Rudolf Nureyev
An image from Exposed, one of the productions that also features Rudolf Nureyev.
Rudolf Nureyev

Rudolf Nureyev

March 17, 1938 — Irkutsk, USSR [now Russia]

Rudolf Khametovich Nureyev (17 March 1938 – 6 January 1993) was a Tatar dancer from the former Soviet Union, considered one of the most celebrated ballet dancers 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.

He defected to the West, despite KGB efforts to stop him. According to KGB archives studied by Peter Watson, Nikita Khrushchev personally signed an order to have Nureyev killed

Description above from the Wikipedia article Rudolf Nureyev, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia​

Valentino

Valentino

1977

Exposed

Exposed

1983

Romeo and Juliet

Romeo and Juliet

1966

Swan Lake

Swan Lake

1966

The Sleeping Beauty

2004

I Am a Dancer

I Am a Dancer

1972

The Sleeping Beauty

The Sleeping Beauty

1972