Labels:text | human face | man OCR: ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ Nureyev, Rudolf Rudolf Nureyev Rudolf Nureyev performed more adventurously than any other dancer this century. A star of the Kirov Ballet, he defected to the West in the 1960s, where he thrilled audiences with his vitality and passion. Born on a train in Siberia, of Tartar parents, Nureyev was obsessed by dance from a young age. Despite family opposition he secured a place at the Vaganova School in Leningrad, and at age 17 became a pupil of Alexander Pushkin. Nureyev refused to join the Communist Youth Organization and in 1961, while touring Europe, sought political asylum in Paris. He soon became a guest artist at the Royal Ballet in London and danced in "Giselle" with Margot Fonteyn. Unexpectedly, since there was a Rudolf Nureyev, ballet dancer and 20-year age gap between them, their partnership choreographer, 1939-93 proved a huge success. Put in charge of the ballet company of the Paris Opera in the 1980s, Nureyev gave it new life and direction. He returned to Russia in 1989 and danced in front of his first teacher, the centenarian Anna Udeltsova. CHRONOLOGY
