Rudolf Nureyev. Now there was a guy who knew how to make an impact. Undoubtedly the most famous ballet dancer of all time, he was renowned for his physical prowess, his extraordinary charisma and, most of all, his incredibly brave decision to defect from the Soviet Union to the West in 1961. He died in 1993 but his influence is still being felt in the ballet world today, through the people he worked with and through the foundation he set up to, amongst other things, help dancers from poor backgrounds find scholarships with the world’s best ballet schools. Sure, by all accounts, he had his prickly side, but overall he seems to have been something of a good egg.
Nureyev: Legend & Legacy is a gala organised by former Royal Ballet Principal dancer Nehemiah Kish to celebrate the great man. And he’s done a marvellous job. Focussing purely on Nureyev’s classical repertoire, it’s a well-structured affair that features seven complete pas de deux, a solo and a rarely seen pas de six. It all means you get to see plenty of the dancers, and what dancers they are. Garnered from the likes of The Royal Ballet, Royal Danish Ballet, Dutch National Ballet, Berlin State Ballet, Hamburg Ballet, National Ballet of Canada, English National Ballet, and more, it also features a performances from ballet royalty Alina Cojocaru. And if that wasn’t enough, the on-stage hosts for the evening were Dame Monica Mason, former Director of The Royal Ballet, and Ralph Fiennes, actor extraordinaire and director of The White Crow, the movie that dramatised Nureyev’s defection in Paris. Oh, and the night’s venue is the newly dolled-up Theatre Royal Drury Lane, the very theatre where Nureyev made his UK debut.
First up was Guillaume Côté with a Nureyev-created solo from Sleeping Beauty. Interestingly, Côté seemed very constrained with none of the fiery gymnastics many of today’s dancers employ. I never saw Nureyev dance (I’m far too young, ahem) but I was assured that of all the night’s performances, Côté’s was the closest to how Nureyev himself would have danced – for all his groundbreaking technique, he was still a man of his time. Côté was followed by something I’d never seen before, the pas de deux from Gayané. Khachaturian’s music was lovely and the fey coquettishness of Maia Makhateli and the charming swagger of Oleg Ivenko was a delight.
Xander Parish bounded on stage next to begin the Act 3 pas de deux from La Bayadère. He was full of passion in his solo but when Iana Salenko joined him they produced a flawless, if a little chilly, account of the remainder. Bournonville’s Flower Festival in Genzano is a bugger to dance but ENB’s Francesco Gabriele Frola was all bounce and lightness; excitingly, he was more balloon than ballon. He and late replacement, Royal Danish’s Ida Praetorius, did a grand job. The Royal Ballet closed the first half with the splendid pas de six from Laurencia. Led by an on-fire Natalia Osipova, she was somehow outshone by an extraordinary variation from Cesar Corrales; his speed and attack was staggering.
Vadim Muntagirov opened the second half with ENB’s Natascha Mair in the Grand Pas from Sleeping Beauty. Muntagirov really is the bee’s knees, just sublime, and although Mair is not yet in the same league, they made a cute couple. Francesca Hayward is a beautiful Giselle and she and William Bracewell managed to make gorgeous sense out of the Act 2 pas de deux that often looks weirdly out of place in a gala format. Alina Cojocaru and Hamburg’s Alexandr Trusch tackled an excerpt from Jon Neumeier’s austere Don Juan. It has a lot of beautifully held positions but could have hit the pause button earlier than it did. Still, it was worth it to see Cojocaru who retains her wondrous physique and artistry. Closing the whole shebang was arguably Nureyev’s most famous role – the pas de deux from Le Corsaire. The Royal Ballet’s Cesar Corrales and Yasmine Naghdi stepped into the Nureyev and Fonteyn roles (with costumes to match) and blew the house down, Corrales once again proving what a masterful showman he is.
In all honesty, and rather like a lot of Nureyev’s ballets, this review has gone on a bit too long, but it was a fun night, full of fantastic dancing and some interesting rep. I’d happily watch it again and, whaddya know, I can! First of all, there are four more performances (until 12 September 2022, casts may vary) and it’s also being streamed by Marquee TV from 16-26 September 2022. It’s great to know there will be a permanent record of a tremendous tribute to one of the giants of the ballet, and artistic, world.
Gerard Davis
Dancing Review 
We caught him on must have been one of his last regional tours, in Manchester.