Thank you for posting this. I was fortunate enough to have seen Nureyev perform in 1990 (already ill and weak) with his touring company. I'll never forget meeting him backstage. He was so kind and generous and asked me about my ballet studies. I could hardly speak, he was larger than life. A genius of dance.
Thank you for this beautiful documentary. As an avid balletomane my whole life I loved Nureyev tremendously. I was only 6 years old when he defected. He was bigger than life. Our mother took us to see him perform. They were massive events. I'm so glad he had those last beautiful moments on the Paris Opera stage. On youtube there is a clip of Nureyev and Fonteyn at the jail. The animal magnetism of Nureyev captured on film is beyond incredible and I am so deeply grateful it exists. How else could you describe such overwhelming charisma unless you see it up close for yourself?
I had the opportunity to see Nureyev perform (Sleeping Beauty) at Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles in the mid 1970's. I also met him after the performance. This was at the height of his glorious career. He was charming, exuberant, and happy. That's how I like to remember him.
I had tho greatest honour playing for Rudi at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden in the early days. Great was not the word, phenomenal is more like it. RIP .
Technically not as good as others, & certainly not as current time’s dancers BUT his charisma is pretty much unmatched. He was a stunning meteor at the time. His partnership with Fonteyn was extraordinary: their acting ability & musicality was magical and esp so when dancing together.
His was truly the triumph of the will! His beauty is unsurpassed, to see him is like looking at the statue of David, perfection in human form. What an incredible man, his legacy and legend will live on forever although he was taken far too soon
Thank you, Thank you, Thank you for posting this production. I was about eight years old when he defected and I remember seeing this on the news and being ever after aware of this remarkable person.
et REQUIEM aeternam dona ei, Domine, et lux perpetua luceat ei. Requiescat in pace. Amen. the dancer who has defied the gods will radiate his magic forever
When I was at school we had tickets to go to special schools performances (Youth & Music?) at Covent Garden, Saddlers Wells & Wigmore Hall - possibly dress rehearsals? At a packed Covent Garden ballet performance we were told there would be an additional performance at the end by a new member of the company, if we wished to stay on for it. We were in the front row of the circle and we were quite blown away by Rudolph's performance. My memory says,something from the Firebird? Remember, we were seeing principal dancers in proper performances and yet this was something dynamic and special. I haven't found mention of this first English public performance anywhere. This was before the famous gala performance some days later. A wonderful memory.
For me finding Rudolf Nureyev it is like a new and amazing discovery, as I did not know anything about him before. It seems to me, before my time, world was so beautiful. Particularly after the second World War, there was such a vibrant and dynamic atmosphere in art, music literature … that brought forth such a great artist as Rudolf Nureyev.
I am very glad I came of age in the 60s and 70s. It was a time of tremendous, creative, exploration and celebration. It was also the time of the war in Vietnam, which many of us put energy into protesting and it made a difference. Young men came home With their minds, hopelessly disoriented and needed help for years to come. If you study history, you will find that worse come and go, good times come and go and still, we keep making the same mistakes of bias and prejudice that caused the wars to begin with. Rudolf Nureyev was not political. He tried hard to be allowed to see his mother and family for decades, but he did not choose a political platform. In fact, Rudolf Nureyev often seemed completely oblivious to the realities of real life. He preferred to go from one fantasy to another, always working and rarely took vacation. Inside his several homes, he re-created the beauty of several different golden ages.
@TheLadyofKy It makes me cry, too. It is almost unbearable at times but it also a wonderful documentary and it helps those who love him still to share, just a little, in what he went through as his life moved to its end. He is still with us. So long as we think of him, he will be here.
I saw RN dance with Margot Fonteyn in her farewell tour when i was 11 in England. Their unbelievable chemistry was undeniable as was the intense passion in their prolonged kissing that even one so young as i could feel it's heat. I know Rudolf was thought to be a homosexual but the rumors of his affair with Dame Fonteyn are completely believable to me. The strange part was that her husband was sitting at the of my aisle (in his ♿) just loudly sobbing and yelling BRAVO at the top of his lungs....especially when they would kiss. What an amazing performance...i can still close my eyes and feel the emotions of that night run through me. BRAVO 🌹
However, it came to be it is certainly true. That one can see the love that Nureyev had for Fonteyn. I think she filled many for him as well as being 100% loyal to him. Their close relationship was everlasting. After Tito stole her house and money, Nureyev paid for all her needs until her death. They shared many golden years together, some of their best performances. Their passionate kisses were caught on film.
I saw him dance Petroushka in New York. He was like lightning. He was not at the height of his dance powers. It was electric. Not an exaggeration. He lit up the stage. I saw him dance portions of other dances. Again. Like lightning. I saw other dancers. None were like him. Even the great Baryshnikov and others were like gymnasts compared to Nureyev.
Incredible... always love ballet.., performanship..., screenplay, orchestra ect though I've only done cheerleading and barely legit amateur ballet dancer for most of my life. I think if people don't get it.... it just they just don't understand how the whole environment works, you must be strong in very tip top condition to perform, and it is magical
I guess it's because of his TATAR blood..powerful and fearless ...how many other famous Tatars are there??? And are they as handsome as he was,!!?? He Was an enigma
Wauw, what a great experience that most have been! I'm too young myself to have seen him in real life, but he's such an inspiration when doing my ballet exercises... so now I'm trying to find as much information about him as possible.
Death is something no one may ever understand unless they loose the ones they love and even then, we may never know until that moment comes to those of us left, the living. "Dancing Through Darkness" is so sad and it makes me cry.
TheLadyofKy ... So true everything you said. However, death is a part of life and is the circle we all must go through like it or not. Death has to be accepted just as birth. Birth is a happy time and Death is a sad time. Life is happy and sad. No one in life is to the exception of death. We are all going to die someday and even those closest to us. I know because I've lost most of my family and I'm just about to enter my mid's. I'm still young and have a few more years of my life to live. So you can imagine how very hard it is for someone to lose almost their entire family and have only themselves to rely on in life. It's the hardest thing mentally and physically to have to endure but I have God and He will see me through :) So again, yes, death is extremely hard to accept whether it's your family or friend who has died or you! But someone how we all make it through one way or another by the grace of God and those around who do love and care for us whether family, friend or a stranger. And last, yes I too agree this documentary on R.M. was so very sad! Wish he could've lived a full life until his golden years because he truly had so very much to give to others in many ways but instead he chose to live his life to the fullest at a young age regardless of the results of his selfish and lustful temptations "and one day your sins will find you out..." :'( R.I.P. Rudolpho Nureyev
I knew one of of the first AIDS ballet dancers in NYC, he was my neighbor who adopted one of my kittens, he got it in Haiti and came to my brownstone in NYC so happy to tell me, he slept with Nureyev. Then, six months later, he died of AIDS. I tried to warn Nureyeve who was in total denial about his disease which finally killed him, too.
Emsnews Supkis ... Thank you very much for sharing this very interesting bit of personal information about Nureyev. Would be wonderful to know more about how you knew him (back story) and if you knew him well. When someone has and is dying of such a horrific disease as AIDS especially someone of the caliber of R.N. of course they will be in 100% denial about it as they sometimes think they are not going to let it beat them. I think they assume they are literally invincible as that's how the world has made them into and be, the highest star they are and were of their day. Also, once you have it and someone warns you then of course usually by then it's too late. Why bother? He probably already had it long before your neighbor revealed to you that day they had slept together. Regardless, it's all beyond sad to know that such a most talented and great artist/dancer as R.N. was allowed this to happen as I'm sure as extremely intelligent as he was, knew it was going around, although still very new at the time and still continued to take chances as he was doing was (excuse the pun) the same as playing "Russian Roulette". R.I.P. Rudolf Nureyev.
Emsnews Supkis They had no business sleeping together. Nureyev was devastated when he contracted the disease. I saw the look upon his face when they honored him at a show. He thought he'd have the strength to dance as he once did with that disease. Boxers and weight lifters can't perform in their field with the disease. Everyone succumbs to that virus.
@@rosesflowers4722 *NOTHING* could stop Rudi's dedication to his craft! One time during his last year or two, he hosted his good friend Gore Vidal for a few days at his home. One morning, GV looked around for Rudi & couldn't find him anywhere. Finally, he found Rudi in the garage, using a sawhorse as an improvised barre, and **DOING HIS DAILY 2 HOURS OF EXERCISES**, just as when he was actively dancing. Gore Vidal said that Rudi was "sweating like a horse" after the exercise routine! RIP, Rudi...
I came here to see not just Rudi but have more information about the birth of this superb production (with which, imo, the Russian productions just cannot compete).
Here's "I Am A Dancer", one of the best RN documentaries I've ever seen. The banner-line is in Russian, but disregard it (the whole thing's in English): Part 1: www.dailymotion.com/video/xqytmc?collectionXid=x4ahcl Part 2: www.dailymotion.com/video/xr0dy9?collectionXid=x4ahcl
The composer's name is Alexander Balanescu. It's in the credits at the end. Here's his Wikipedia page. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_B%C4%83l%C4%83nescu and his page www.balanescu.com/
Rudolph was a beautiful looking man,loved from woman all over the world ,he was a perfectionist and his dancing showed,his secret of homosexuality was kept in the closet ,I saw pictures nof him rehearsing in 9090+he was as focused but kept saying I'm just need a break and saying I'm just tired I'll be fine in a few minutes,he was a proud man and in 91 he died,what he died of so what,he never complained about his sickness through his last stages of living he got a standing ovation,and at least he died in his home land Russia,, Rudolph rest in peace ,also Margot,may God be with you amen,thank you for your beautiful dancing,god bless you amen, 💙🐦🌈😘💟,☀️🌟🌹🌷
He gave AIDS to a dear friend of mine who was a ballet dancer (professionally) in NYC. My friend came to my brownstone to enthuse about how he had a night with the great dancer and was so happy. I cried hard at his funeral.
emsnews really? so Nureyev is the only person he had random sex with? Give me a fucking break. There is no honor in claiming one contracted HIV from a famous person. Shame on you.
emsnews you just wrote, above, that your friend went to Haiti, beforehand. Haiti was a gay tourist destination. Your friend could have got AIDs anywhere, including Haiti.
Thank you for posting this. I was fortunate enough to have seen Nureyev perform in 1990 (already ill and weak) with his touring company. I'll never forget meeting him backstage. He was so kind and generous and asked me about my ballet studies. I could hardly speak, he was larger than life. A genius of dance.
Thank you for this beautiful documentary. As an avid balletomane my whole life I loved Nureyev tremendously. I was only 6 years old when he defected. He was bigger than life. Our mother took us to see him perform. They were massive events. I'm so glad he had those last beautiful moments on the Paris Opera stage. On youtube there is a clip of Nureyev and Fonteyn at the jail. The animal magnetism of Nureyev captured on film is beyond incredible and I am so deeply grateful it exists. How else could you describe such overwhelming charisma unless you see it up close for yourself?
I had the opportunity to see Nureyev perform (Sleeping Beauty) at Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles in the mid 1970's. I also met him after the performance. This was at the height of his glorious career. He was charming, exuberant, and happy. That's how I like to remember him.
I had tho greatest honour playing for Rudi at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden in the early days. Great was not the word, phenomenal is more like it. RIP .
Nureyev is the greatest DANCER in the WORLD
Technically not as good as others, & certainly not as current time’s dancers BUT his charisma is pretty much unmatched. He was a stunning meteor at the time.
His partnership with Fonteyn was extraordinary: their acting ability & musicality was magical and esp so when dancing together.
His was truly the triumph of the will! His beauty is unsurpassed, to see him is like looking at the statue of David, perfection in human form. What an incredible man, his legacy and legend will live on forever although he was taken far too soon
a light goes out in the world...miss him still
That smile - the eroticism - the daring. He's heroic in many ways. A gift of nature to us for sure.
he was truely a beautiful creature !! very noble indeed ! I love him too and he is always my power to dance!
A true genius of dance.
💫 Shine on beautiful soul...
Thank you, Thank you, Thank you for posting this production. I was about eight years old when he defected and I remember seeing this on the news and being ever after aware of this remarkable person.
et REQUIEM aeternam dona ei, Domine, et lux perpetua luceat ei. Requiescat in pace. Amen.
the dancer who has defied the gods will radiate his magic forever
Génial, bravo Rydik 👏👏👏👏👏👏❤❤❤❤❤
I saw Nureyev many times, starting soon after his defection. He was a joy to watch.
U R VERY FORTUNATE
I am envious … wow… what fortunate experiences you had!
Parabéns, Nancy quero ser sua vizinha kkkkk bjs.
Great! Just Great! Grazia, beauty, passion! A legend! Thank you for this video!
When I was at school we had tickets to go to special schools performances (Youth & Music?) at Covent Garden, Saddlers Wells & Wigmore Hall - possibly dress rehearsals? At a packed Covent Garden ballet performance we were told there would be an additional performance at the end by a new member of the company, if we wished to stay on for it. We were in the front row of the circle and we were quite blown away by Rudolph's performance. My memory says,something from the Firebird? Remember, we were seeing principal dancers in proper performances and yet this was something dynamic and special. I haven't found mention of this first English public performance anywhere. This was before the famous gala performance some days later. A wonderful memory.
For me finding Rudolf Nureyev it is like a new and amazing discovery, as I did not know anything about him before. It seems to me, before my time, world was so beautiful. Particularly after the second World War, there was such a vibrant and dynamic atmosphere in art, music literature … that brought forth such a great artist as Rudolf Nureyev.
it was a beautiful time.
I am very glad I came of age in the 60s and 70s. It was a time of tremendous, creative, exploration and celebration. It was also the time of the war in Vietnam, which many of us put energy into protesting and it made a difference. Young men came home With their minds, hopelessly disoriented and needed help for years to come. If you study history, you will find that worse come and go, good times come and go and still, we keep making the same mistakes of bias and prejudice that caused the wars to begin with. Rudolf Nureyev was not political. He tried hard to be allowed to see his mother and family for decades, but he did not choose a political platform. In fact, Rudolf Nureyev often seemed completely oblivious to the realities of real life. He preferred to go from one fantasy to another, always working and rarely took vacation. Inside his several homes, he re-created the beauty of several different golden ages.
@TheLadyofKy It makes me cry, too. It is almost unbearable at times but it also a wonderful documentary and it helps those who love him still to share, just a little, in what he went through as his life moved to its end.
He is still with us. So long as we think of him, he will be here.
I saw RN dance with Margot Fonteyn in her farewell tour when i was 11 in England. Their unbelievable chemistry was undeniable as was the intense passion in their prolonged kissing that even one so young as i could feel it's heat. I know Rudolf was thought to be a homosexual but the rumors of his affair with Dame Fonteyn are completely believable to me. The strange part was that her husband was sitting at the of my aisle (in his ♿) just loudly sobbing and yelling BRAVO at the top of his lungs....especially when they would kiss. What an amazing performance...i can still close my eyes and feel the emotions of that night run through me. BRAVO 🌹
7 5:59 6:00 6:01
However, it came to be it is certainly true. That one can see the love that Nureyev had for Fonteyn. I think she filled many for him as well as being 100% loyal to him. Their close relationship was everlasting. After Tito stole her house and money, Nureyev paid for all her needs until her death. They shared many golden years together, some of their best performances. Their passionate kisses were caught on film.
I meant to say that she filled many roles for him.
He was An Amazing Dancer 💌👣 💕
Bravo forever rudolf you did it your way but with LOVE. One can catch flies easier with honey than with vinegar.
Ciao,Rudy.Ciao,Principe della Danza.
I saw him dance Petroushka in New York. He was like lightning. He was not at the height of his dance powers. It was electric. Not an exaggeration. He lit up the stage. I saw him dance portions of other dances. Again. Like lightning. I saw other dancers. None were like him. Even the great Baryshnikov and others were like gymnasts compared to Nureyev.
Incredible... always love ballet.., performanship..., screenplay, orchestra ect though I've only done cheerleading and barely legit amateur ballet dancer for most of my life. I think if people don't get it.... it just they just don't understand how the whole environment works, you must be strong in very tip top condition to perform, and it is magical
This documentary movie .... !!! It is 2022 and only 135K views since 2009 ! What a shame !
thank you so much for posting this!!
He was beautiful!
I guess it's because of his TATAR blood..powerful and fearless ...how many other famous Tatars are there??? And are they as handsome as he was,!!?? He Was an enigma
He wasn't that handsome , great dancer and body in deed
Chi ha fatto questo documentario ,non ha capitto niente di Nureyev ! Lui e stato sempre e soltanto dentro la luce e luce e anche adesso !!!
He paid high prize for his success!
Wauw, what a great experience that most have been! I'm too young myself to have seen him in real life, but he's such an inspiration when doing my ballet exercises... so now I'm trying to find as much information about him as possible.
Death is something no one may ever understand unless they loose the ones they love and even then, we may never know until that moment comes to those of us left, the living. "Dancing Through Darkness" is so sad and it makes me cry.
TheLadyofKy ... So true everything you said. However, death is a part of life and is the circle we all must go through like it or not. Death has to be accepted just as birth. Birth is a happy time and Death is a sad time. Life is happy and sad. No one in life is to the exception of death. We are all going to die someday and even those closest to us. I know because I've lost most of my family and I'm just about to enter my mid's. I'm still young and have a few more years of my life to live. So you can imagine how very hard it is for someone to lose almost their entire family and have only themselves to rely on in life. It's the hardest thing mentally and physically to have to endure but I have God and He will see me through :) So again, yes, death is extremely hard to accept whether it's your family or friend who has died or you! But someone how we all make it through one way or another by the grace of God and those around who do love and care for us whether family, friend or a stranger. And last, yes I too agree this documentary on R.M. was so very sad! Wish he could've lived a full life until his golden years because he truly had so very much to give to others in many ways but instead he chose to live his life to the fullest at a young age regardless of the results of his selfish and lustful temptations "and one day your sins will find you out..." :'( R.I.P. Rudolpho Nureyev
I knew one of of the first AIDS ballet dancers in NYC, he was my neighbor who adopted one of my kittens, he got it in Haiti and came to my brownstone in NYC so happy to tell me, he slept with Nureyev. Then, six months later, he died of AIDS. I tried to warn Nureyeve who was in total denial about his disease which finally killed him, too.
Oh...so you knew him? Lol
Emsnews Supkis
How sad. Were you in ballet?
Emsnews Supkis ... Thank you very much for sharing this very interesting bit of personal information about Nureyev. Would be wonderful to know more about how you knew him (back story) and if you knew him well. When someone has and is dying of such a horrific disease as AIDS especially someone of the caliber of R.N. of course they will be in 100% denial about it as they sometimes think they are not going to let it beat them. I think they assume they are literally invincible as that's how the world has made them into and be, the highest star they are and were of their day. Also, once you have it and someone warns you then of course usually by then it's too late. Why bother? He probably already had it long before your neighbor revealed to you that day they had slept together. Regardless, it's all beyond sad to know that such a most talented and great artist/dancer as R.N. was allowed this to happen as I'm sure as extremely intelligent as he was, knew it was going around, although still very new at the time and still continued to take chances as he was doing was (excuse the pun) the same as playing "Russian Roulette". R.I.P. Rudolf Nureyev.
Emsnews Supkis They had no business sleeping together. Nureyev was devastated when he contracted the disease. I saw the look upon his face when they honored him at a show. He thought he'd have the strength to dance as he once did with that disease. Boxers and weight lifters can't perform in their field with the disease. Everyone succumbs to that virus.
@@rosesflowers4722 *NOTHING* could stop Rudi's dedication to his craft! One time during his last year or two, he hosted his good friend Gore Vidal for a few days at his home. One morning, GV looked around for Rudi & couldn't find him anywhere. Finally, he found Rudi in the garage, using a sawhorse as an improvised barre, and **DOING HIS DAILY 2 HOURS OF EXERCISES**, just as when he was actively dancing. Gore Vidal said that Rudi was "sweating like a horse" after the exercise routine! RIP, Rudi...
Rudolf Nureev - An Outsider - Insider Artist
I came here to see not just Rudi but have more information about the birth of this superb production (with which, imo, the Russian productions just cannot compete).
Gods never die...also Rudolf..❤
If he was God he wouldnt have died od AIDS. I guess he was mortal.cheers
Here's "I Am A Dancer", one of the best RN documentaries I've ever seen. The banner-line is in Russian, but disregard it (the whole thing's in English):
Part 1: www.dailymotion.com/video/xqytmc?collectionXid=x4ahcl
Part 2: www.dailymotion.com/video/xr0dy9?collectionXid=x4ahcl
can someone PLEASSEE tell me which violin music is playing in the very beginning? I've been going crazy looking for it! Thank you!
The composer's name is Alexander Balanescu. It's in the credits at the end. Here's his Wikipedia page.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_B%C4%83l%C4%83nescu
and his page
www.balanescu.com/
Rudolf Nureyev...the flying Tartar...
Hola alguien sabe como se llama la cancion de fondo se que es de alexander balanescu la he buscado pero no la encuentro saludos y grasias
What is the background music in the beginning?
Alexander Balanescu. I found the answer to your question in earlier comments. I hope that it’s right
Rudolph was a beautiful looking man,loved from woman all over the world ,he was a perfectionist and his dancing showed,his secret of homosexuality was kept in the closet ,I saw pictures nof him rehearsing in 9090+he was as focused but kept saying I'm just need a break and saying I'm just tired I'll be fine in a few minutes,he was a proud man and in 91 he died,what he died of so what,he never complained about his sickness through his last stages of living he got a standing ovation,and at least he died in his home land Russia,, Rudolph rest in peace ,also Margot,may God be with you amen,thank you for your beautiful dancing,god bless you amen, 💙🐦🌈😘💟,☀️🌟🌹🌷
If it was now he would have lived there's a famous footballer had aids for yrs still alive
But it was the life pity he didn't change
Warning, littered with unrelated ads …
@Isawthemwhen Let it go. It's not worth your time.
That with the" leap to freedom " words later....almost stopped viewing
He gave AIDS to a dear friend of mine who was a ballet dancer (professionally) in NYC. My friend came to my brownstone to enthuse about how he had a night with the great dancer and was so happy. I cried hard at his funeral.
I'm so sorry. Nureyev could be selfish.
emsnews really? so Nureyev is the only person he had random sex with? Give me a fucking break. There is no honor in claiming one contracted HIV from a famous person. Shame on you.
emsnews you just wrote, above, that your friend went to Haiti, beforehand. Haiti was a gay tourist destination. Your friend could have got AIDs anywhere, including Haiti.
2degucitas how was he selfish? He might have not known this is back when it was just being discovered.
Letty S.Vega
No. He knew he was HIV positive and kept it secret. He did not tell his sex partners.
Revolting that the documentary has to begin with Aids...typical .
He had a devil in him no?
Ur an idiot..