hollywood: Rudolf Nureyev

Saturday, 30 June 2012

Rudolf Nureyev

Rudolf Khametovich Nureyev (Bashkir: Рудольф Хәмит улы Нуриев, Tatar: Rudolf Xämit ulı Nuriev, Russian: Рудо́льф Хаме́тович Нуре́ев) (17 March 1938 – 6 January 1993) was a ballet dancer, one of the most celebrated of the 20th century. Nureyev's artistic skills explored expressive areas of the dance, providing a new role to the male ballet dancer who once served only as support to the women.Originally a Soviet citizen, Nureyev defected to the West in 1961, despite KGB efforts to stop him.^[1] According to KGB archives studied by Peter Watson, Nikita Khrushchevpersonally signed an order to have Nureyev killed.Nureyev was born on a Trans-Siberian train near Irkutsk, Siberia, Soviet Union, while his mother Feride was travelling to Vladivostok, where his father Hamit, a Red Army political commissar, was stationed.