Nureyev
Legendary Soviet defector
Rudolf Nureyev was a Soviet-born ballet dancer who defected to the West in 1961, becoming one of the most celebrated male dancers of the twentieth century.
His partnership with Margot Fonteyn at the Royal Ballet became legendary.
The name sometimes appears as shorthand for extraordinary male dance talent: He's no Nureyev, but he moves well.
Flowing ornamental design
- pirouetteBallet turn on one foot
- pliéBallet knee-bending movement
- jetéBallet jumping step
- pas de deuxBallet for two dancers
pointe · barre · tutu · adagio · allegro · Swan Lake · Giselle · The Nutcracker
Prolonged East-West standoff
- asylumShelter from persecution
- escapeFlight from captivity
- exileBanishment from homeland
- KGBUSSR intelligence service
Iron Curtain · Paris · 1961 · dissident · Soviet · political asylum · defection · sanctuary
Exceptional technical skill
- expressionConveyed thought or feeling
- graceEffortless beauty of motion
- eleganceRefined, graceful quality
- interpretationAssigned meaning
stage presence · magnetism · charisma · dramatic intensity · ovation · applause · performance · costume
France's principal opera company
- AIDSImmune deficiency syndrome
- 1993Four-digit date
- directorOne who leads
- teacherOne who instructs others
mentor · autobiography · documentary · biopic · grave · influence · revolution · superstar
arabesque
Flowing ornamental design
pas de deux · pointe · barre · tutu · adagio · allegro · Swan Lake · Giselle · The Nutcracker · Bolshoi
Cold War
Prolonged East-West standoff
KGB · Iron Curtain · Paris · 1961 · dissident · Soviet · political asylum · defection · sanctuary · freedom
virtuosity
Exceptional technical skill
- expressionConveyed thought or feeling
- graceEffortless beauty of motion
- eleganceRefined, graceful quality
interpretation · stage presence · magnetism · charisma · dramatic intensity · ovation · applause · performance · costume · innovation
Paris Opera
France's principal opera company
teacher · mentor · autobiography · documentary · biopic · grave · influence · revolution · superstar · international
Tatar
Turkic ethnic group
train · poverty · Trans-Siberian · communism · USSR · homeland · mother tongue · origins