Nureyev: a Dance Drama (2009)

A unique dance drama created especially for television exploring the life of the great Russian dancer, Rudolph Nureyev, who defected to the West at the height of the Cold War in 1961. Integrating original choreography created for the screen and dramatic monologues, the film presents a multi-faceted dramatic portrait of one of the seminal performing arts figures of our time. There are the images of the young boy, born in poverty in Russia's Ural region; the late but promising start at the Kirov ballet school; the highly publicized defection to the west at a Paris airport in 1961; the celebrated partnership with the Royal Ballet's Margot Fonteyn; and finally succumbing to death brought on by the HIV virus at the age of 54 in 1993. Along the way, he changed the way the male dancer was presented on stage, transforming him from a prop to an equal performing partner, though with a fury, energy and sexuality never before seen.