Photo: Allan Warren / CC BY-SA 3.0 (source: Wikimedia Commons)
My Take
Nureyev is, to my mind, the rare performer whose biography reads like myth without exaggeration: born on a moving Trans-Siberian train, raised in a Tatar family, and ultimately crowned the defining male ballet dancer of the twentieth century. What I admire most is that he did not just dance brilliantly — he changed what male dancing was allowed to be, claiming a stage that had long centered ballerinas. The string of honors from France and elsewhere almost feels beside the point. His real legacy lives in studios and opera houses where his choreography and teaching still set the standard. Gone far too soon at fifty-four.
Overview
Rudolf Khametovich Nureyev (17 March 1938 – 6 January 1993) was a Soviet-born ballet dancer and choreographer. Nureyev is widely regarded as the preeminent male ballet dancer of the 20th century, as well as one of the greatest ballet dancers of all time. Nureyev was born on a Trans-Siberian train near Lake Baikal, in Siberia, Soviet Union, to a Tatar family.
Summary adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Rudolf Nureyev
- Name (Japanese)
- ルドルフ・ヌレエフ
- Reading
- るどるふ・ぬれえふ
- Born
- March 17, 1938 – January 6, 1993
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Pisces / Tiger
- Origin
- Razdolnoe, Russia
- Blood type
- Private
- Height
- Private
- Agency
- Private
- Occupation
- ballet dancer / choreographer / actor / ballet master / director
2. Background
- Elementary school
- Private
- Junior high
- Private
- High school
- Private
- University
- Private
Awards & achievements
- 1988 Knight of the Legion of Honour
- Commandeur des Arts et des Lettres
- 1987 Capezio Dance Award
- Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres
- Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Award
3. Relationships
- Spouse
- Private
- Children
- Private
- Parents
- Private
- Siblings
- Private
4. Personality
Motto
Private
6. Links
Ballet dancer — see all → · Choreographer — see all → · More people from Russia →
7. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-10
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public items are marked "Private / Unknown". English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.