Rudolf Nureyev: Ballet’s Champion
By Cindy Stockamp

1961 was a pivotal year for the fine arts from a media stand point. Up until then, reviews, commentaries, advertisements or just basic information were usually relegated to the fine arts publications and channels. However, on June 16, 1961, the Art of Ballet was on the front page of newspapers all around the world because that was the day that Rudolf Nureyev defected from the Soviet Union . His dramatic departure to the West, in essence, created its own Cold War crisis and turned him into a celebrity overnight. This, however, was just the beginning. Nureyev, a Russian dancer known for his ground breaking contributions to the world of ballet, spent the remainder of his life tearing down barriers and reinventing male ballet technique. What he brought to dance was a new role for men. No longer would men be just the frame holding or accentuating the picture of the female as the centerpiece.
Nureyev continually worked to challenge the techniques of modern ballet dance by updating the most sacred of classics. He even made history by partnering with a woman twice his age, prima ballerina abssoluta, Margot Fonteyn. Due to his outspoken nature and willingness to taunt the rules of Soviet Communism, Rudolf Nureyev was convicted, in absentia, of treason (assigned traitor number 50,888) against the state under Soviet article N43 in April of 1962 . The intent of this paper is to take a deeper look into the complex and colorful life of Rudolf Nureyev: a man who pushed the limits during a time in the Soviet Union when the limits were not supposed to be pushed and a man who forever changed the world of ballet. In order to gain a better understanding of the man who challenged “Mother Russia,” one must start at the beginning of his unique life story. Nureyev was born Rudolf Hametovich Nureyev on March 17, 1938, near the city of Irkutsk, Siberia, USSR to a Bashkir-Tatar family. His mother, Farida Nureyeva, and his three older sisters were on their way to Vladivostok to see her husband, Hamat, who was a political officer in the Red Army and was stationed at that port city as a political commissar. Despite being eight and a half months pregnant, Farida was excited to be reunited with her husband so she decided not to delay her trip until after Rudolf was born. Thus Rudolf was born on the Trans-Siberian train . What is interesting about the time period in which Nureyev was born is that he was born during one of the most volatile periods in Russian history. Russia was facing the final stages of the Great Terror and little did the world know it was getting ready for the second Great War. Nureyev was born in the same month that Germany annexed Austria and Stalin held the third of his famous or in actuality “infamous” trials where seventeen prominent Bolsheviks were convicted and executed. One of the most notable convictees was Nikolai Bukharin. 1938 was the year that Stalin essentially consolidated all power into his absolute rule using purges, intimidation and terror. This is significant because it defined the Russia that Nureyev would grow up in and the one he would eventually come to challenge. To grow up in Nureyev’s Russia in the years leading up to and after World War II meant one lived in constant fear. As Nikita Khrushchev noted, “Everywhere and in everything Stalin saw ‘enemies’, ‘two-facers and spies’.” Families were made to distrust one another and in reward for turning someone over you were seen as patriotic towards Russia and especially Stalin. Stalin’s head of the NKVD, Nikolai Yezhov, was seen as an evil man who helped put fear into all people. Known as the period of yezhovschina, people were taken from their homes late at night and never seen again. The only person during this time who probably did not live with this fear was Stalin himself. By the time Nureyev’s mother and siblings got on the train to Vladivostok millions of people had been removed and sent to Siberian camps or killed. By 1938, cultural influences and people had been persecuted and science had been replaced by Socialist Realism. Stalin’s Soviet Party was the sole authority for anything regarding the fine arts, literature, music, etc. In essence the intellects of the time were afraid to breath for fear of gaining Stalin’s notice but they still wanted recognition and rewards too. While Nureyev may have been born during horrific times of the purges, great terror and the early years of the intelligentsia’s censorship, that did not mean his parents did not believe they could not create a brighter future for their children. Already life was better for the Nureyev family of 1938 than it was for the poor peasant family of Hamat Nureyev (originally Fasliyev), Rudolf’s father, in 1903. Rudolf would be raised to be proud of his Muslim-Tatar heritage and he took great pride in his lineage. He identified as a Tatar and not as a Russian and much of his strong adult character would be traced back to his romanticized view of his Tatar heritage.
Rudolf’s own father had a hand in the purges. While he may have not been the man pulling the trigger, he was an officer in the army and it was certainly inevitable. In order to have been a politrouk (a political commissar in the Russian/Red Army who was responsible for ensuring the government kept political control) Hamat would have had to have been loyal almost to a fault. He would have had to exhibit a blind devotion while “ignoring” the orders that were being handed out and executed around him. By the nature of his position he was expected to identify the treasoness people as well as soldiers within the ranks and turn them over to Yezhov’s Secret Police. Because he was so unwavering in his support for the party, Hamat gained much trust and that was the reason he was sent to Vladivostok to regain stability for the Red Army.
The young Rudolf spent only 16 months Vladivostok before his father was reassigned to a position in Moscow in 1939. This position allowed for Hamat to provide, even better, for his family, additionally creating a time of “relative security” for them. There they were able to occupy a small room in a wooden building, their first real home since the birth of Rudolf. The older children were able to receive some education and take part in approved recreational activities. This all changed in 1941 when Germany invaded the Soviet Union. From that point on the Nureyev family was moved around and evacuated with the other military families. Young Rudolf’s comfortable domestic life was greatly changed.
Rudolf and his family eventually ended up in the Bashkirian village of Tchichuna near the city of Chelyabinsk in the eastern Urals. This was a significant moment in Rudolf’s life since it would be where the foundation for his impression of the world would be constructed. No longer did Rudolf’s family have what Russia considered her creature comforts. The family faced the cold, starvation and loneliness. Potatoes were the basic staple for those living on this vast icy and barren steppe. In Nureyev’s adult years he would refer to this time as his “Potato Period”. Despite the living situation disparity, Rudolf developed a fondness for music due to his reliance on escaping from the world while listening to the radio. This love of music would ensure that Rudolf made sure he never wanted for instruments or music later in life and purchased what he could when he had the money. “I looked upon music, from my earliest days, as a friend, a religion, a way to good fortune.” 1942 saw yet another move for the Nureyev family from the Bashkirian village to the Soviet city of Ufa in the Urals. Thanks to Stalin’s push for industrialization, Ufa was booming with industry. This industrial city became another pivotal influence in Rudolf’s young life. Since his father was not there with them, his mother Farida had to provide food for the family. Just like in Tchichuna as well as the rest of the Soviet world anything that had some value was common property. Nobody owned anything and everyone was poor. This meant that the Nureyevs had to take what they could get. Farida sometimes traveled miles to get food from a city named Asanovo and usually only took one child with her, or she was busy with her two jobs: one in a bakery and the other on an assembly line. This meant Rudolf and his sisters were left to their own devices. They would roam the courtyard of their living area and play games with the other children. Since Rudolf was not a physically strong boy he was made fun of quite often. He usually sought the friendship of women and they became his protectors. Rudolf’s proximity to many females only enhanced his dislike of male activities. Rudolf loathed activities such as fishing, hunting or anything else rugged. Despite his father’s later attempts to change this, Rudolf had already made up his own mind. Ufa was also the beginning of Rudolf’s kindergarten education. He was picked on and called beggar and he realized that his family was not as well off as the others. Because of this Rudolf had to wear his sister’s second hand clothes. For reasons unknown his mother never turned those clothes into garments that at least somewhat resembled boy’s clothing and she sent him to school that way. While he was humiliated he also had moments of great happiness. He was introduced to the traditional folk dances of the Bashkirian and Tatars. Rudolf watched intently and saw a step only once to have it ingrained into his memory. He practiced for hours on end at home and also shared his love of dancing with the boy next door named Albert, who was also a young Tatar boy. Rudolf commented later on that Albert was the friend who understood him like no one else ever did. Although Ufa was far removed from the rest of the Soviet Union, the end of the World War II made travel easier and outside influences continued to trickle in. Ufa boasted an opera house and eventually had its own ballet company. On New Year’s Eve, 1945, Rudolf made his first visit to the Ufa opera house at the impressionable age of seven. It was at that moment that his love of dance was solidified and his future dreams of being a dancer would never be in doubt. Rudolf could have considered himself lucky that his father had been delayed in returning home after the war because it would have been highly unlikely that Hamat would have allowed him to attend and thus kindle his interest in dance. By the age of ten and after participating in numerous folk-dances through a school group, Rudolf was singled out for his dancing abilities and he joined a Young Pioneers (a Party sponsored group that Soviet youth were “obliged” to enter) folk-dance troupe. Performance after performance the young Nureyev heard the same laude, “You should go to Leningrad.” The chances of this happening were slim but Rudolf continued. This irritated his father for several reasons. Not only because he did not like the arts, which he considered a “tsarist bauble”, his son’s grades had dropped drastically and it just was not masculine. By the age of eleven the relationship with his father had become violent thanks to his dance passion. A bit of luck would eventually help to remove Rudolf from that situation. Rudolf was introduced to Anna Udeltsova, a children’s dance teacher in Ufa, and she started his first formal ballet training. With her encouragement through words Rudolf had already heard, “You should go to Leningrad,” the pendulum gained greater momentum. The only issue for young Rudolf now was how to get there. Rudolf had to work long and hard to get to Leningrad by the age of 17. He continually fought with his father and even hid the fact that he had been permitted into the first ballet studio at the Ufa Opera House in 1953. The dreams of that young seven year old were now starting to become a reality for the now fifteen-year-old young man. Rudolf’s new life centered around the theatre. He transferred to the School of Working Youth in an attempt to appease his parents because they wanted him to continue his education. Even his best friend from kindergarten, Albert, attended with him. Unlike the other young adolescent men in the area, both Albert and Rudolf focused 100% on their dancing instead of women and other typical adolescent interests. While it was not openly noticed or talked about then, Rudolf’s sexuality, which was only known to him became obvious in later life. This was probably the first time Rudolf really started to notice himself. The life that Nureyev lived, up until the point he became a student at the Vaganova Academy (also known as the Kirov School) in Leningrad in late 1955, had greatly prepared him in many ways. By this time he had learned how to stand up for himself against those that would taunt or judge him. He had experience with single-minded individuals and had developed a sense of individualism for himself. He had become used to making his own decisions and in the world of ballet hierarchy this was not always a good trait to possess but one he had none the less. Most important, though, was his ability to read people for who they were: a method self-survival. These would all benefit and hinder him over the next three crazy years in the renowned school that produced such greats as Anna Pavlova, Vaslav Nijinsky, and George Balanchine and eventually the modern marvel Mikhail Baryshnikov. Due to the freedoms that Nureyev was accustomed to and the limited number of authority figures he had been exposed to, only three to this point, Nureyev and those at the school unknowingly were at the center of a brewing storm that more often than not exploded. Nureyev’s dominant personality led the younger children to fear him and his presence was even known to “terrorize the poor children.” The first evident rebellions by Rudolf were in the form of showing up late to class or refusal to study the academic curriculum that was deemed necessary by the Soviet Government. Even in his autobiography Nureyev stated, “Actually, I’m quite certain that unconsciously I’ve always tended to reject everything in life that doesn’t enrich or directly concern my single dominating passion.” He would continue the pattern and attempt to prove the point that he was not going to be sheltered or treated like the children he was training with. He slipped out one evening to see the Taras Bulba ballet that was being performed at the Kirov. After all he was grown and in his mind he did not leave Ufa to stay sheltered. Upon his return his bed was gone and so were his meal cards. The one person with whom Nureyev found the most dissension was his ballet teacher, Valentin Ivanovich Shelkov (Chelkov). He was a gruff and stocky man who seemed intent on belittling Rudolf any chance he had. More likely the reality of the situation was that the growingly eccentric Nureyev just did not fit into what Chelkov’s vision/version of school policy would allow. Knowing that continued arguments with Chelkov could potentially get him thrown out of the school, he made a request to the school’s artistic director to be moved out of the 6th grade class and into Alexander Pushkin’s eighth grade class. Also knowing that at seventeen he was running out of time to make it into the Kirov Ballet before he would be drafted into the Army, he figured he had nothing to lose. His request was granted and his ballet career was changed yet again as Pushkin would “set fire” to Nureyev’s dancing. Alexander Pushkin became a huge part of Nureyev’s life. A man known for his patience and skill he was just the teacher that Nureyev needed. In Nureyev’s first few weeks of instruction with Pushkin, Pushkin all but ignored him. This seemed to be the key as it allowed Rudolf to develop his own style as well as work within the schedule he was used to. Gone were the conflicts with his teacher and instead of ending his study after the ninth year which was customary, Nureyev was given another year with Pushkin and more focused training. This also gave him the opportunity to dance the lead in several productions when the members of the Kirov Ballet main company were traveling. Nureyev’s last two performances as a student would be the two that started his professional career and begin to elevate him as a professional legend. The only down-side to his additional year with Pushkin and the success he so easily found now was that Rudolf’s continued “taste for scandal” and flamboyant personality gave the administration reason to meet and discuss his less than proper Soviet behavior. Regardless, Nureyev still received his diploma and a final threat from his teaching antagonist and the school director Chelkov. He told him that bottom line, “he was to appear for the ceremonies properly dressed: white shirt, tie, and suit, his hair cut short and neat.” Instead Nureyev decided upon “no tie, no jacket, black velvet pants worn shiny at the knees, and his hair doing whatever it wanted to do.” These years with the Kirov School were the catalyst that opened the eyes of the Soviet Government to the non-conformist ways of Nureyev. He was paving the way as the next great dancer but he was also making waves as a non-conformist and he was putting his life in danger. Upon graduation, Rudolf Nureyev was offered a soloist contract with both the Bolshoi and Kirov Ballet Companies. While this was exciting for Rudolf, it was like a slap in the face Chelkov because of the animosity the two had for each other. Nureyev chose the Kirov and performed with them until 1961 when he defected to France. In his three years there, Nureyev danced leads in such ballets as Giselle, LaBayadere, Swan Lake, The Sleeping Beauty and Don Quixote. These were in addition to the ones he had already performed as a second-year-ninth level student. He partnered with all the prima ballerinas in the company, but most notably with his first partner Ms. Dudinskaya, the wife of the company’s director, Konstantin Sergeyev. Nureyev’s reputation quickly preceded him. He developed quite the following, many of whom were committed to seeing all of his performances. His followers appreciated the drive and passion with which he danced. They appreciated his persistence in not following “set interpretations” to the letter but instead bringing his own interpretation to each dance. This fairly flawless image and striving for perfection did not fool his most devout followers for all knew he still argued with the directors or teachers to the point of walking out. His reputation for causing trouble and his flourishing achievements were on a parallel path of development. Rudolf, almost immediately, was given leeway that other dancers had never had in the Kirov or any ballet company for that matter. He would change the choreography of a dance in order to represent his talents and tastes. The fact that he was the only dancer who never had to wait his turn in the corps in order to dance a lead speaks to his ability and talent. Even more interesting is, in the hierarchical world of a ballet company this just did not happen. However, for all the latitude he was given and the forward steps he made professionally he would double the steps backward into political controversy and struggles.
During Nikita Khrushchev’s Great Thaw many things changed for the Kirov. In 1956, the company’s director, Sergeyev, was replaced by a less conservative man named Feodor Lopukhov. The Kirov emphasis changed from the traditional ballet form that Sergyev favored into a more innovative choreography preferred by Lopukhov who was an Imperial academy graduate educated in Petipa style and one of the great, early Soviet era, Russian ballet trendsetters. Initially, Nureyev’s flair and ability to mold ballet into a modern piece of art was seen as a “breath of fresh air” and just what the Kirov needed. This did not mean that he was not met with resistance. Rudolf knew how he wanted to be seen on stage but so did the people in charge. The directors and choreographers had their image of the ballet but Rudolf had his own. Nureyev became famous for re-designing nearly all his costumes and for his refusal to wear wigs. The bottom line was that other dancers began to resent him and men like the former director, Sergeyev, felt slighted and this drove him to start net-working behind the scenes in order to get back into the director position at the Kirov. At the same time a KGB file was started on Nureyev. It was not small. In addition to his at dance class antics his outside of the classroom behaviors did nothing to help him. He did not smile. He did not use tact and was very harsh. Adding to the authorities irritation with Nureyev was the simple fact the majority of his friends came from outside the ballet world. He could be watched during class or during performances on Rossi Street where the Kirov was located, but he couldn’t be watched 100% of the time when he insisted on his private life. He continued to exude his personal independence, which in turn put the government spot light on him even more. In the three years that he danced with the Kirov he was granted the opportunity to dance outside the city of Leningrad only three times and each performance opportunity had their own eventful moments thanks to Rudolf. The infamous Paris trip was announced in the summer of 1961. Nureyev was almost positive that because of his three not so successful trips he would not be selected to be a part of the tour. He was correct. The only reason his fate changed was because Parisians were not interested in “older” dancers like Sergeyev and Dudinskaya. They wanted younger dancers and Nureyev was added to the list. What Nureyev did not know was that he was being led straight to the lion’s den. It may have seemed like a tough decision for the traditional Sergeyev to make when in essence it was easy. Now Nureyev could be “caught”. What many people do not know about the Kirov’s plan to tour Paris was that it was an attempt by the Khrushchev government to show the West how wonderful the Soviet Union was. Unlike Stalin who opposed anything to do with the West, Khrushchev wanted to open up the doors. The Kirov Tour in 1961 was to be a grand production and one where complications were not welcome. Choosing to let Nureyev go was the catalyst to what would eventually happen. Having Nureyev on tour was going to draw attention to his lifestyle and flamboyant personality. The tour gave Nureyev opportunity to continue not conforming. He went against the grain and developed friendships outside of the ballet world. Nureyev and his French friends would link up after performances or practices and spend the night on the town. Most notable of these friends was Clara Saint, a 21-year-old Chilean heiress who was formerly engaged to the French minister of culture. They met on the night of May 21, after Nureyev had danced Solor and the Soviet Press back home began to make statements like, “The Kirov has found its cosmonaut: Rudolf Nureyev!” They were introduced through the French friends he had already made. During the coming days they spent much time together outside of the dance world. Eventually the director, Korkin, demanded that he stop seeing her or be prepared for punishment. Nureyev noted the rising tensions and knew that the Soviet officials were waiting for him to slip up so that they could send him home. Despite knowing he was being watched as if under a magnifying glass, Nureyev continued to relish his temporary Parisian life. He was not the only dancer who went out at night but he was the only one that was closely watched. Nureyev caused the most concern for the Soviet politicals that were managing the tour and the Soviet image. It was on June 16, 1961, that Rudolf Nureyev defected to France. Upon the Kirov Ballet Company’s arrival to the Paris airport, Nureyev was given a ticket back to Moscow. He was told that he was needed to dance at a political party for Khrushchev and would be able to catch up with the company in London. Nureyev knew different. He knew that if he went back to Russia he would never be able to leave again. It was Clara who whispered the words to him that he needed to get to freedom. Nureyev then took “six steps exactly” away from the KGB, who were closely guarding him, towards the undercover French police standing nearby. During the moment the KGB agent tried to grab him, the French officer stated, “Ne le touchez pas – nous sommes en France.” (“Don’t touch him – We are in France.”) The leap to freedom was complete now. Rudolf Nureyev had left Russia. Years later her would be tried in absentia for treason and found guilty. Regardless, Nureyev was now able to travel the world and dance where and how he pleased without the Soviet watchdogs standing over him scrutinizing everything from his dancing to his homosexual lifestyle. During the Kirov’s Paris season, Nureyev experienced nothing but success. After his notorious defection he was offered a position with the Grand Ballet du Marquis de Cuevas where he stayed only a short time. He then went on to dance in London through invitation of and with the famous Margot Fontayne as well as numerous other places. His defection allowed him to meet the love of his life and fellow famous dancer Erik Bruhn. Nureyev admired Bruhn more than any other male dancer. It was Bruhn who helped Nureyev assimilate into the Western culture and helped to solidify Nureyev’s belief that a man should be able to dance just as artistically and with as much expression as a woman. Vaslav Ninjinsky may have been the first man in the history of ballet to start feminizing the male role but it was Rudolf Nureyev who, from scratch, transformed ballet into a “male-focused art.”
It was not until 1989, and one week following the fall of the Berlin Wall, that Nureyev was able to dance in Russia again. Nureyev was now 51 and not as physically adept to dance as he had been in his early years. Age and HIV/AIDS had taken a toll on his body but to the Russian ballet followers, Nureyev was still a shining star. Gorbechev’s glasnost made this possible and fulfilled Nureyev’s dream of returning to the Kirov theatre in Leningrad to dance one more time. Despite numerous injuries, Nureyev danced. He danced for the Soviet critics, his former colleagues and even his first ballet teacher, Anna Udeltsova, who was then 100 years old. Nureyev had come full circle in his life and ballet career. "I left USSR when the construction of the Berlin Wall had begun and returned when it was demolished," he said. "That's a symbol isn't it?" Rudolf Nureyev is undoubtedly remembered for two main reasons. The first is his dancing and how over the span of his career he melded classical ballet and modern dance together and the second is his defection from the Soviet Union. Nureyev made waves when others in the Soviet Union were working to conform. Khrushchev was making changes but they were not happening in the way he wanted the outside world to perceive they were happening. Nureyev’s daring decision to take six steps opened the eyes of the world even further to the situation in the Soviet Bloc.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_commissar

http://www.nureyev.org/

Jennifer Dunning, “Love Lost and Fame Gained for a Young Nureyev,” The New York Times, August 29, 2007, Television Review. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/29/arts/television/29dunn.html?ref=rudolfnureyev

Luke Jennings, “The Art and Culture of the Year of Revolt: The Cataclysmic Events of 1989 Inspired and Influenced Artists in all Fields and from Both Sides of the Iron Curtain,” The Guardian, August 1, 2009, The Observer. http://www.guardian.co.uk/stage/2009/aug/02/berlin-wall-revolution-culture

Nureyev, Rudolf. Nureyev: An Autobiography. New York: E.P. Dutton & Co. Inc., 1963.

Richard Canning, “The Dancer and the Dance,” Gay & Lesbian Review 15 no3 14-19 My/Je 2008. http://www.glreview.com

Solway, Diane. Nureyev: His Life. New York: William Morrow and Company, Inc., 1998.

Stuart, Otis. Perpetual Motion. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1995.
Toni Bentley, “The Brando of Ballet.” http://topics.nytimes.com/topics/reference/timestopics/people/n/rudolf_nureyev/index.html