The Soviets knew they were taking a risk when they sent Rudolf Nureyev on tour with the Kirov Ballet in 1961. Back home, the young dancer scorned the company’s strict hierarchy and its repertoire of state-approved ballets. In Paris he eluded his KGB handlers to party with the bohemian set and delivered bravura performances that brought audiences to their feet. Then, informed at the airport that he’d be sent back to Moscow, Nureyev hurled himself into the arms of French police in the most spectacular defection in Russian history. The events leading up to Nureyev’s “dance to freedom” are recreated in this fascinating docudrama, starring the Bolshoi Ballet’s Artem Ovcharenko, who conveys Nureyev’s “tightly coiled energy, the obsessive artistry, and the gambler’s instinct that made the star kick so hard against the limits of his world” (The Guardian).
Join us for a light reception in the Jane Peck Gallery following the event.
Special guest David Hallberg will sign advance copies of his memoir, A Body of Work: Dancing to the Edge and Back. Books will be available for purchase courtesy of The Village Bookstore.
