Legend that never dies

Rudolf Nureyev: Birth anniversary March 17:

by Gwen HERAT

From the moment he stepped under the spotlight as a teenager, Rudlof Nureyev was unstoppable as he leapt into fame and took charge of the universe. A rare phenomenon an icon of rare virtuosity, the little Tarta Boy from Russia, who defied the KGB when he defected in 1961 to settle in the West and to become the most adorable male dancer the world ever knew. As famous as he was for his dancing, so was he for his volatile temper. Demonstrably, his enigma prevailed.

I need a sea of ink and reams of paper to write about him. How should I start and how would I end? Only his spirit knew. He has inspired my adult life and still does. I was unlucky to have missed him in Paris as well as in New York, when by appointment we were to meet. He wrote to me with all his tight schedules, dated September 1990 (excerpt):

Nureyev with Margot Fonteyn in 'Raymonda'

"I was sad to have missed you in Paris and in New York too because I had to leave before you arrived. May be we are not destined to meet.

However, I hope you will enjoy Martha Graham's Ballet in New York. Do let me know all about it. She is perfect. She is faultless. You will see it."

And then he died.....and a part of me too died. His words were prophetic; we were not destined to meet. Such was the impact he had on me.

But Nureyev was a complex guy. He was voted as the 'most beautiful man in the world' in the early 80s and was equally famous for his gay activities. So sad that he could not leave behind a son (or daughter) to carry on his magic. How could he when all the girls at Royal Ballet were in love with the boys and the boys were in love with Nureyev!

These were his predicaments. This was his life, globe-trotting all yearn round, leaving hundreds heart-broken. A dancer and an icon of the last century, he was known for his perfect musicality, expressiveness of mind and body.

He became an Austrian citizen in 1982. Until then (after his defection from Russia in 1961) his official status was that of a stateless person. His defection took a tall on his father who considered his son's move to the West as the worst kind of betrayal, a rejection of all that his country had done for him....When his father died in the mid sixties, they were not on talking terms.

Raised in a shanty, trained as a toddler to bury his few rations of raw potatoes against the bite of Russian winter and the hungry hands of others, Nureyev died as a master of an enormous fortune carefully scattered around the world and no one knows where it is exactly. Estimate value around 180 million dollars apart from his valuable paintings, treasures and numerous villas. He never knew what to do with his spectacular earnings.

A cultural barometer, he placed the male dancer centre-stage occupied by the principle ballerina. He developed a sexual perspective and for all its vigour and conflicts, was surprisingly mundane,

Today, the world of dance pays tribute to his memory at all Ballet companies.