Rudolph Nureyev

Nureyev's influence on the world of ballet changed especially the perception of male dancers; in his own productions of the classics the male roles got much more choreography than in earlier productions. The second very important influence was his crossing the borders between classical ballet and modern dance by dancing both, although having been trained as a classical dancer. Today it is absolutely normal for dancers to get training in both styles but Nureyev was the one who started this and it was a sensation and even much criticized in his days.

When AIDS appeared in France in about 1982, Nureyev, like many homosexual men, took little notice. He presumably contracted HIV at some point in the early 1980s. For several years he simply denied that anything was wrong with his health: when, in about 1990, he became undeniably ill, he pretended he had several other ailments. He tried several experimental treatments but they did not stop the inevitable decline of his body. Towards the end of his life, as dancing became more and more agonizing for him, he resigned himself to small non-dancing roles, and dabbled with the idea of becoming a conductor. At the urging of Fonteyn, he had a short but successful conducting career, which was unfortunately cut short due to his declining health.

Eventually, however, he had to face the fact that he was dying. He won back the admiration of many of his detractors by his courage during this period. The loss of his looks pained him, but he continued to struggle through public appearances. At his last appearance, at a 1992 production of La Bayadère at the Palais Garnier, Nureyev received an emotional standing ovation from the audience. The French Culture Minister, Jack Lang, presented him with France's highest cultural award, the Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et Lettres. He died in Paris, France, a few months later, aged 54. His grave, at Sainte-Geneviève-des-Bois near Paris, is featured in this photograph with an oriental Turkic-style carpet.