Rudolf Nureyev

Acting

Rudolf Nureyev

Born 1938-03-17 · Irkutsk, USSR [now Russia]

Rudolf Khametovich Nureyev (17 March 1938 – 6 January 1993) was a Tatar dancer from the former Soviet Union, considered one of the most celebrated ballet dancers of the 20th 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 support to the women. He defected to the West, despite KGB efforts to stop him. According to KGB archives studied by Peter Watson, Nikita Khrushchev personally signed an order to have Nureyev killed Description above from the Wikipedia article Rudolf Nureyev, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia​

Acting credits

Valentino poster
5.8

The untimely death of silent screen star Rudolph Valentino prompts the many women in his past to reminisce about his troubled rise to superstardom.

Valentino

1977

No artwork available
NR

A Shakespeare story told through Rudolf Nureyev's choreography using Tchaikovsky's music.

The Tempest

No artwork available
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Venezia, carnevale, un amore

1982

The Sleeping Beauty poster
2.0

Ballet luminary Rudolf Nureyev choreographed this spectacular 1972 National Ballet of Canada production of Tchaikovsky's "Sleeping Beauty," and also stars as Prince Florimund opposite Veronica Tennant as Princess Aurora. After Princess Aurora is cursed at birth, she pricks her finger and sleeps for 100 years, until Prince Florimund wakes her with a kiss. Conductor George Crum leads the Orchestra of the National Ballet of Canada.

The Sleeping Beauty

1972

No artwork available
NR

The 49th Royal Variety Performance, held at the London Palladium on the 21st of November, 1977. Presented by Bob Hope, includes his own performances, Julie Andrews, Paul Anka, Pam Ayres, Harry Belafonte, Brotherhood of Man, Tommy Cooper, Alan King, Cleo Laine and Johnny Dankworth, John Williams, Little and Large, Shirley MacLaine, Jim Henson's Muppets, Rudolf Nureyev, Jack Parnell with special visits from Queen Elizabeth II, her husband Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh and Charles, Prince of Wales

The Royal Variety Performance 1977

1977

I Am Divine poster
7.3

Harris Glenn Milstead, aka Divine (1945-1988) was the ultimate outsider turned underground hero. Spitting in the face of the status quos of body image, gender identity, sexuality, and preconceived notions of beauty, Divine succeeded in becoming an internationally recognized icon, recording artist, and character actor of stage and screen. Glenn went from the often-mocked, schoolyard fat kid to underdog royalty, standing up for millions of gay men and women, drag queens and punk rockers, and countless other socially ostracized misfits and freaks. With a completely committed in-your-face style, he blurred the line between performer and personality, and revolutionized pop culture.

I Am Divine

2014

The World of Jim Henson poster
7.4

In this episode of PBS' Great Performances, the history and legacy of puppeteer Jim Henson is explored, from his six-second commercial beginnings to a five-season run on ABC of The Muppet Show to several theatrically released films, including five Muppet movies, The Dark Crystal, and Labyrinth.

The World of Jim Henson

1994

Swan Lake poster
8.2

Perhaps the most popular ballet video ever released, this version of Tchaikovsky's beloved work stars one of the most famous classical dance partnerships of all time, Rudolf Nureyev and Margot Fonteyn. Nureyev choreographed this production for the Vienna State Opera Ballet. Two icons of 20th-century dance in magnificent form. Ballet authority John Lanchbery, former music director of the Sadler's Wells and Royal Ballet companies, as well as of American Ballet Theatre and Australian Ballet, conducts the Vienna Symphony Orchestra in Tchaikovsky's enchanting score.

Swan Lake

1966

Exposed poster
4.8

Wisconsin farm girl Elizabeth Carlson leaves family and her English teacher lover behind and escapes to New York. There she soon makes a career for herself as a fashion model. During a vernissage she's approached by a mysterious man whose motives are unclear...

Exposed

1983

Nureyev poster
7.3

An insight into the life of the world's most famous male dancer, Rudolf Nureyev.

Nureyev

2018

That's Dancing! poster
6.9

A documentary film about dancing on the screen, from its origins after the invention of the movie camera, over the movie musical from the late 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s, and 60s, up to the break dance and music videos from the 80s.

That's Dancing!

1985

Julie Andrews' Invitation to the Dance with Rudolf Nureyev poster
NR

In this program, Julie Andrews and Rudolf Nureyev explain what dancing is and introduce different styles of dance to their young audience.

Julie Andrews' Invitation to the Dance with Rudolf Nureyev

1980

No artwork available
NR

Narrated by Terence Stamp, this TV program documents the life and career of famed ballet dancer Rudolf Nureyev, through interviews with friends and colleagues and archive footage.

Nureyev Unzipped

1998

No artwork available
NR

Ballet with Alicia Alonso and Rudolf Nureyev

Poema Del Amor Y Del Mar

1990

When the Spirit Soars in Flight poster
NR

Young ballet artists from across the Soviet Union showcase their skills at the All-Union Festival of Choreographic Schools.

When the Spirit Soars in Flight

1958

Don Quixote poster
9.0

A film adaptation of the Ludwig Minkus ballet, completely re-orchestrated and with additional music by John Lanchbery.

Don Quixote

1973

No artwork available
NR

Theatre and film director Lindsay Anderson in conversation with ballet superstar Rudolf Nureyev. First broadcast in 1974.

Nureyev

1974

Singer Presents Burt Bacharach poster
NR

On March 14, 1971, SINGER PRESENTS BURT BACHARACH was shown on CBS and featured Barbra Streisand joining the composer at the piano for an intimate conversation about life, love and music, as well as several performances - in addition to appearances by Tom Jones, Rudolf Nureyev and Bettie De Jong, too.

Singer Presents Burt Bacharach

1971

Marco Spada poster
NR

An Italian aristocrat leads a double life as a bandit.

Marco Spada

1982

A Life for Ballet poster
NR

A documentary on the life of the legendary ballet reconstructionist, Pierre Lacotte and his wife and longtime dance partner Ghislaine Thesmar.

A Life for Ballet

2012

Marius Petipa, le maître français du ballet russe poster
NR

When he arrives in Saint Petersburg, at the age of 29, Marius Petipa is just an obscure dancer who fled western Europe to escape his debts. He is far from imagining that his engagement in the troupe of the Russian Imperial Ballet, then rather mediocre, will reveal him, forty years later, as one of the greatest choreographers in the history of dance. It is within the Bolshoi Kamenny theaters, then Mariinsky, in a still provincial capital where three productions a year are enough to satisfy an undemanding audience, that this native of Marseille will invent a new art of ballet, over the course of sixty of creations, between 1862 (La fille du pharaon) and 1895 (Le lac des cygnes).

Marius Petipa, le maître français du ballet russe

2018

Rudolf Nureyev poster
10.0

Rudolf Nureyev rose from a humble childhood in Siberia to become one of the world's most acclaimed ballet dancers. Filmmaker Patricia Foy's documentary explores his life, work and legacy. Rarely seen footage is interspersed with interviews with friends and fellow dance luminaries, including Merle Park, Roland Petit, Cliff Morgan, Margot Fonteyn and David Wall, to create a fascinating portrait of a dance legend.

Rudolf Nureyev

1991

Rudolf Nureyev. Island of His Dreams poster
NR

The film tells the story of the regular visits that the legendary Russian ballet dancer Rudolf Nureyev made to Turkey between 1980 and 1990.

Rudolf Nureyev. Island of His Dreams

2016

Hervé Guibert, la mort propagande poster
3.7

From this "inexorable disease", Hervé Guibert did not recover. The miracle he had so much hoped for did not happen. But, before his death in 1991, three years after learning of his HIV-positive status, he engraved in his literary and photographic work "the places of [his] suffering", "the stations of [his] way of the cross". With his thin body and sunken cheeks, the handsome man with curly hair that he was, the one whose clear gaze radiated from the seaside photos, fought a fierce battle against AIDS. A fight of every moment against the decay of the body, observed and commented with a methodical care in his autobiographical novels, in particular "To the Friend Who Did Not Save My Life" (1990) and "The Compassionate Protocol" (1991), and of which he testified on television on the set of "Apostrophes"...

Hervé Guibert, la mort propagande

2021

Behind the camera

The Nutcracker poster
6.0

The Paris Opera Ballet's 1988 revised version of Rudolf Nureyev's 1963 production of The Nutcracker.

The Nutcracker

1989

The Sleeping Beauty poster
2.0

Ballet luminary Rudolf Nureyev choreographed this spectacular 1972 National Ballet of Canada production of Tchaikovsky's "Sleeping Beauty," and also stars as Prince Florimund opposite Veronica Tennant as Princess Aurora. After Princess Aurora is cursed at birth, she pricks her finger and sleeps for 100 years, until Prince Florimund wakes her with a kiss. Conductor George Crum leads the Orchestra of the National Ballet of Canada.

The Sleeping Beauty

1972

Don Quixote poster
9.0

A film adaptation of the Ludwig Minkus ballet, completely re-orchestrated and with additional music by John Lanchbery.

Don Quixote

1973

Paris Opera Ballet: The Nutcracker poster
NR

On Christmas Eve, young Clara receives a nutcracker doll and drifts into a dream where toys come alive. Guided by the transformed nutcracker prince, she moves through a world of toy soldiers, rats, and magical creatures, facing her fears and desires. Snowflakes, flowers, and fantastical landscapes frame a vivid choreography set to Tchaikovsky’s iconic score.

Paris Opera Ballet: The Nutcracker

2025

Romeo and Juliet poster
NR

Choreography from Nureyev filmed under the choreographer’s direction for television, in a studio close to Milan with the outstanding tragic actress, Carla Fracci, and Fonteyn as Lady Capulet. What self-sacrifice on behalf of Margot Fonteyn following the unforgettable Juliet that she played opposite Nureyev in the creation of MacMillan’s version!

Romeo and Juliet

1980

Paris Opera Ballet: The Sleeping Beauty poster
NR

At her christening, Princess Aurora is granted all perfections and qualities by her godmothers. The old Fairy Carabosse, who was forgotten as guest to the festivities, casts a terrible spell: Aurore will prick her finger with a spindle and die. Fortunately, the Lilac Fairy lessens the curse. Instead of dying, the Princess will fall into a long, deep sleep that will last a hundred years.

Paris Opera Ballet: The Sleeping Beauty

2025

Giselle poster
NR

1979 production of the ballet classic starring Rudolf Nureyev and featuring the Bavarian State Ballet

Giselle

1979

The Nutcracker poster
NR

This historic performance from 1968 captures Rudolf Nureyev at the peak of his career. Nureyev's legendary performance makes this the definitive Nutcracker on video. Watch, and enjoy being transported with Clara, the Sugar Plum Fairies and the Nutcracker Prince into a world of fantasy!

The Nutcracker

1968

Cinderella poster
NR

"A Paris Opera Production filmed in studio with Sylvie Guillem, Charles Jude and Rudolf Nureyev as a movie producer. The ballet is set in Hollywood in the 30′s." - nureyev.org

Cinderella

1997

No artwork available
NR

At her christening, Princess Aurora is granted all perfections and qualities by her godmothers. The old Fairy Carabosse, who was forgotten as guest to the festivities, casts a terrible spell: Aurore will prick her finger with a spindle and die. Fortunately, the Lilac Fairy lessens the curse. Instead of dying, the Princess will fall into a long, deep sleep that will last a hundred years.

The Sleeping Beauty (Opera)