Born near Irkutsk , Nureyev danced professionally from the age of 15 and
studied at the Leningrad Ballet School from 1955 until 1958, when he
became a soloist with the Kirov Ballet. In 1961, while on tour in Paris , with
the Kirov , Nureyev fled from Soviet security at the Paris airport and defected.

For nearly 30 years Nureyev danced anywhere, everywhere, seemingly every
night . his passion for performance was insatiable and he drove himself far
harder than anyone else could have.

In the end the continual work took its toll on his body and his technique, and
the touring programs of his final years as a dancer saddened many of his
admirers. But it was inevitable: he was cut from whole cloth, and the will-
power which kept him dancing then was the same will-power which made
him a dancer in the first place.

Nureyev became an Austrian citizen in 1982 and the next year he became
the Artistic Director of the Paris Opera Ballet.

His last production, shortly before his death in January 1993, was a revival of
La Bayadere.

Nureyev will never be equaled for the electricity, the romance, the danger,
and the charisma of his stage presence.