiful, because the hand that gave and the hand that accepted will inevitably part ...
Together with Eric, his youthful recklessness and ardent carelessness left his life. Eric's photograph was always on his desk. Even after the death of the famous Danish dancer, Nuriev never forgot him - he meant too much in his life.
He was left alone with himself, the coming old age and 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.

The following year brings even more terrible news - Rudolf's mother dies in Ufa. Back in 1976, a committee was created, consisting of well-known cultural figures, which collected more than ten thousand signatures under a request to give Rudolf Nureyev's mother permission to leave the USSR. Forty-two senators of the United States of America appealed personally to the leaders of the country, the UN interceded for Nureyev, but everything turned out to be useless. Only after Mikhail Gorbachev came to power, Nureyev was able to make two trips to his homeland. Only in 1987 was he allowed to come to Ufa for a short time in order to say goodbye to his dying mother, who by that time had hardly recognized anyone. At Sheremetyevo, journalists asked him what he thought of Gorbachev. "He's better than the others," Nureyev said. For Nureyev, this was a desperately bold intrusion into politics: neither under Khrushchev, nor under Gorbachev, he had absolutely nothing to do with politics.
Finally, after a long effort, Rudolph got the opportunity to visit his homeland. Just before his mother's death, in November 1987, the Gorbachev government allowed the artist a short visit to Ufa to say goodbye to her. But when he finally saw his mother again after twenty-seven years of separation, the old dying woman did not recognize this man, who had just traveled five thousand miles, as her son

In 1990, he visited Russia to say goodbye to the Mariinsky Theater, where he once began his career. And in 1991, completely exhausted, Nureyev even decided to change his profession - he decided to try himself as a conductor and successfully performed in this capacity in many countries.
1992, his illness progressed to last stage. “I understand that I am getting old, you can’t get away from this. I think about it all the time, I hear the clock ticking my time on stage, and I often say to myself: you have very little left ... "
Nuriev was in a hurry - he really wanted to complete the production of the play "Boyadere". And fate gave him this chance.
On October 8, 1992, after the premiere of The Boyadere, Nureyev, reclining in an armchair, received on stage France's highest award in the field of culture, the title of Chevalier of the Order of the Legion of Honor. The hall gave a standing ovation. Nuriev could not get up from his chair ...

For some time, Nureyev felt better, but soon he will go to the hospital and will no longer come out.
He spent the last hundred days of his life in Paris. This city opened Nureyev's road to the world of fame and fortune, and he also closed the doors behind him.
"Is it over now?" he kept asking his doctor. He couldn't eat anything anymore. He was fed through a vein. According to the doctor, who was constantly next to Nureyev, the great dancer died quietly and without suffering. This happened on January 6, 1993, he was fifty-four years old. With him in the ward were a nurse and sister Rosa, who was destined to be present at the birth and death of her brother ...
In his opera there was a coffin with a wreath of white lilies, the same ones that Prince Albert laid on the grave of Giselle. To the sounds of Tchaikovsky, six of his favorite dancers, to the applause of almost 700 people, carried his coffin up the marble steps of the Ballet Temple to the Russian cemetery of Sainte Genevieve de Bois in Paris

The farewell ceremony was arranged with style: during the civil memorial service in the building of the Grand Opera they played Bach, Tchaikovsky, the artists read Pushkin, Byron, Goethe, Rimbaud, Michelangelo in five languages ​​- such was his dying will. A memorial service was arranged both in Muslim and in Orthodox rite. Nuriev was lying in a coffin in a strict black suit and in a turban; who greedily took from life everything that she offered him: fame, passion, money, power; not suspecting that all this is given on credit. Probably, before his death, he already knew exactly what it was to pay the bills.
And to top it all, Nureyev was buried next to Sergei Lifar, whom Rudolf could not stand all his life. The grave was covered with a Persian carpet. Yes, among Orthodox crosses Russian noble tombs, to the sound of bells, the unsurpassed dance magician found his last refuge.
Christmas Eve came down to earth without him...

Friends, for those who are not yet familiar with the life story of Rudolf Nureyev, this information will be very interesting. The biography of Rudolf Nureyev causes a lot of controversy and different opinions but leaves no one indifferent.

Dossier: Rudolf Khametovich Nureyev (Nureyev). Date of birth: March 17, 1938. Date of death: January 6, 1993 (aged 54). Occupation: Soviet, English and French ballet dancer and choreographer.

In 1983-1989, Rudolf Nureyev was the artistic director of the Paris Grand Opera Ballet. In 1991 he made his debut as a conductor in Vienna.

Citizenship: USSR, Austria. Awards: (France) Commander of the Order of Arts and Letters, Chevalier of the Order of the Legion of Honor. Height 1.73 m

Biography of Rudolf Nureyev - the path to success

Childhood and youth

Unusual and unlike others, Rudolf Nureyev was born also unusual - he was born on a train, somewhere near Irkutsk. Of four children, he was the only son.

His family was of Tatar origin, from the Soviet Bashkir Republic. His father was in the military. Soon after the birth of Rudolf, he was assigned to Moscow.

Nureyev family

In 1941 the war began. Rudik with his mother and sisters from Moscow moved to Ufa. They lived in a wooden house with other families.

Living conditions were disgusting, the toilet was outside. Everyone lived in extreme poverty, but the Nuriev family was the poorest of all.

Scar Story: in early childhood Rudik was bitten by a starving dog. It happened at the moment when he raised a piece of bread to his mouth.

When Rudolf entered school, everyone bullied him because he wore his sister's coat and didn't have shoes.

(Looking ahead, it should be noted here that Rudolf Nureyev would later be one of the richest people in the world: a huge apartment in Paris, a huge apartment in New York, a personal island, unique collections of porcelain, sculptures and paintings).

On the eve of the New Year 1945, Rudolph's mother managed to take all the children to the ballet "Crane Song", which took place in the theater of Ufa, on one ticket. This event changed the fate of Rudik.

From that moment on, Nuriev decided to become a dancer. He began to attend the school circle folk dances. Then he studied at the House of Culture with the St. Petersburg ballerina Anna Udaltsova, who was in exile. Convinced of the boy's abilities, he was given the idea to continue his studies at the prestigious Leningrad Ballet School.

At the age of fifteen, Nureyev made his debut in the corps de ballet on the stage of the Bashkir State Opera and Ballet Theatre, in 1954 he was accepted into the theater troupe.

Further study in Leningrad seemed impossible, especially since the father forbade his son to go to dance classes under the pretext that this interfered with schoolwork. But Rudolph was stubborn!

In 1955, despite the large gap in age, he was admitted to the Leningrad Choreographic School. He studied in the class of Alexander Pushkin, a ballet dancer and an outstanding teacher.

With other students, Rudolph did not have a relationship. He was teased, called a redneck. Rudolf could not get along in the boarding school and he had to live with his teacher.

Nuriev and Dudinskaya

After graduating from college in 1958, thanks to the prima ballerina Natalia Dudinskaya, he remained in Leningrad and was accepted into the Opera and Ballet Theater named after S. M. Kirov (since 1992 - the Mariinsky Theater).

Laurencia. Rudolf Nureyev and Natalia Dudinskaya

He made his stage debut as Dudinskaya's partner in the Laurencia ballet, performing the part of Frondoso. It was a resounding success! She was 49 years old, and Nureyev was 19!

"Defector"

On June 16, 1961, while on tour in Paris, by decision of the KGB "for violating the regime of being abroad", Nureyev was removed from further tours of the Kirov Theater troupe in London. But he refused to return to the USSR and asked for political asylum.

Rudolf Nureyev became a "defector" - the first among artists. In this regard, he was convicted in the USSR for treason and sentenced in absentia to 7 years in prison.

In Paris, Nureyev was immediately accepted into the touring troupe of the Ballet Marquis de Cuevas. But France refused to give him the status of a political refugee and Nureyev went to Denmark, where he danced in the Royal Ballet of Copenhagen, then moved to London.

Eric Brun and Rudolf Nureyev

In 1962, Nuriev met the famous Danish dancer Eric Brun, who big influence on the formation of the choreography and style of the dancer. Brun - a huge Dane unearthly beauty, a world famous dancer, considered one of the most outstanding dancers of the 20th century.

Eric Brun

It is difficult to say who was the first man - Nureyev's lover, but the fact that his first and greatest love Eric Brun became his whole life - no doubt. 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. Rudolph was the exact opposite of Eric. It is no secret that Nuriev had an intolerable character, he could be quite rude and harsh.

Rudolph and Eric

Their turbulent love affair, which lasted a quarter of a century, 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 has helped me more than I can express,” Nuriev said in an interview. “I need him more than anyone.”

Brun died of lung cancer in 1986. He smoked a lot! Rudolph took Eric's death hard and never recovered from this blow.

In 1962, Nureyev signed a contract with the London Royal Ballet, which was an unprecedented fact: people without British citizenship were not taken there. But an exception was made for Nuriev, and he became a partner of the brilliant English ballerina Margo Fontaine.

Margot Fontaine and Rudolf Nureyev

In England, Fontaine was the only and brightest "star" (the wife of the Panamanian lawyer and diplomat Tito de Arias). When she met Nuriev, she was 42 years old (he was 24) and she was about to leave the stage. It was Nuriev who breathed incredible sensuality into her dance. They were considered the most harmonious ballet duet of their time.

Of course, it was a platonic and, first of all, a creative union, but when you watch recordings of their dances today, you involuntarily come to the conclusion that they were connected by a very deep feeling.

For almost 10 years, until Fonteyn's departure from the stage, Rudolf continued to be her constant partner.

Five years after the death of Eric, Rudolph said goodbye to the lady of his heart, Margot Fontaine. She died on February 21, 1991, twenty-nine years after the first time she and Rudolf danced in Giselle. He was her partner in performances almost 700 times! According to her wish, Margo was buried in the same grave with her husband, whom she survived by two years.

Rudolf Nureyev and his men

Rudolf Nureyev was a homosexual, but in his youth he also had heterosexual relationships.

Rudolf Nureyev met with many partners, among whom are called (remember that no one here held a “candle”) Freddie Mercury, Mig Jagger, Elton John and Jean Marais, but he loved Nureyev alone - Eric Brun. For Nureyev, he was more than a loved one. After Brun's death, Nuriev no longer had strong feelings for anyone.

Many will condemn Nureyev. But this is his personal life. As Thomas Neurwit (Conchita) said: "Only the person is important, everyone should have the right to live as he sees fit, if it does not harm anyone."

Date with mother

In 1987, he was able to get permission to enter the USSR to say goodbye to his dying mother - a visa was given for 48 hours, and the artist was not given the opportunity to contact everyone he knew in his youth.

Cause of death of Rudolf Nureyev

In 1983, HIV was found in the dancer's blood. Diagnostics showed the presence of the virus in the blood for several years. At that time, very little was known about the disease: the dancer did not begin treatment immediately and took experimental drugs. The disease progressed. Nuriev died from complications of AIDS on January 6, 1993 near Paris.

Grave of Rudolf Nureyev

According to his wishes, he was buried in the Russian cemetery of Sainte-Genevieve-des-Bois near Paris. His grave is covered with a colorful mosaic oriental carpet.

Grave of Rudolf Nureyev

Quotes by Rudolf Nureyev

• “I want to be able to work everywhere - in New York, Paris, London, Tokyo and, of course, in the most beautiful theater in my opinion - the blue-silver Kirovsky in Leningrad. I am twenty four years old. I do not want someone to decide my future for me, to determine in which direction I “should” develop. I'll try to get to this on my own. That's what I understand by the word "freedom".
• “I dance for my own pleasure. If you're trying to please everyone, it's not original."
• "Each pa must bear the imprint of its own blood."

Secret of success

The dramatic circumstances of his arrival in the West propelled Nuriev to the first place, but he held out thanks to the strongest personality.

Tirelessly performing, every evening, for months, years, all over the world, in the widest repertoire, he touched more audiences than any other dancer. In 1975, the number of performances reached three hundred! He completely changed passive role dancer in classical ballet.

Once, in an interview, Rudolf Nureyev was asked what was the secret of the success of his work abroad. He replied, "I slept little and worked hard." And it determined his whole life.

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. In a short time 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 solo part made an indelible impression on the commission. 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.

In more adulthood 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 the 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 high society 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 talk about rock talented people 60s. Sex, drugs, rock 'n' roll and homosexuality were targeted the mighty of the world this. Some researchers claim that many well-known gay men were "deliberately" struck by the new

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 to decent life the path was very difficult. 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 technology. 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. The restrained and cold-blooded Dane possessed 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 knew English poorly, 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 the 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. Behind the relationship love triangle the whole troupe is watching. 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 his 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 the 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 this stormy love affair ended.

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.

Rudolf Nureyev is famous not only as a great ballet dancer. The legends and photos of newspaper chronicles also included his spree and sexual relations with men. The brilliant artist had a terrible character. It literally consisted of contradictions sown in the soul in early childhood, when the boy grew up without a father, and often without food.

The mother of the future artist Farida Nuriyeva gave birth to a boy on March 17, 1938 in a train carriage. Hamet's father was a military political officer and often moved with his family. And so it happened that a pregnant wife with three children had to go to Vladivostok in the 9th month. When the boy was one and a half years old, the poor family again went on a journey. Moscow became the new appointment of the father of the family.

Khamet was given a house in the capital and the affairs of the Nureyevs began to improve. But after the beginning of the Great Patriotic War the man was drafted in the first wave of army training. And soon Farida and her children had to be evacuated through Chelyabinsk to a village near Ufa.

Little Rudolf remembered the war years well. Darkness, fear and hunger forever left a mark on his soul. But the kid found a way to splash out his emotions. Having once seen the ballet "Crane Song", the kindergartner immediately demanded that his mother send him to the dance. Farida happily agreed with her son's desire, especially since the teachers and the first audience recognized the incredible talent of the little artist.

Hamet was able to survive the war and return to his family. But he forever remained a stranger to his younger son. The gulf was also aggravated by the unwillingness of a man to recognize the choice of a descendant to devote his life to ballet.

First ovation

In 1948, against the will of his father, Rudolf Nureyev went to the Palace of Pioneers to study ballet. His teacher Anna Udaltsova was amazed by the boy's talent and advised him to go to Leningrad after graduation. But the young man, having completed his studies, decided to use another opportunity.

In 1955, a competition was held in the capital, where Nureyev's ballet troupe went. Significantly, the production of the "Crane Song" was planned, but the soloist fell ill.

Young dancer for short term learned the part and captivated the audience in Moscow, wanting to go to the local choreographic studio. But a poor student could not be provided with a hostel. Therefore, he went to Leningrad, where he graduated from college.

After the first gold at the competition in Moscow, Rudolf Nureyev continued to conquer the audience in his native Leningrad, periodically touring the cities of the vast Motherland. Soon the glory of the ballet dancer went beyond the Soviet Union.

Life abroad

The biography of Rudolf Nureyev is closely connected with ballet. But a special attachment to Soviet Union the Tatar did not feel. When in 1961 the artist with the troupe of the Mariinsky Theater went to Paris, he felt a new smell of freedom for himself.

Rudolf was never known for his complaisant character. Despite the love of the public, close acquaintances considered the dancer a disgusting and unrestrained person with great conceit.

There were also persistent rumors that the ballet star belongs to gay people. But only upon arrival in Paris, they were confirmed.

Once in Europe, Rudolf Nureyev began to revel in such a way that even recognized rake entered into a state of shock. Perhaps that is why the dancer was forbidden to continue the tour and go to London. But the ballet soloist's friends helped him avoid extradition and stay in France permanently.

Rudolf Nureyev on the set of the film "Valentino"

dancer men

The personal life of the ballet legend did not lead to the appearance of a family and children. Rudolf Nureyev met for a long time with famous men of his time: Freddie Mercury, Mick Jaeger, Elton John and others. But there was only one long-term relationship in the life of a dancer.

Eric Brun became the chosen one of the artist. Nuriev fell in love with a colleague in the shop, only once seeing his performance on TV.

He was able to get a meeting with a European celebrity and even got into his class. Although Eric was the calm and cold opposite of Rudolf, a fruitful creative and romantic union lasted 25 years.

Despite numerous betrayals on both sides and regular quarrels, the men remained together until the end. The death of Eric Brun was a serious blow to Nuriev. After tragic love only 2 other chosen ones of the artist are known: Robert Tracy and Wallace Potts.

The only woman who was close to Rudolf Nureyev is Margot Fontaine. The Parisian prima was the artist's couple on stage for 15 years.

After she fell mortally ill, the self-absorbed dancer showed unprecedented concern. He was regularly on duty at her bedside and paid her friend's hospital bills until her death.

Rudolf himself died on January 6, 1993. For a long time, Nuriev's health was undermined by a disease little known at that time - AIDS. The dancer rarely visited doctors and did not want to be examined. Soon his body lost all ability to resist disease. At the time of his death, the ballet legend was 54 years old.