The Russian-born dancer and choreographer Rudolph Nureyev (born 1938) captured international acclaim as the greatest male ballet dancer of the 1960s and 1970s. His virtuosity, versatility, and charismatic energy were expressed in countless classical and contemporary roles, on both stage and screen.

Rudolph Hametovich Nureyev, born on a train journey between Lake Baikal and Irkutsk in Russia, was the youngest child of poor parents of Asiatic Mongol stock. Despite early discouragement from his parents, Nureyev began his dancing career with amateur folk dance groups and the Ufa Opera Ballet. At the age of 17 he entered the Leningrad Ballet School to study with the outstanding teacher Alexander Pushkin. After three years of training he joined the Kirov Ballet as a soloist, dancing full length roles in Don Quixote, Gayane, Giselle,La Bayadere,The Nutcracker, Swan Lake, and The Sleeping Beauty.

His offstage reputation was equally sensational, bringing him constant trouble...