Rudolph Nureyev - Bluebird Solo and PDD + Prince's Variation ['Sleeping Beauty' 1961]

[TheSandsie13]

i remember seeing nureyev do this on tv when i was a kid and being blown away.

[nickwallacesmith]

hi TheSandsie13 - yes, often the first impact of nureyev is very strong - mine was seeing him at covent garden in 'the sleeping beauty' with margot fonteyn - we went to the stage door after and they signed our program - and were very nice about it. cheers

[PureSoapCleans]

I must also add that your videos are fantastic and I do appreciate your love for dance and sharing those clips with us. Thank you so very much!!!

[nickwallacesmith]

hi PureSoapCleans - great you like the videos - often i wonder if they are only going to be interesting for me - your appreciation makes me want to find more things to upload - so thanks again!

[morinoroba]

Wow, very rare footages, thank you! Great dance of Nureyev as always, I think his greatness is that despite he had such unbelievable technique(speed, height of jump etc), it is always "organic" but never gets coldness! His great dancing technique was always together with his emotional expression!

[nickwallacesmith]

hi morinoroba - yeah, great someone had the foresight to capture these first performances in the West. and yes nureyev's never blank on stage - sometimes his own powerful personality can somewhat intrude on the character but in general the characters are differentiated and different. cheers, nick

[PureSoapCleans]

Fantastic clips! Quite fantastic, of a fantastic dancer. Communism is the most oppressive of all regimes ever created by any mind. Nureyev was a genius and he needed to be free to express his art. The same thing happened to Carlos Acosta, he had to leave Cuba to become a Principal dancer, because his country didn't allow him to be a prince, in Cuba there are not black dancers in top positions, amazing! This clips are true treasures. Thank you so much for sharing.

[nickwallacesmith]

hi PureSoapCleans - good to hear from you again. i didn't realise that carlos left cuba because he didn't get the prince principal roles - i'm surprised at the racism - a real scourge any where it appears. cheers

[PureSoapCleans]

@nickwallacesmith , yes indeed. I read a very interesting interview in Spanish that he had in Cuba and he was asked about the racism in USA and UK, and he said that he was hired as a Principal Dancer outside Cuba and it is precisely in Cuba with a majority black population you do not see blacks in top positions in the Cuban National Ballet, and that his teacher Ramona de Sáa was the one who told him that in Cuba because he was black there was not a big future for him. And it is quite true.

[nickwallacesmith]

hi PureSoapCleans - sad but i understand what you are saying - and it's sad to see racism anywhere - it's a world wide scourge - here in australia too where the original aboriginal inhabitants do not get the opportunities they should.

[balletnut]

Hi Nick.

Thanks so very much for posting this. It's such a gem. When you see him dancing, speeded up or not it's absolutely wonderful. Any more of these gems?

[nickwallacesmith]

hi balletnut - it really is a gem and glad you like it. though it can seem to be speeded up, i think it's in fact nureyev's rapidity, from my childhood recollections at least. cheers

[JeremyNasmith]

Awesome! I'd seen photos of Nureyev's shows with Marquis de Quevas, but never any footage! Especially bluebird! Nureyev is so associated with the role of the prince that it's a real treat to see how he danced Bluebird as well.

Keep posting Nick!! I don't know where or how you find these films, but whatever you're doing, it's working!! Bravo!

[nickwallacesmith]

hi Jeremy Nasmith - been a bit lucky finding things to upload on YT - never know when your luck will run out though - but have my fingers crossed. yes, nureyev seems an ideal bluebird - can't think why i didn't consider it before - it's probably why he liked to continue dancing the role. pity it's just so grainy - but better than nothing. cheers

[nickwallacesmith]

hi Jeremy Nasmith - been a bit lucky finding things to upload on YT - never know when your luck will run out though - but have my fingers crossed. yes, nureyev seems an ideal bluebird - can't think why i didn't consider it before - it's probably why he liked to continue dancing the role. pity it's just so grainy - but better than nothing. cheers

[ecartsonis]

Fabulous!!! Thank you so much!



[nickwallacesmith]

hi ecartsonis - yes, the fact that it's amateur film makes you feel you are there - even though it's so grainy. cheers

[Pearlaceous]

Insane speed - LOL! God bless that amateur photographer! :-)

[nickwallacesmith]

hi Pearlaceous - yes, the speed is so insane you for a moment think the film has been speeded up. and yes i keep wondering what other things are out there, filmed by amateurs, like the ballets russes film of 'les sylphides' with serge lifar. cheers