RudolfKhametovich Nureyev (17 March 1938 – 6 January 1993) was a dancerof ballet and modern dance, one of the most celebrated of the20th century. Nureyev's artistic skills explored expressive areas of the dance,providing a new role to the male ballet dancer who once served only as supportto the women.
Originallya Soviet citizen, Nureyev defected to the West in 1961,despite KGB efforts to stop him.According to KGB archives studied byPeter Watson, Nikita Khrushchev personally signed an order to haveNureyev killed.
On 16 June 1961 at the Le Bourget Airport in Paris, Rudolf Nureyevdefected with the help of French police and a Parisian socialite friend – ClaraSaint. Within a week, he was signed up by the Grand Ballet du Marquis de Cuevasand was performing The Sleeping Beauty with Nina Vyroubova. On a tour ofDenmark he met Erik Bruhn, soloist at the Royal Danish Ballet who became hislover, his closest friend and his protector until Bruhn's death in 1986.