0:00:04 > 0:00:06ARCHIVE VOICE-OVER: 'Rudolf Nureyev.
0:00:06 > 0:00:09'The critics have exhausted their fondest superlatives.
0:00:09 > 0:00:13'The audiences have cheered until their voices have departed.
0:00:13 > 0:00:14'Today, in our own time,
0:00:14 > 0:00:18'the tradition of the supreme dancer flames again
0:00:18 > 0:00:21'in the blazing intensity of this young disciple of movement.'
0:00:32 > 0:00:34CHATTER
0:00:34 > 0:00:36Are you going to stay?
0:00:39 > 0:00:44It is such an incredible story that the man escape
0:00:44 > 0:00:48at that time from the KGB, and he jumps!
0:00:51 > 0:00:54- TRANSLATION FROM RUSSIAN:- The story hit like an atom bomb.
0:00:57 > 0:00:59It was like a film.
0:01:00 > 0:01:02It was incredible.
0:01:02 > 0:01:06And this is the last time I will speak of Rudolf Nureyev!
0:01:09 > 0:01:14Nureyev was in danger. He betrayed his country.
0:01:14 > 0:01:17The KGB had plans to destroy him.
0:01:17 > 0:01:22He said to me, "I won't have to hide myself behind an Iron Curtain."
0:01:22 > 0:01:25For him, freedom was something new.
0:01:29 > 0:01:32- TRANSLATION:- Telling the truth is not always the best thing.
0:01:32 > 0:01:34He was a difficult partner.
0:01:39 > 0:01:42You know, he was such a star.
0:01:51 > 0:01:53APPLAUSE
0:01:58 > 0:02:00He wanted to conquer the world,
0:02:00 > 0:02:03and it was his right to conquer the world.
0:02:04 > 0:02:05It was a miracle.
0:02:06 > 0:02:07A miracle.
0:02:33 > 0:02:34- TRANSLATION:- One day,
0:02:34 > 0:02:38while I was walking along the gallery of the rehearsal studio,
0:02:38 > 0:02:41I saw a young dancer I hadn't seen before.
0:02:43 > 0:02:46His stature was exquisite.
0:02:48 > 0:02:50The tension in his body...
0:02:52 > 0:02:56..the extension he got in his arabesque...
0:02:56 > 0:02:58he was unique.
0:02:59 > 0:03:00He wasn't perfect.
0:03:07 > 0:03:12But Nureyev was so exciting - he had an enormously expressive
0:03:12 > 0:03:16technique of revolving on the very tips of his toes.
0:03:16 > 0:03:19You could feel his expression.
0:03:23 > 0:03:27TRANSLATION: Of course, we were looking at him with great interest.
0:03:27 > 0:03:31Whenever he had classes, we always came to see how he trained.
0:03:31 > 0:03:33The same classroom we are in now!
0:03:40 > 0:03:42- TRANSLATION:- We all felt very privileged
0:03:42 > 0:03:44that we got into this famous school.
0:03:44 > 0:03:47It was the dream of every young dancer.
0:03:47 > 0:03:49It was very hard to get a place.
0:03:49 > 0:03:53And so, when Rudik climbed so quickly to dance as a soloist,
0:03:53 > 0:03:55this was just unprecedented.
0:03:55 > 0:03:57The person that made that happen
0:03:57 > 0:04:01was the woman who chose him as a partner - Natalia Dudinskaya.
0:04:10 > 0:04:13- TRANSLATION:- Dudinskaya was a prima ballerina.
0:04:13 > 0:04:16Dancers aren't defined like that any more,
0:04:16 > 0:04:18but she was a prima ballerina back then,
0:04:18 > 0:04:20the grandest of them all.
0:04:32 > 0:04:35She was our inspiration, first of all.
0:04:35 > 0:04:38The company treated her with great respect.
0:04:50 > 0:04:53Natalia Dudinskaya had been a huge star from the 1930s.
0:04:55 > 0:04:57Her husband, Konstantin Sergeyev,
0:04:57 > 0:04:59was the artistic director of the Kirov.
0:04:59 > 0:05:03He was a very important dancer for the company, and a noble one,
0:05:03 > 0:05:08someone who represented the ideal Soviet dancer.
0:05:08 > 0:05:12But Sergeyev and Nureyev had a very complicated relationship.
0:05:13 > 0:05:15Stop!
0:05:15 > 0:05:16Stop, stop, stop, spasibo.
0:05:38 > 0:05:41Sergeyev clearly believed in him as a dancer,
0:05:41 > 0:05:44he knew that he was capable of carrying the company
0:05:44 > 0:05:47and carrying those roles with his wife.
0:05:47 > 0:05:50On the other hand, what Nureyev was doing,
0:05:50 > 0:05:54his behaviour within the company, was likely very upsetting,
0:05:54 > 0:05:56because Nureyev showed no respect.
0:05:58 > 0:06:03Rudik stormed in like a whirlwind, ripping everything apart.
0:06:03 > 0:06:07He was very impulsive, he would always do something extraordinary,
0:06:07 > 0:06:11unusual, and every time it was kind of a shock for everyone.
0:06:11 > 0:06:12It was his character.
0:06:14 > 0:06:15- TRANSLATION:- He would just snap.
0:06:15 > 0:06:17He had a terrible temper.
0:06:17 > 0:06:20He was so rude and insulting.
0:06:20 > 0:06:25But he was honest, childlike, so somehow you were on his side.
0:06:34 > 0:06:39- TRANSLATION:- Rudik had rivals in a professional sense.
0:06:39 > 0:06:42Yuri Soloviev had a great natural talent.
0:06:42 > 0:06:45He had what we call soft legs.
0:06:45 > 0:06:50He could take off and achieve such fantastic height with his jump
0:06:50 > 0:06:53that he was compared to Gagarin.
0:06:53 > 0:06:55He was called Cosmic Yuri,
0:06:55 > 0:07:00because he could keep himself in the air for a longer time than Nureyev.
0:07:00 > 0:07:02But the most talented dancers
0:07:02 > 0:07:06aren't those who rely on their natural talents,
0:07:06 > 0:07:10but those who can overcome any shortcomings they have.
0:07:10 > 0:07:13And that's what made Rudolf great.
0:07:13 > 0:07:16He was a great dancer, but he had bad attitude.
0:07:16 > 0:07:17We had traditions.
0:07:17 > 0:07:19It was our responsibility as students
0:07:19 > 0:07:21to wash the floor after class.
0:07:21 > 0:07:23Rudik would never do it.
0:07:23 > 0:07:25Rudolf.
0:07:38 > 0:07:42He spoke like a prince to his servant.
0:07:42 > 0:07:44To Sergeyev, if you can believe it!
0:07:44 > 0:07:48He was not just the head of the theatre,
0:07:48 > 0:07:51but one of Russia's best dancers of the 20th century.
0:07:57 > 0:08:00Yuri Soloviev appeared and said to him,
0:08:00 > 0:08:04"Water it immediately or I'll beat you up."
0:08:07 > 0:08:09Yuri was quite a big boy.
0:08:11 > 0:08:14He did it, but he was so angry,
0:08:14 > 0:08:19because he was made to water the floor like the rest of us mortals.
0:08:25 > 0:08:28TRANSLATION: Their characters were very different.
0:08:28 > 0:08:33Nureyev's temperament meant he pushed and pushed the whole time.
0:08:33 > 0:08:36Yuri was less driven to get the good parts.
0:08:36 > 0:08:39He had patience. Rudolf was impatient.
0:08:54 > 0:08:57- TRANSLATION:- Of course, he was a part of the Kirov theatre company,
0:08:57 > 0:09:01but he was always an outsider, he had no friends there.
0:09:01 > 0:09:05A part of the collective, but a very individual part.
0:09:08 > 0:09:10I became his confidante.
0:09:10 > 0:09:13I wasn't a dancer, so there was no jealousy -
0:09:13 > 0:09:16I was just happy to share in his success.
0:09:19 > 0:09:21He loved being photographed.
0:09:21 > 0:09:23When he looked at my photos, he said,
0:09:23 > 0:09:26"Look at this real narcissist!"
0:09:26 > 0:09:29He loved it that something would remain of these moments.
0:09:43 > 0:09:45Going to Paris meant a lot to him.
0:09:45 > 0:09:49He really wanted to go on that tour.
0:09:49 > 0:09:52I remember how obsessed he was with the idea of Paris.
0:09:55 > 0:09:59Nureyev had great expectations, because in 1961
0:09:59 > 0:10:05it was the very first time the company toured in the West.
0:10:05 > 0:10:10The company was founded in 1730,
0:10:10 > 0:10:15and no-one in any way... They never came to the West.
0:10:24 > 0:10:29By the time the Kirov was deciding on the final roster for the tour,
0:10:29 > 0:10:33Nureyev knew that he was on his final warning,
0:10:33 > 0:10:37and a meeting was held to reprimand him for his behaviour.
0:10:39 > 0:10:41The title of the meeting was
0:10:41 > 0:10:43"The conduct of party member Nureyev."
0:10:43 > 0:10:46And I said to Rudik, "This is your last chance.
0:10:46 > 0:10:50"I beg you, please don't say anything to make them mad."
0:10:52 > 0:10:56But Rudik always created tension with the KGB,
0:10:56 > 0:10:59the controlling organisations, as we say.
0:11:01 > 0:11:03How would he behave?
0:11:03 > 0:11:07But then again, he was unique in our theatre.
0:11:07 > 0:11:11Like him or loathe him, there was nobody like him.
0:11:11 > 0:11:14On stage, he would be the centre of attention.
0:12:22 > 0:12:26He told me that in the meeting, he was only given a verbal reprimand,
0:12:26 > 0:12:29so that meant he would be able to go abroad on the tour.
0:12:29 > 0:12:32Nothing was written down in his file.
0:12:33 > 0:12:34And I said,
0:12:34 > 0:12:38"Rudik, don't you realise you've really insulted Yuri Soloviev?"
0:12:38 > 0:12:42Yuri was stung by that insult, and it stayed with him.
0:12:50 > 0:12:52Rudolf hadn't been chosen.
0:12:55 > 0:12:57DOORS SLAM
0:12:59 > 0:13:02Everyone knows, if you're going to take anyone, take Rudolf.
0:13:10 > 0:13:13We tried to calm him down and control his emotions.
0:13:18 > 0:13:21This was a despair for him.
0:13:23 > 0:13:25There was another reason.
0:13:29 > 0:13:33Nureyev had the same repertoire as Sergeyev,
0:13:33 > 0:13:37and Sergeyev wanted to dance again.
0:13:37 > 0:13:40Sergeyev and Dudinskaya were hoping that those performances
0:13:40 > 0:13:45would be a swansong that would allow them to have a final triumph
0:13:45 > 0:13:48in the West as dancers of the Kirov.
0:13:51 > 0:13:57But the chance came with a young French lady called Janine Ringuet,
0:13:57 > 0:14:01and Janine Ringuet was sent to Leningrad to see the company
0:14:01 > 0:14:05and to organise the tour, and to organise also the cast.
0:14:06 > 0:14:08And Konstantin Sergeyev told her,
0:14:08 > 0:14:13"OK, you've seen all the ballets that should come to Paris."
0:14:13 > 0:14:14And in the evening,
0:14:14 > 0:14:18she saw that Don Quixote had to be performed.
0:14:18 > 0:14:20She said, "Well, there's Don Quixote,
0:14:20 > 0:14:24"I would like to see it, maybe it's interesting."
0:14:24 > 0:14:25And Sergeyev told her,
0:14:25 > 0:14:28"No, it's a very old production,
0:14:28 > 0:14:32"you will probably not appreciate it,
0:14:32 > 0:14:36don't go, it's really no interest."
0:14:36 > 0:14:37She had to see it.
0:14:39 > 0:14:44And Janine understood that she'd just found her star.
0:14:46 > 0:14:51And she sent a telegram to her boss saying,
0:14:51 > 0:14:55"I have found the best dancer of the world."
0:14:55 > 0:14:58And her producer answered her,
0:14:58 > 0:15:02"Janine, you are a little too young to say that."
0:15:02 > 0:15:03But she was right.
0:15:08 > 0:15:09Whoo!
0:15:13 > 0:15:16I remember it like it was yesterday.
0:15:17 > 0:15:19He's running towards me.
0:15:19 > 0:15:21"I will be dancing in Paris!" he said.
0:15:21 > 0:15:23"2-0, we win!
0:15:23 > 0:15:26"Sergeyev gave me Swan Lake and Sleeping Beauty."
0:15:34 > 0:15:39So this is already...poor Nureyev, he just wanted to dance,
0:15:39 > 0:15:43he was refused, and suddenly he became a political problem.
0:15:43 > 0:15:46And, politically, it was a very difficult time.
0:15:46 > 0:15:51The Kirov would arrive at the top of the Cold War.
0:15:53 > 0:15:57Well, '61 was an extraordinary year.
0:15:57 > 0:16:00I mean, this is the year of the Cuban Revolution,
0:16:00 > 0:16:04this is the period of the building of the Berlin wall.
0:16:04 > 0:16:09It's also the year when the Soviet Union put Yuri Gagarin,
0:16:09 > 0:16:11the first man up in space.
0:16:12 > 0:16:15And this showed that the Soviet Union was scientifically
0:16:15 > 0:16:18and technologically ahead of the Americans.
0:16:18 > 0:16:20They were winning the Cold War.
0:16:20 > 0:16:23With the Kirov, "We will take this culture out to the West
0:16:23 > 0:16:27"to show to you that the Soviet Union is not only technologically superior,
0:16:27 > 0:16:29"we have a superior culture."
0:16:29 > 0:16:33So the Kirov coming as it did in 1961
0:16:33 > 0:16:37was an extraordinary step forward for the Soviet Union,
0:16:37 > 0:16:41and of course an extraordinary moment in the history of the Cold War.
0:16:59 > 0:17:02- TRANSLATION:- This was going to be a crucial tour,
0:17:02 > 0:17:06an important mission for the KGB.
0:17:06 > 0:17:09A huge company travelling,
0:17:09 > 0:17:13performing in major Western capitals, Paris and London,
0:17:13 > 0:17:17which meant security and surveillance was paramount.
0:17:18 > 0:17:23The operative agent in charge was specially chosen.
0:17:23 > 0:17:26He was Vitaly Strizhevsky.
0:17:26 > 0:17:28I think he was sent from Moscow.
0:17:31 > 0:17:34TRANSLATION: Strizhevsky's main task
0:17:34 > 0:17:38was to prevent Nureyev from being involved in any kind of scandal.
0:17:39 > 0:17:42And the KGB had to ensure this person stayed within the bounds
0:17:42 > 0:17:45of socialist realism, as we used to say.
0:17:48 > 0:17:50He was an interesting-looking man,
0:17:50 > 0:17:55but I have to say these accompanying guys, as we called them,
0:17:55 > 0:17:58these agents, they were a special breed.
0:17:58 > 0:18:01You could tell from their walk.
0:18:01 > 0:18:05He isn't a dancer, he isn't a director or a coach -
0:18:05 > 0:18:08he's the accompanying guy.
0:18:08 > 0:18:10This word "accompanying,"
0:18:10 > 0:18:15it suited him, the one who follows your behaviour abroad.
0:18:30 > 0:18:36He knew that Nureyev was considered rude, ambitious, vain.
0:18:36 > 0:18:38He was just a complete anarchist!
0:18:50 > 0:18:53I came with them to the airport, and a rumour went round
0:18:53 > 0:18:56that somebody was going to be prevented from going.
0:18:56 > 0:18:59When Rudik heard this, he went pale.
0:18:59 > 0:19:04I said, "Rudik, relax - nobody can take your place."
0:19:04 > 0:19:06"That's not true," he said.
0:19:13 > 0:19:18In fact, it was a member of the corps de ballet who was sent back.
0:19:18 > 0:19:20Nothing to do with Rudolf.
0:19:20 > 0:19:24But in the heat of the moment, he was sure it was him,
0:19:24 > 0:19:25for all his sins.
0:19:42 > 0:19:46Paris was a fairytale, it was a dream.
0:19:46 > 0:19:50It was charged with this sense of freedom.
0:19:50 > 0:19:54Paris is a moveable feast, as Hemingway said.
0:19:54 > 0:19:56It filled me with joy.
0:19:59 > 0:20:01I felt so comfortable there.
0:20:01 > 0:20:04See, I'm shivering just thinking about it!
0:20:04 > 0:20:07It made feel that I could be liked.
0:20:07 > 0:20:09I can be loved and achieve success.
0:20:11 > 0:20:16I could break out of the way I'd been taught to think about myself.
0:20:40 > 0:20:41Once they got there,
0:20:41 > 0:20:44who on earth could bear to share a room with Rudik?
0:20:53 > 0:20:57It seemed to be that he was always tense and on edge.
0:20:57 > 0:20:58I could never have done it -
0:20:58 > 0:21:02I never felt any personal connection with Rudolf.
0:21:14 > 0:21:17The two great individualists of the company ended up in the same room.
0:21:17 > 0:21:19That was a surprise!
0:21:19 > 0:21:23One with an enormous jump, the other with an enormous attitude.
0:21:27 > 0:21:32THEY CHANT AND LAUGH
0:21:49 > 0:21:51They make a big reception in Paris Opera,
0:21:51 > 0:21:55you know, to introduce dancers for the press.
0:21:55 > 0:21:58This reception was in the Foyer De La Danse,
0:21:58 > 0:22:01just behind the stage in Paris Opera.
0:22:01 > 0:22:06And it was very strange, because all the Russian was in one side,
0:22:06 > 0:22:09and the French was to the right side,
0:22:09 > 0:22:14and in the middle was the photographers and press.
0:22:14 > 0:22:16In front of us, we could watch the Russians,
0:22:16 > 0:22:19and they looked very strange, you know, very old-fashioned.
0:22:19 > 0:22:22Only one boy was different from the other ones,
0:22:22 > 0:22:24and we just noticed him immediately -
0:22:24 > 0:22:26said, "Look, this one is different."
0:22:26 > 0:22:29Little by little he moved behind all the other ones,
0:22:29 > 0:22:32crossed behind the photograph and the press,
0:22:32 > 0:22:34and came to us and started to speak.
0:22:35 > 0:22:37Oh, merci!
0:22:37 > 0:22:38I'm Rudolf Nureyev.
0:22:38 > 0:22:41I don't speak French, but I speak English very good.
0:22:41 > 0:22:45'We start to talk, and he was talking in English already,
0:22:45 > 0:22:48'and he asked questions, and we said,'
0:22:48 > 0:22:50"Why don't we go to dinner with him if he's interesting?"
0:22:50 > 0:22:51And we ask him.
0:22:51 > 0:22:55"Oh, yes, I would like very much to go with you and talk to you,
0:22:55 > 0:22:58"ask you a lot of questions, but I need permission."
0:23:08 > 0:23:10'We went to talk to Sergeyev.'
0:23:11 > 0:23:14..to show Rudolf Paris? I think it's a very good idea!
0:23:14 > 0:23:17- Paris for Rudolf?- Yes. - No, it's not so good idea.
0:23:17 > 0:23:19And he looks so embarrassed, and he said,
0:23:19 > 0:23:21"No, no, you know, you need...
0:23:21 > 0:23:24"It's difficult, and the company, they are tired,
0:23:24 > 0:23:26"they need to go to bed very early..."
0:23:26 > 0:23:29..and Rudolf is tired, too.
0:23:29 > 0:23:30I'm not tired.
0:23:34 > 0:23:37"Yes, but, you know, we need another person - he could not go alone."
0:23:37 > 0:23:40I said, "Well, give us another dancer, it doesn't matter."
0:23:40 > 0:23:43So finally they gave us Soloviev.
0:23:48 > 0:23:50How many theatres are in Paris?
0:23:51 > 0:23:53There are a lot of theatres.
0:23:55 > 0:23:58How many people are in your company?
0:23:58 > 0:24:00'Rudolf was talking all the time.'
0:24:00 > 0:24:01Who is your tailor?
0:24:02 > 0:24:07'The other dancer, he was very shy, not talking very much, you know?'
0:24:07 > 0:24:11He was very shy and Rudolf was an extrovert.
0:24:11 > 0:24:12Have you been in Russia?
0:24:15 > 0:24:17Kirov, the best.
0:24:17 > 0:24:18You will see.
0:24:20 > 0:24:22What roles do you dance?
0:24:22 > 0:24:24'He was very, very curious about everything,'
0:24:24 > 0:24:28and he asked questions about ballet, the tradition, the French tradition,
0:24:28 > 0:24:31the French school, and we start to talk a lot.
0:24:31 > 0:24:34And so then, we said, "Now you have to come back to your hotel
0:24:34 > 0:24:36"because you need to sleep." "OK, OK, OK."
0:24:36 > 0:24:41So we went to the... He was living in the Place de la Republique,
0:24:41 > 0:24:45and we bring the both of them to the hotel.
0:24:45 > 0:24:50Soloviev go immediately to the hotel, but not Rudolf.
0:25:08 > 0:25:11He stand in front of the car and he look at...
0:25:11 > 0:25:15You know it was very strange, he was fixed on us.
0:25:15 > 0:25:16And I say, "What happened?"
0:25:16 > 0:25:18And so I go outside.
0:25:23 > 0:25:24And he said to me,
0:25:24 > 0:25:26"You know, it's been such a wonderful evening,
0:25:26 > 0:25:29"I stay outside because I'm sure we don't see each other any more."
0:25:29 > 0:25:32I say, "Why?" "Oh, because, you know,
0:25:32 > 0:25:35"they give me one permission but maybe not two permission."
0:25:35 > 0:25:36I said, "Don't be silly."
0:25:36 > 0:25:38Of course we will!
0:25:39 > 0:25:40No more permission.
0:25:40 > 0:25:41Rudolf...
0:25:42 > 0:25:46And there is a box of chocolate, and we said, "Take the box."
0:25:46 > 0:25:47"No, no, no!"
0:25:47 > 0:25:49- I take one.- Good!
0:25:50 > 0:25:53"But if we see each other, I will take two more after,
0:25:53 > 0:25:54"then two more, and so on."
0:25:54 > 0:25:57THEY LAUGH
0:26:04 > 0:26:07'From the start, Nureyev was kept under constant surveillance.'
0:26:07 > 0:26:08Thank you for the evening.
0:26:08 > 0:26:11'Clearly, this wasn't going to be easy.'
0:26:13 > 0:26:16Strizhevsky needed to use everything in his power
0:26:16 > 0:26:18to succeed in his mission.
0:26:26 > 0:26:32Nureyev was not planned for the first night, for the first evening,
0:26:32 > 0:26:36which was certainly a way for Sergeyev to say,
0:26:36 > 0:26:42"OK, you are on the tour, but you are not on the first evening."
0:26:43 > 0:26:45But he danced at the rehearsal.
0:26:45 > 0:26:49And what the Soviets did not know
0:26:49 > 0:26:55is that there was someone like Rene Sirvin, who saw Nureyev rehearsing.
0:26:59 > 0:27:02- TRANSLATION:- Nureyev danced the dress rehearsal
0:27:02 > 0:27:06the day before the opening night and that's where I first saw him.
0:27:07 > 0:27:12Immediately, I fell under the spell of this extraordinary young dancer.
0:27:14 > 0:27:20And he immediately tells to everybody in Paris,
0:27:20 > 0:27:22"There is a star at the Paris Opera."
0:27:22 > 0:27:27So when Nureyev's stage debut finally came, I could hardly wait.
0:27:35 > 0:27:39The corps de ballet entered in the middle.
0:27:39 > 0:27:42They went down the ramp, they turned sideways,
0:27:42 > 0:27:48and you could see one coming down, then two, then three, then four,
0:27:48 > 0:27:49up to 12.
0:27:49 > 0:27:52And people started clapping, thinking that was all,
0:27:52 > 0:27:56but then there were 12 more, and then there were more.
0:27:56 > 0:27:58Another 10!
0:27:58 > 0:28:01There were 32 in total.
0:28:01 > 0:28:03It was just extraordinary.
0:28:03 > 0:28:07We had never seen anything like it ever.
0:28:12 > 0:28:16We saw the shades of Bayadere, and then I really saw -
0:28:16 > 0:28:19I'm not exaggerating - a bomb come on stage.
0:28:45 > 0:28:48With his white feather, his blue tunic,
0:28:48 > 0:28:53this man ran on stage to do his variation, I couldn't believe it.
0:28:53 > 0:28:55I thought it was like a kamikaze!
0:29:02 > 0:29:07It was new for us, and he kept the attention of everybody.
0:29:07 > 0:29:12The little boy when we go outside is a great, great, great artist.
0:29:13 > 0:29:15And he dance like...
0:29:16 > 0:29:18..I could not explain, you know?
0:30:10 > 0:30:12CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
0:30:20 > 0:30:25Nureyev captured the imagination of Paris.
0:30:25 > 0:30:28He was so exotic. When he first appeared,
0:30:28 > 0:30:30the audience couldn't believe their eyes,
0:30:30 > 0:30:32couldn't believe what they were seeing.
0:30:32 > 0:30:34APPLAUSE
0:30:34 > 0:30:38- AUDIENCE:- Incroyable! Fantastique! Bravo! Bravo!
0:30:41 > 0:30:44- TRANSLATION:- We had a huge success.
0:30:44 > 0:30:48And then Sergeyev came over to us and said, "Congratulations.
0:30:48 > 0:30:52"But Rudik, don't forget it's a Saturday.
0:30:52 > 0:30:56"On Saturdays, you always get an easier, more welcoming audience."
0:30:59 > 0:31:01'Rudik was furious.
0:31:01 > 0:31:07'I took the criticism. Swallowed this grain of salt, as we say.'
0:31:07 > 0:31:09But he stormed off.
0:31:09 > 0:31:12Every actor needs reassurance and a good word.
0:31:14 > 0:31:17He needed it more than anyone.
0:31:22 > 0:31:26After the show, Sergeyev said, "Go talk to him, but not too much,
0:31:26 > 0:31:28"and don't tell him that he's fantastic, it's not necessary."
0:31:30 > 0:31:31Er...
0:31:31 > 0:31:34Maybe you are tired?
0:31:37 > 0:31:40Well, we went to see Rudolf, I said, "Wonderful," and he was so happy.
0:31:40 > 0:31:43He said, "Tonight, I want to talk to you.
0:31:43 > 0:31:46"We shall meet in the street nearby the hotel." OK.
0:31:50 > 0:31:53And the first night, of course, it was very interesting
0:31:53 > 0:31:56because he never saw Clara Saint before.
0:31:57 > 0:32:02'She was a wonderful person, very nice, very beautiful, very calm.
0:32:03 > 0:32:07'She knew le tout Paris, I mean, she knew everybody in Paris.'
0:32:07 > 0:32:11So it was a relationship that attracted
0:32:11 > 0:32:14and was agreeable to Rudolf.
0:32:14 > 0:32:19- TRANSLATION:- 'Clara Saint was introduced to Nureyev that night.
0:32:19 > 0:32:21'She was a rich, young socialite.'
0:32:21 > 0:32:25Her fiance was one of the sons of the French Culture Minister,
0:32:25 > 0:32:29Andre Malraux. And I'd say she fell in love with Nureyev.
0:32:32 > 0:32:34This is Clara.
0:32:39 > 0:32:42Clara Saint is a bit of a mystery in this story.
0:32:42 > 0:32:46She played a very big role in Nureyev's life in Paris
0:32:46 > 0:32:47and in his defection.
0:32:47 > 0:32:50But she was always a very private person.
0:32:50 > 0:32:54To this day, she refuses to be filmed and even to be photographed.
0:32:58 > 0:33:00- CLARA:- 'It was incredible.
0:33:00 > 0:33:03'He was 23 years old.
0:33:03 > 0:33:06'He was very curious of everything, you know?
0:33:08 > 0:33:11'And when you have someone asking all the time,
0:33:11 > 0:33:16' "I want to see this, I want to go there," it's interesting.'
0:33:16 > 0:33:19'She was kind of a little Don Juan at that time.'
0:33:19 > 0:33:25She was very free and maybe she saw the fact of seducing Rudolf
0:33:25 > 0:33:28like a little challenge like that. But he was gorgeous.
0:33:28 > 0:33:32It was quite normal, in a way, that she was attracted to him.
0:33:34 > 0:33:38- CLARA:- 'There was nothing sexual. C'etait beaucoup plus pur que ca.'
0:33:38 > 0:33:40'He was much more pure?'
0:33:40 > 0:33:44'Yup. He was like a child.
0:33:44 > 0:33:47'I remember he wanted to have a wig. So we went and...
0:33:47 > 0:33:51'He wanted to have the wig of Marilyn Monroe, blonde.
0:33:51 > 0:33:56- 'And the man was so surprised also.' - SHE LAUGHS
0:33:59 > 0:34:07Very quickly, Nureyev formed a small, small circle of friends
0:34:07 > 0:34:11between Clara Saint and Pierre Lacotte.
0:34:11 > 0:34:14One night, he said, "I would like to see a musical.
0:34:14 > 0:34:17"West Side Story, I heard it's fantastic."
0:34:17 > 0:34:19And, outside, when we went to the street,
0:34:19 > 0:34:21he start to dance the cha-cha-cha.
0:34:23 > 0:34:26At that time, it was the beginning of the rebellion
0:34:26 > 0:34:28in western society,
0:34:28 > 0:34:33the beginning of a sensation that you can do whatever you want.
0:34:41 > 0:34:43He said, "I would like to see a cabaret,"
0:34:43 > 0:34:47and we thought the Crazy Horse Saloon would be a good thing for him to go,
0:34:47 > 0:34:48so we went there.
0:34:50 > 0:34:54- CLARA:- 'Well, we took a table there and he was...
0:34:56 > 0:34:58'He couldn't believe what he saw.
0:35:00 > 0:35:03'All the girls, they dance.
0:35:09 > 0:35:12'It was perfect. He was so surprised.
0:35:15 > 0:35:17'Surprised and seduced.'
0:35:20 > 0:35:22We know today Nureyev had relationships
0:35:22 > 0:35:25with both men and women over the course of his life.
0:35:26 > 0:35:30But, in 1961, Nureyev's sexuality was not something
0:35:30 > 0:35:32that he discussed openly.
0:35:44 > 0:35:48- TRANSLATION: - My opinion is that, at this moment,
0:35:48 > 0:35:53Clara Saint was more in love with Nureyev than her fiance.
0:35:54 > 0:35:58I think that she was seduced and he became something wonderful
0:35:58 > 0:36:02and then it became not easy and not possible.
0:36:02 > 0:36:05And then she just said, "Bon, tant pis."
0:36:17 > 0:36:21I love trains. I was born on a train.
0:36:22 > 0:36:26- CLARA:- 'I remember he wanted to have un train electrique.
0:36:27 > 0:36:32'So, I went with him to a shop called Le Nain Bleu.'
0:36:33 > 0:36:37'Of course, Clara bought him the electric train.'
0:36:38 > 0:36:41"Look behind me, there is somebody who will follow us.
0:36:41 > 0:36:43"It's a member of the KGB."
0:36:44 > 0:36:47'Were you aware you were being followed?'
0:36:47 > 0:36:51'I didn't care, a black car maybe, I don't know.'
0:36:51 > 0:36:52THEY WHISPER
0:36:52 > 0:36:56All the time, we have those people behind us, always.
0:36:57 > 0:36:59And at least one, maybe two.
0:37:02 > 0:37:03What could we do?
0:37:05 > 0:37:09TRANSLATION: Of course, Strizhevsky gathered information
0:37:09 > 0:37:12about Nureyev's friends and their activities together.
0:37:12 > 0:37:17All his reports were sent back to his KGB superiors in Moscow.
0:37:17 > 0:37:22He was reporting the developing trend of Nureyev's bad behaviour.
0:37:38 > 0:37:42- TRANSLATION:- After the performance every evening,
0:37:42 > 0:37:44he would watch for Rudik like a hawk.
0:37:47 > 0:37:49He just couldn't keep up with Rudik.
0:37:49 > 0:37:51It was impossible to get him.
0:37:56 > 0:37:58We would sneak through the kitchen door,
0:37:58 > 0:38:02through the restaurant, to fool the accompanying man.
0:38:02 > 0:38:07"Who cares? I'll risk it. What's the worst thing that can happen?
0:38:07 > 0:38:11"They won't take me on the next tour?
0:38:11 > 0:38:15"But now I can live according to my heart.
0:38:15 > 0:38:18"I want to live in Paris like I'm in Paris,
0:38:18 > 0:38:20"not a provincial shit hole."
0:38:25 > 0:38:30- TRANSLATION:- He knew he was being followed. Openly followed.
0:38:30 > 0:38:32And, one night, when he was in Maxim's,
0:38:32 > 0:38:35he was being tailed by a woman from the KGB.
0:38:36 > 0:38:39At one point, he said to the maitre d',
0:38:39 > 0:38:43"Take this bread roll and water, and take them to this bitch.
0:38:43 > 0:38:46"She doesn't deserve anything better."
0:38:46 > 0:38:48And the maitre d' did it, of course.
0:38:49 > 0:38:51'It must have been hard to swallow!'
0:38:59 > 0:39:03- TRANSLATION:- I remember Strizhevsky sitting in the lobby,
0:39:03 > 0:39:04in a groggy state.
0:39:06 > 0:39:09Like a suffering Hamlet.
0:39:09 > 0:39:11"What am I to do?"
0:39:15 > 0:39:19And, when Rudik appeared, he got incensed.
0:39:24 > 0:39:26It was natural.
0:39:30 > 0:39:34Once Strizhevsky realised he was not going to be able to stop Nureyev
0:39:34 > 0:39:36from seeing his friends and from going out,
0:39:36 > 0:39:38he started to include them in his reports
0:39:38 > 0:39:43and to smear them as he went along, in part, to cover himself
0:39:43 > 0:39:44in case anything went wrong.
0:39:46 > 0:39:50We know from the files that were accessed in the early 1990s
0:39:50 > 0:39:51after the perestroika,
0:39:51 > 0:39:57that his reports included mention of Clara Saint being a CIA operative.
0:39:59 > 0:40:02- CLARA:- 'Incroyable.
0:40:02 > 0:40:05'And I was paid also(!)'
0:40:05 > 0:40:07'So you were a paid CIA agent?'
0:40:07 > 0:40:08'Yes, yes, I was.
0:40:10 > 0:40:12'Yes, I was Mata Hari!'
0:40:14 > 0:40:20- TRANSLATION:- Strizhevsky was feeding Moscow with information he felt
0:40:20 > 0:40:23would take the blame off his shoulders
0:40:23 > 0:40:27and the shoulders of his bosses, for the ongoing problems with Nureyev.
0:40:43 > 0:40:46On the opening night of a ballet called The Stone Flower,
0:40:46 > 0:40:49I remember Nureyev invited Clara to join him
0:40:49 > 0:40:52in the box reserved for Soviet artists.
0:40:52 > 0:40:55Can you imagine the situation?
0:40:55 > 0:40:59This young dancer, considered insubordinate,
0:40:59 > 0:41:05seeing the performance in the official box with this young lady,
0:41:05 > 0:41:09very rich, the emblem of capitalism.
0:41:12 > 0:41:17Sergeyev was furious, of course, but Nureyev just couldn't care less.
0:41:19 > 0:41:22BALLET MUSIC
0:41:31 > 0:41:35It was during this performance that Clara learnt
0:41:35 > 0:41:40that her fiance and her fiance's brother, the two sons of Malraux,
0:41:40 > 0:41:42had died in a car accident.
0:41:44 > 0:41:48Of course, it was a terrible shock.
0:41:48 > 0:41:50'It must have been terribly difficult.
0:41:51 > 0:41:56'Rudolf just became part of this turmoil, this tourbillon,'
0:41:56 > 0:42:00to try and fill in this terrible vide.
0:42:03 > 0:42:10- CLARA:- 'The two brothers died in a car accident in the south of France,
0:42:10 > 0:42:13'coming back from Corsica.
0:42:15 > 0:42:17'It was my car.
0:42:17 > 0:42:21'I didn't want to look at the magazines,
0:42:21 > 0:42:24'all the newspapers telling this story.
0:42:25 > 0:42:30'For me, it was very important to plus penser.
0:42:30 > 0:42:31'To not think any more?'
0:42:31 > 0:42:32'Yeah.'
0:42:34 > 0:42:37She was very, very strong, in a way,
0:42:37 > 0:42:40but she need to be surrounded with friends
0:42:40 > 0:42:43and she don't want to be alone any more,
0:42:43 > 0:42:45so she was with us all the time.
0:42:50 > 0:42:54PIANO PLAYS BALLET TUTOR GIVES DIRECTIONS
0:43:00 > 0:43:04Nureyev was the discovery of the Paris tour for the audience
0:43:04 > 0:43:09and, to an extent, the glory he brought to the Kirov in Paris
0:43:09 > 0:43:12reflected on everyone.
0:43:12 > 0:43:16At that point, they had been so successful, the Kirov was supposed
0:43:16 > 0:43:21to move to the arena that had 5,000 seats to fill, the Palais Des Sports.
0:43:22 > 0:43:24- TRANSLATION:- The Palais Des Sports was a challenge.
0:43:24 > 0:43:28To fill 5,000 seats in that era was a challenge.
0:43:28 > 0:43:31They didn't know if it could be done with a ballet.
0:43:51 > 0:43:54But, in response to Strizhevsky's reports,
0:43:54 > 0:43:58Moscow decided to issue a recall order for Nureyev.
0:44:09 > 0:44:12It put Sergeyev in a very difficult position
0:44:12 > 0:44:16and Sergeyev knew that Nureyev was meant to open Swan Lake.
0:44:21 > 0:44:24The responsibility for the success of the tour
0:44:24 > 0:44:27came to lie with the Soviet embassy.
0:44:27 > 0:44:32Reading their reports, it is clear the ambassador became involved.
0:44:32 > 0:44:36He had tried to save the tour by keeping Nureyev in Paris,
0:44:36 > 0:44:38against the recall order from Moscow.
0:44:52 > 0:44:56Now, ironically, Sergeyev has to become Nureyev's protector.
0:45:40 > 0:45:43MUSIC FADES IN
0:45:49 > 0:45:52'It was extraordinary for him.'
0:45:52 > 0:45:54The freedom was something new.
0:45:54 > 0:45:59And, you know, for instance they asked him don't go with us,
0:45:59 > 0:46:03he said, "Why do I have to hide myself behind an Iron Curtain?
0:46:03 > 0:46:07"I'm there to profit of life, I will go."
0:46:07 > 0:46:10He had his own character, very strong.
0:46:10 > 0:46:13'The first opening night of Swan Lake, in the third act,
0:46:13 > 0:46:16'he stopped the orchestra during the performance.
0:46:22 > 0:46:24AUDIENCE GASPS
0:46:28 > 0:46:30ORCHESTRA STOPS
0:46:39 > 0:46:41He stand up and he said...
0:46:41 > 0:46:44- TRANSLATION: - The whole auditorium went quiet.
0:46:55 > 0:46:59And, of course, Sergeyev was furious against him -
0:46:59 > 0:47:00furious, furious, furious.
0:47:04 > 0:47:07'Nothing like this had ever happened before.'
0:47:09 > 0:47:13And he came back, and he said to the conductor, "You can go."
0:47:13 > 0:47:18And, in myself, I said, "My God, you have to dance much better than ever."
0:47:25 > 0:47:29So he started to dance, and he danced...beautifully.
0:47:33 > 0:47:36And, the next day, the press wrote that Nureyev,
0:47:36 > 0:47:40with a regal gesture, stopped the orchestra
0:47:40 > 0:47:42and demonstrated his virtuosity.
0:47:44 > 0:47:46MUSIC FINALE
0:47:46 > 0:47:48AUDIENCE CHEERS
0:47:48 > 0:47:50'That made him feel invincible.
0:48:00 > 0:48:03'And, from this point, his success reached new heights.'
0:48:10 > 0:48:12He became intoxicated with himself
0:48:12 > 0:48:15and started to think that anything was allowed.
0:48:28 > 0:48:32- TRANSLATION:- Of course, all of this tried Strizhevsky's patience.
0:48:38 > 0:48:42- TRANSLATION:- You never know what can explode a person from the inside.
0:48:42 > 0:48:46STRIZHEVSKY SHOUTS ANGRILY
0:48:46 > 0:48:49That was a hard mission for Strizhevsky.
0:49:16 > 0:49:19TRANSLATION: Yuri didn't tell me much about what happened
0:49:19 > 0:49:24between him and Rudik that night, but I heard the rumours.
0:49:24 > 0:49:27The forbidden fruit is too sweet, so to speak.
0:49:40 > 0:49:45I don't know exactly what happened but, when you share a room on tour,
0:49:45 > 0:49:48it's natural to ask your roommate for a massage.
0:49:58 > 0:50:01- TRANSLATION:- I don't want to talk about it.
0:50:01 > 0:50:04Yuri never told me what happened about that.
0:50:04 > 0:50:09He made hints and Alla Osipenko told me, "Yes, there was some incident."
0:50:26 > 0:50:28Yes, there was some incident.
0:50:28 > 0:50:31That's why Yuri pushed him out and they parted company.
0:51:04 > 0:51:07He needed to do anything at this point
0:51:07 > 0:51:09to turn the mission to his advantage.
0:51:10 > 0:51:12It was his right to use the influence
0:51:12 > 0:51:15of other members of the company against Nureyev.
0:51:56 > 0:51:59While I was a KGB officer,
0:51:59 > 0:52:03I was able to see the agents' operative documents.
0:52:03 > 0:52:05And it's clear, from this moment,
0:52:05 > 0:52:10Yuri Soloviev became Strizhevsky's main informer
0:52:10 > 0:52:13and what he had to say made all the difference.
0:52:19 > 0:52:23You know, they accused me to push Rudolf to leave the company.
0:52:26 > 0:52:29That I know they did it and it was so stupid
0:52:29 > 0:52:31because if really we wanted to do it,
0:52:31 > 0:52:35don't you think it would easier to go to the police?
0:52:35 > 0:52:39Even if the KGB was behind us and say to Rudolf,
0:52:39 > 0:52:44"If you want to leave, you go there and sign, 'I want to stay in.' "
0:52:44 > 0:52:46It was very strange... Very easy.
0:52:46 > 0:52:51Just before the company was going to move to London, a recall order,
0:52:51 > 0:52:56a new recall order came in, ordering Nureyev back to Moscow
0:52:56 > 0:52:58and this time it could not be avoided.
0:53:02 > 0:53:07This time, the final ultimatum came from the highest authority,
0:53:07 > 0:53:09the Central Committee.
0:53:09 > 0:53:12Could there be any further delay?
0:53:12 > 0:53:17No. The order said, "Put him on a plane to Moscow immediately,
0:53:17 > 0:53:21"when the rest of the group is travelling to London."
0:53:24 > 0:53:26APPLAUSE
0:53:33 > 0:53:35CLARA: 'He was not so free.
0:53:38 > 0:53:43'I remember we had the conversation about that and I said,
0:53:43 > 0:53:47' "Well, don't be sad, because we are going to come to see you in London."
0:53:49 > 0:53:55'I remember I saw a rat, a big rat like this - "Ah, a rat!"
0:53:55 > 0:53:58'And he said to me, "There are many rats in Paris."
0:53:58 > 0:53:59LAUGHING: 'And I said, "Yes."
0:54:02 > 0:54:05'I don't know why I remember that and not things more interesting...'
0:54:05 > 0:54:07SHE LAUGHS
0:54:07 > 0:54:09'It's bizarre, no?'
0:54:13 > 0:54:15HE COUGHS
0:54:34 > 0:54:37'At the airport, I go to say hello to Rudolf.'
0:54:37 > 0:54:40THEY SPEAK IN FRENCH
0:54:40 > 0:54:44'They were all there, and immediately Sergeyev was very...'
0:54:44 > 0:54:49very quiet, completely different. And we start to talk,
0:54:49 > 0:54:52very nicely with Dudinskaya and Sergeyev,
0:54:52 > 0:54:55and we talk completely normally for the first time.
0:54:55 > 0:54:58'He said to me, "Why don't we have a coffee together?" #
0:54:58 > 0:55:00- OK?- OK.
0:55:12 > 0:55:18And Sergeyev go to talk to Rudolf, and I stay there with Dudinskaya,
0:55:18 > 0:55:20drinking my coffee.
0:55:20 > 0:55:23And I saw Rudolf going white, completely white.
0:55:30 > 0:55:32And he said, "Pierre, you don't know what happened,
0:55:32 > 0:55:35"I'm punished. They want me to come back to Moscow.
0:55:35 > 0:55:37"Do something - I don't want to come back.
0:55:37 > 0:55:39"I will never dance any more.
0:55:39 > 0:55:41"Do something for me or I kill myself!"
0:55:43 > 0:55:49In my place, he saw a paper knife in silver that I bought in Mexico.
0:55:49 > 0:55:51And he said, "Oh, I like that." I said,
0:55:51 > 0:55:53"Take it, it's yours, for you."
0:55:54 > 0:55:56But I could not do anything. They took him.
0:55:56 > 0:55:58C'est bien, c'est bien, my friend.
0:55:58 > 0:56:00And I realise that he was lost.
0:56:00 > 0:56:02OK, goodbye, goodbye, it was nice to meet you.
0:56:02 > 0:56:06He realised that the danger is there and he was shaking.
0:56:06 > 0:56:09He was very, very, very, er...
0:56:09 > 0:56:10afraid about the situation.
0:56:14 > 0:56:17I saw the last moments when Rudolf was sitting on a bench
0:56:17 > 0:56:20with Alla Osipenko.
0:56:20 > 0:56:24While everyone else was boarding, I saw that Rudik
0:56:24 > 0:56:26was in tears...
0:56:30 > 0:56:34And Alla was trying to console him in her arms.
0:56:38 > 0:56:40And I still have that picture in my mind.
0:56:41 > 0:56:43And in my heart.
0:56:43 > 0:56:44It's an awful thing.
0:56:49 > 0:56:54I was still there and then suddenly Vitaly Strizhevsky pushed me
0:56:54 > 0:56:56to the departure gate.
0:56:56 > 0:56:58I turned to see Rudik...
0:57:04 > 0:57:06He showed me this.
0:57:06 > 0:57:08He makes that sign.
0:57:09 > 0:57:11It means prison.
0:57:12 > 0:57:13And that's it.
0:57:16 > 0:57:17The curtain closes.
0:57:20 > 0:57:23And at that point, no-one could do anything.
0:57:29 > 0:57:33I look at the watch and he said, "My God, now look at the time."
0:57:33 > 0:57:38And suddenly I saw Jean-Pierre Bonnefoux and he came here,
0:57:38 > 0:57:40and I said, "Jean-Pierre, do something.
0:57:40 > 0:57:44"that is the telephone of Clara, call her and say that it's urgent,
0:57:44 > 0:57:47"she has to come because Rudolf have a big problem
0:57:47 > 0:57:48"and we need somebody.
0:57:51 > 0:57:55"Maybe in half an hour it is too late - we can not do anything."
0:57:57 > 0:57:59PHONE RINGS
0:57:59 > 0:58:01'I was sleeping.
0:58:01 > 0:58:06'Because I spent a lot of the night walking.'
0:58:06 > 0:58:07Oui?
0:58:08 > 0:58:11' "Are you Clara Saint?" I said, "Yes."
0:58:11 > 0:58:12'And he said,
0:58:12 > 0:58:18' "I am at the Aeroport Le Bourget and I just spoke with Nureyev.
0:58:18 > 0:58:21' "Please come, he wants to see you."
0:58:21 > 0:58:26'And I said, "He's going on the plane to London."
0:58:29 > 0:58:32' "No, no, the plane already left." '
0:58:33 > 0:58:34SHE SIGHS
0:58:43 > 0:58:46During that time, the KGB said, "Listen, Mr Lacotte,
0:58:46 > 0:58:49"don't stay here, look, he look at you,
0:58:49 > 0:58:51"he think that you could do something,
0:58:51 > 0:58:53"and, of course, you could not do anything."
0:58:56 > 0:59:01And suddenly, behind me, Clara was there
0:59:01 > 0:59:03and she said, "What can I do?"
0:59:03 > 0:59:05I said, "Clara, you have to do something immediately."
0:59:07 > 0:59:10CLARA: 'And I went to him and the bodyguard went to me
0:59:10 > 0:59:12'and said, "What do you want?"
0:59:12 > 0:59:14'And I said, "I want to speak to my friend."
0:59:16 > 0:59:18'OK, well, they... They were not very afraid of me, I think.
0:59:18 > 0:59:20'He's too big.
0:59:21 > 0:59:25'And he said to me, "Please do something."
0:59:25 > 0:59:27'And I said, "Are you sure you want to stay here?"
0:59:27 > 0:59:30'And he said, "Yes, absolutely, absolutely sure."
0:59:30 > 0:59:31'That I remember very well.
0:59:36 > 0:59:42'I saw this arrow saying, "Police - First Floor,"
0:59:42 > 0:59:47'so I went there and I said, "Listen, there is someone downstairs
0:59:47 > 0:59:50' "that is with two bodyguards
0:59:50 > 0:59:55' "and they want to send him by force to Moscow.
0:59:55 > 0:59:56' "He is a dancer."
0:59:56 > 0:59:59'And they said, "Are you sure he's a dancer?"
0:59:59 > 1:00:02'And I said, "Yes, I'm sure he's a dancer."
1:00:02 > 1:00:05'And they say, "We cannot go to him,
1:00:05 > 1:00:10' "we're not allowed to take him, he has to come to us."
1:00:10 > 1:00:12'And I said, "OK." '
1:00:13 > 1:00:17You just have to run and say, "I want to be free."
1:00:17 > 1:00:19I said to Clara, "Of course,
1:00:19 > 1:00:21"but how could...? Look, the police is around him."
1:00:21 > 1:00:23What could we do?
1:00:23 > 1:00:25'Instead, I went again.
1:00:25 > 1:00:28'The men, they said, "Well, she's crazy." '
1:00:28 > 1:00:30SHE CHUCKLES
1:00:32 > 1:00:34'And I said to him,
1:00:34 > 1:00:37' "You see these two men, French police, you have to go to them."
1:00:37 > 1:00:40'It's like in a ballet, you know, he jumped!
1:01:08 > 1:01:12'The French policemen took him
1:01:12 > 1:01:17'and the two bodyguards, you know, they run and there was a fight
1:01:17 > 1:01:22'between one of the French policemen and one of the bodyguards.
1:01:22 > 1:01:25'I remember the French policeman said to the Russian,
1:01:25 > 1:01:28' "Ah, don't touch me!"
1:01:28 > 1:01:31'Screaming, "Vous etes en France ici." '
1:01:41 > 1:01:43My uncle, Mr Gregory Alexinski,
1:01:43 > 1:01:48He worked in Le Bourget as a commissar.
1:01:48 > 1:01:52Was responsible for the security of Le Bourget.
1:01:53 > 1:01:56He spoke with Rudolf in Russian.
1:02:15 > 1:02:18I think when you met him, you were impressed,
1:02:18 > 1:02:22because he had this kind of calm of the hero, you know,
1:02:22 > 1:02:25the people who can deal with danger.
1:02:27 > 1:02:29'I remember this office.'
1:02:30 > 1:02:32Mademoiselle, non.
1:02:32 > 1:02:38'Rudik asked, I think, for a cognac he was really like this...
1:02:38 > 1:02:40'And they said to me...
1:02:41 > 1:02:45' "The first thing he has to have - papers."
1:02:50 > 1:02:54'Et puis, like 20 minutes after I arrive...
1:02:54 > 1:02:58'The attache culturel, the ambassade de Russie.
1:02:58 > 1:03:03' "Ah, but, Rudik, you cannot do that to us, oh, my God.
1:03:10 > 1:03:13' "My God, it is crazy, you know, you are going to go to Russia
1:03:13 > 1:03:15' "you are going to be such a star,
1:03:15 > 1:03:21' "we don't want to do nothing to you, we respect you so much..." '
1:03:25 > 1:03:30My uncle said that his office was a small office
1:03:30 > 1:03:32and that it was probably very chaotic
1:03:32 > 1:03:38with the Russian and the French.
1:03:38 > 1:03:40In this office, there was two doors -
1:03:40 > 1:03:44so he ask Rudolf to decide
1:03:44 > 1:03:48if he wanted to take the plane...
1:03:49 > 1:03:53..with the Russian agents of the KGB
1:03:53 > 1:03:56or wanted to stay in Paris, France.
1:03:57 > 1:03:59He had to choose.
1:03:59 > 1:04:04This is a beautiful idea, it's very simple and it's very abstract.
1:04:04 > 1:04:05Two doors.
1:04:06 > 1:04:10You take the left door or the right door
1:04:10 > 1:04:13and it's not the same end, you know.
1:04:30 > 1:04:34They said to me, "Do you have some place to put him?
1:04:34 > 1:04:37"Because they're going to follow him."
1:04:38 > 1:04:41And I said, "Yes, I have a friend, no problem."
1:04:43 > 1:04:45"And he cannot go outside."
1:04:45 > 1:04:50I said, "OK." "Don't go and see him because you're going to be followed."
1:04:52 > 1:04:58The real story, it's such an incredible story that the man
1:04:58 > 1:05:05escaped at the time from the KGB - he is the most famous world dancer,
1:05:05 > 1:05:08he's very beautiful, he's very young, he's a dandy
1:05:08 > 1:05:13and he's flamboyant, you know, flamboyant, and he jumps!
1:05:14 > 1:05:20He jumped, he escaped, he was the winner.
1:05:21 > 1:05:24He had a very good instinct of people,
1:05:24 > 1:05:29and he had this ability to meet the right people at the right time.
1:05:31 > 1:05:35It's like a film.
1:05:35 > 1:05:37It was like I was not in the story...
1:05:39 > 1:05:40Very strange.
1:05:45 > 1:05:48TRAFFIC
1:05:51 > 1:05:53Next morning,
1:05:53 > 1:05:55on the way to breakfast, in the lobby...
1:05:56 > 1:05:59..there was a newspaper
1:05:59 > 1:06:04with a photograph of Rudolf dressed in white making a stage leap,
1:06:04 > 1:06:06and the headline,
1:06:06 > 1:06:09"Dance To Freedom".
1:06:09 > 1:06:11It was on the whole page.
1:06:12 > 1:06:15The jump to the Free World.
1:06:20 > 1:06:26We were so shocked, we went into our hotel room and quietly whispered.
1:06:26 > 1:06:28Telling each other it could not have happened.
1:06:28 > 1:06:31It must be a mistake.
1:06:31 > 1:06:35Our Rudik couldn't have done it. He couldn't have done it.
1:06:35 > 1:06:40It was a betrayal of our motherland. This was my feeling.
1:06:41 > 1:06:48The story hit like an atom bomb, and the blast wave grew into legend.
1:06:55 > 1:07:00After Rudik defected, in London, I was locked in my room.
1:07:00 > 1:07:04I was let out only to go to rehearsals and the shows.
1:07:04 > 1:07:09Can you believe that? It was horrible, how I was treated.
1:07:09 > 1:07:12I was a ballet dancer with a reputation,
1:07:12 > 1:07:13known all over the world.
1:07:23 > 1:07:26The West could claim a victory in the Cold War.
1:07:26 > 1:07:30That was the simple message of the Nureyev defection,
1:07:30 > 1:07:35"We are freedom, we are an open society,
1:07:35 > 1:07:37"we permit artistic expression,
1:07:37 > 1:07:42"Nureyev has escaped to achieve his artistic goals
1:07:42 > 1:07:45"and he can only do that," so the West claimed,
1:07:45 > 1:07:47"within the... within the West."
1:07:47 > 1:07:51So it was a huge... a huge propaganda coup.
1:07:51 > 1:07:54The Soviet Union had a very strong interest in not publicising this,
1:07:54 > 1:07:57because, after all, from their point of view,
1:07:57 > 1:07:59it was a propaganda disaster.
1:07:59 > 1:08:03Not least for Shelepin, head of the KGB.
1:08:04 > 1:08:08The letter Shelepin wrote after Nureyev's defection
1:08:08 > 1:08:13is the explanation from the KGB head of what had happened.
1:08:13 > 1:08:17It reveals he never knew what was going on.
1:08:17 > 1:08:20The whole thing had caught him off-guard.
1:08:21 > 1:08:23This story of Le Bourget
1:08:23 > 1:08:26was so much a tragedy for the KGB
1:08:26 > 1:08:31and proof that the KGB was absolutely not competent at all.
1:08:31 > 1:08:36So the first thing that the KGB has to do is...
1:08:36 > 1:08:38is to destroy this, er...
1:08:38 > 1:08:40this defector.
1:08:42 > 1:08:45And Nureyev knows that.
1:08:45 > 1:08:48He must have been terribly moved and in a terrible turmoil.
1:08:51 > 1:08:54Waking every morning, wondering where he is.
1:08:54 > 1:08:57I mean, every awakening must have been difficult for a long time.
1:09:01 > 1:09:04He found himself trapped in an apartment
1:09:04 > 1:09:08that he couldn't leave for fear that the KGB would find him.
1:09:08 > 1:09:10The irony is, when he defected,
1:09:10 > 1:09:15that wild animal whom the world was seeing or imagining to be free,
1:09:15 > 1:09:18all of a sudden was finding himself in a cage again.
1:09:21 > 1:09:24- CLARA:- He was living there, it was a big apartment, very nice,
1:09:24 > 1:09:26on the Jardin du Luxembourg.
1:09:28 > 1:09:34And he had nothing, so I went to buy toothbrush and shirts
1:09:34 > 1:09:38and jeans and all these things. He had nothing, nothing, nothing.
1:09:41 > 1:09:44Nureyev was in danger even the day after.
1:09:44 > 1:09:47The KGB were in front of all of the apartments -
1:09:47 > 1:09:49of Clara Saint, of Pierre Lacotte.
1:09:49 > 1:09:53Two KGB was in front of my place.
1:09:53 > 1:09:56PHONE RINGS
1:09:56 > 1:09:58'Somebody was ringing, they called me.'
1:09:58 > 1:09:59'It was a newspaper.'
1:10:01 > 1:10:04"Listen, I would like to know where is Rudolf Nureyev."
1:10:04 > 1:10:05I said, "I don't know."
1:10:08 > 1:10:10"Why are you lie? You have to tell us,
1:10:10 > 1:10:14"we need to for our information, for the newspaper." I said...
1:10:16 > 1:10:18And they said, "I will give you some money."
1:10:18 > 1:10:21I say, "I don't want anything." And they were ready to sign a cheque
1:10:21 > 1:10:25and I said, "I don't want it, I don't know where he is
1:10:25 > 1:10:28"and even if I know where he is, I never tell you."
1:10:30 > 1:10:31And I hang up.
1:10:31 > 1:10:34DEAD TONE
1:10:39 > 1:10:41PHONE RINGS
1:10:47 > 1:10:49Hello?
1:10:49 > 1:10:53What I know is that Nureyev was very, very anxious.
1:10:56 > 1:10:58KNOCK ON DOOR
1:10:58 > 1:10:59He was scared.
1:11:01 > 1:11:05And he was... he was right to be afraid,
1:11:05 > 1:11:09because the KGB had plans to, er...to destroy him.
1:11:12 > 1:11:16FOOTSTEPS
1:11:19 > 1:11:21DOOR CREAKS
1:11:33 > 1:11:37There is a version that Nikita Khrushchev gave an order
1:11:37 > 1:11:42to break Nureyev's legs, to end his dancing career.
1:11:42 > 1:11:43Really?
1:11:43 > 1:11:46I don't deny that, in private,
1:11:46 > 1:11:51he was so furious he could drop a phrase like that, as we say.
1:11:51 > 1:11:56But that he ordered it, that he would action it?
1:11:56 > 1:11:58It's unthinkable in this context.
1:12:01 > 1:12:05Nureyev had no scientist secret, that's true.
1:12:05 > 1:12:09He just had one thing - he offended the government
1:12:09 > 1:12:12and he betrayed his country.
1:12:21 > 1:12:23PIANO MUSIC
1:12:30 > 1:12:34The London premiere was in three days' time.
1:12:34 > 1:12:38Sergeyev was in a panic, trying to think what to do.
1:12:38 > 1:12:41For him, it was a life-or-death question.
1:12:41 > 1:12:45He would carry the can unless he could make the show a triumph.
1:12:45 > 1:12:49He approached Soloviev to take over Sleeping Beauty and Bayadere.
1:12:49 > 1:12:51I did Swan Lake.
1:12:54 > 1:12:58We had no time to introduce young Yuri Soloviev into the show
1:12:58 > 1:13:01and we were rehearsing day and night.
1:13:04 > 1:13:06He wasn't tall enough for me,
1:13:06 > 1:13:08so I was on full fingers.
1:13:16 > 1:13:18Rudik unwittingly gave him his break.
1:13:18 > 1:13:21And he moved into the role of soloist.
1:13:21 > 1:13:25I felt it would have been better if it happened gradually.
1:13:25 > 1:13:28Instead of maturing, it came in a rush of panic.
1:13:32 > 1:13:34'You know, everything was difficult.'
1:13:34 > 1:13:35KNOCK ON DOOR
1:13:35 > 1:13:38'I said to Clara,'
1:13:38 > 1:13:41"Rudolf, now, he have to work."
1:13:41 > 1:13:42You know, he was going crazy.
1:13:52 > 1:13:54Where have you been?
1:13:57 > 1:14:00Don't like this shirt, it's too big.
1:14:02 > 1:14:04- CLARA:- 'He didn't like the shirt I bought.
1:14:07 > 1:14:09'Can you believe it?'
1:14:09 > 1:14:10Can you do something?
1:14:12 > 1:14:14' "I don't like that shirt." '
1:14:14 > 1:14:16SHE IMITATES HIS GRUMBLING
1:14:16 > 1:14:18' "Ah, but these jeans...
1:14:18 > 1:14:22' "And you know, the apartment I'm staying in - it is full of marble."
1:14:22 > 1:14:25'I said, "Yes, it's a very beautiful place."
1:14:25 > 1:14:28' "Yes, but it's cold, it's very bad for me, it's cold."
1:14:31 > 1:14:35' "Merci beaucoup." J'ai dit, "Thank you very much." '
1:14:38 > 1:14:41He have to work and we talk about...
1:14:41 > 1:14:43I say, "What about in Paris Opera?"
1:14:43 > 1:14:46It's impossible politically, it was a national theatre,
1:14:46 > 1:14:49they could not take somebody who escaped from Russia,
1:14:49 > 1:14:53otherwise never will the company go to Russia any more.
1:14:58 > 1:15:03The only thing was the ballet company of Marquis De Cuevas.
1:15:05 > 1:15:09Clara called Raymundo de Larrain.
1:15:09 > 1:15:13Raymundo de Larrain was the director of the ballet
1:15:13 > 1:15:15of the Marquis de Cuevas.
1:15:16 > 1:15:18CLARA: 'Raymundo, I call him - he said,
1:15:18 > 1:15:25' "No! Tell him I'll hire him! We are going to produce Sleeping Beauty." '
1:15:25 > 1:15:28And Nureyev had seen Sleeping Beauty,
1:15:28 > 1:15:33and he met Raymundo de Larrain during his tour with the Kirov,
1:15:33 > 1:15:37and he told him the production was awful
1:15:37 > 1:15:39and the costumes were so kitsch.
1:15:42 > 1:15:46And two weeks after his defection, what did he dance?
1:15:46 > 1:15:49Sleeping Beauty with the Marquis De Cuevas company.
1:15:49 > 1:15:51CHATTER
1:15:56 > 1:15:59There was a press conference in the morning,
1:15:59 > 1:16:01at the Theatre des Champs-Elysees.
1:16:01 > 1:16:03Of course, I was there,
1:16:03 > 1:16:07but there were also hundreds of journalists and photographers.
1:16:10 > 1:16:13NUREYEV: I will never return my country,
1:16:13 > 1:16:16but I can never be happy in yours.
1:16:18 > 1:16:23The whole world was watching. So the KGB couldn't do anything.
1:16:23 > 1:16:25Nothing could have been worse for Russia
1:16:25 > 1:16:28than if they had tried to get to him at that point.
1:16:31 > 1:16:34He had the event, the main event in ballet world.
1:16:34 > 1:16:36Raymundo had it in his hands
1:16:36 > 1:16:39from the moment Rudolf accepted to come.
1:16:39 > 1:16:41Well, he came like un grand fauve,
1:16:41 > 1:16:43like a wild animal.
1:16:43 > 1:16:45And we were fascinated.
1:16:45 > 1:16:48I was especially fascinated by the way he worked.
1:16:48 > 1:16:50He would lock himself up, somehow,
1:16:50 > 1:16:53when he wanted to be alone, with the pianist.
1:16:53 > 1:16:55Into to the foyer
1:16:55 > 1:16:58of the Theatre des Champs Elysees, and he would do his own class.
1:16:58 > 1:16:59Pardon.
1:17:01 > 1:17:04Rudolf told me that he was redoing carefully,
1:17:04 > 1:17:09precisely, the class of Pushkin, not to forget it, not to lose his shape.
1:17:09 > 1:17:12One thing he was very afraid of by passing to the West
1:17:12 > 1:17:14is to lose his shape,
1:17:14 > 1:17:18because he wouldn't have the same training any more.
1:17:18 > 1:17:23So he used to do that class very slow, very... It was fascinating.
1:17:23 > 1:17:26I had never seen somebody work so thoroughly,
1:17:26 > 1:17:30with so much precision and slowly correct a movement
1:17:30 > 1:17:34until it was perfect. This was absolutely incredible.
1:17:38 > 1:17:42On the night of Nureyev's debut as Bluebird in Sleeping Beauty,
1:17:42 > 1:17:47he asked that nobody disturb him in his dressing room.
1:17:47 > 1:17:51But a journalist managed to get in and gave him three letters.
1:17:51 > 1:17:54One from his father, one from his mother,
1:17:54 > 1:17:57and one from his coach, Pushkin.
1:17:57 > 1:18:01All of them told him he could not betray his homeland.
1:18:08 > 1:18:12They all told him to come back and that there would be no punishment.
1:18:13 > 1:18:16I think it was the Communists, of course,
1:18:16 > 1:18:19want to organise a big evening against Rudolf...
1:18:20 > 1:18:23..to make him afraid and to shock everybody, to say,
1:18:23 > 1:18:26"Look, that boy, he did something wrong,
1:18:26 > 1:18:27"he's leaving his own country."
1:18:27 > 1:18:30But only the Communists could think that way.
1:18:30 > 1:18:34That evening, everything was done to demoralize him.
1:18:34 > 1:18:37He understood this straight away, and he was furious.
1:18:37 > 1:18:40Then, as he approached the stage,
1:18:40 > 1:18:42he heard abuse coming from the auditorium.
1:18:42 > 1:18:44SHOUTING
1:18:44 > 1:18:46It was not spontaneous,
1:18:46 > 1:18:49it was really organised, you could feel that.
1:18:49 > 1:18:53When he came from the wings, he came very close to my left
1:18:53 > 1:18:56and I remember his eyes -
1:18:56 > 1:18:57he was in total panic.
1:19:01 > 1:19:05They were yelling, "Traitor - go back to your country."
1:19:05 > 1:19:08They were throwing coins, broken glass on stage -
1:19:08 > 1:19:09GLASS BREAKS
1:19:16 > 1:19:20They did everything possible to unnerve him.
1:19:20 > 1:19:21But he kept going.
1:19:23 > 1:19:28That was, for me, the proof of his, the strong-ness of his character.
1:19:30 > 1:19:34In the middle of all that situation, he proved his own personality,
1:19:34 > 1:19:36his strength.
1:19:36 > 1:19:39That day, he really became free.
1:19:39 > 1:19:44He had broken off with everything from the past.
1:19:44 > 1:19:45APPLAUSE
1:19:48 > 1:19:52He wanted to learn, he wanted to know, he wanted to do,
1:19:52 > 1:19:55he wanted more, he didn't want to be blocked,
1:19:55 > 1:19:58he didn't accept the fact to be limited.
1:19:58 > 1:20:01CHEERING
1:20:01 > 1:20:04And he's so right, I mean, he wanted to conquer the world,
1:20:04 > 1:20:07and it was his right to conquer the world.
1:20:07 > 1:20:11His perfect right. How dare the people stop him from that?
1:20:13 > 1:20:16APPLAUSE
1:20:18 > 1:20:21CHEERING
1:20:42 > 1:20:44When we got back,
1:20:44 > 1:20:49they declared Nureyev to be an enemy of the nation,
1:20:49 > 1:20:51and that he committed treason.
1:20:52 > 1:20:55That's what they always used to say
1:20:55 > 1:20:57when people did something extraordinary.
1:21:03 > 1:21:08I remember it like yesterday, the day they returned to Russia.
1:21:08 > 1:21:11I had to find out what happened, from Yuri Soloviev.
1:21:48 > 1:21:51Everyone was asking, "How could it have happened?
1:21:55 > 1:21:57"What did happen?"
1:21:57 > 1:22:01Yuri was taken repeatedly to the grey house - the KGB headquarters.
1:22:01 > 1:22:03Of course he was influenced.
1:22:03 > 1:22:05They put pressure on him.
1:22:05 > 1:22:07It took a heavy toll.
1:22:14 > 1:22:19That pressure didn't stop. It continued relentlessly.
1:22:20 > 1:22:23We used to talk, sometimes, in the locker room.
1:22:23 > 1:22:25"Sergei," he said...
1:22:28 > 1:22:30"..what a success we've become.
1:22:35 > 1:22:38"But what's the point of it all?"
1:22:38 > 1:22:45He was sinking into some darkness and this inclination...
1:22:47 > 1:22:52This would not have taken place if Rudik hadn't defected.
1:23:09 > 1:23:11It was a complex time, I think, you know.
1:23:16 > 1:23:19I don't understand what it is about this guy.
1:23:22 > 1:23:24That was a kind of thing
1:23:24 > 1:23:27that you never feel that you know everything about it.
1:23:27 > 1:23:31And I think with Rudolf, we don't know everything.
1:23:34 > 1:23:39My feeling is that it was decided in advance,
1:23:39 > 1:23:43that Rudolf would leave to stay in France.
1:23:44 > 1:23:46It's possible.
1:23:48 > 1:23:51Uncle Greg - I remember that what he told me
1:23:51 > 1:23:54when I ask him one day, "What's happened exactly?"
1:23:54 > 1:23:56He said, "In the morning,
1:23:56 > 1:24:01"there was a call telling me that something could happen.
1:24:02 > 1:24:05"I had to be very careful and to help -
1:24:05 > 1:24:12"somebody was probably going to escape the Russian guards
1:24:12 > 1:24:15"to come inside the French frontier."
1:24:23 > 1:24:27The final order to secure Nureyev's immediate return to Moscow
1:24:27 > 1:24:31at the airport was a provocation.
1:24:31 > 1:24:35The final push to make this man take that step.
1:24:35 > 1:24:39I am completely convinced that the Central Committee
1:24:39 > 1:24:42really knew what they were doing.
1:24:52 > 1:24:55They were provoking Nureyev in order to make
1:24:55 > 1:24:59a strike against the KGB chief, Alexander Shelepin.
1:24:59 > 1:25:03The Central Committee really didn't like Shelepin -
1:25:03 > 1:25:06he was a rival to their power,
1:25:06 > 1:25:09and they would do anything to get rid of him.
1:25:09 > 1:25:12He was kept in the dark and he missed it.
1:25:13 > 1:25:19His security services failed to prevent the defection of Nureyev
1:25:19 > 1:25:23and, thanks to this event, Shelepin was taken down.
1:25:25 > 1:25:27- INTERVIEWER:- Why do you think Shelepin was deposed?
1:25:27 > 1:25:30Well, I'm sure this was connected, this was surely...
1:25:30 > 1:25:33It must have been connected to... to the defection.
1:25:33 > 1:25:35There was also an extraordinary degree of factionalism,
1:25:35 > 1:25:39pure power struggles, control of the political agenda.
1:25:39 > 1:25:42This is what happens when you open up to the West, this is what happens
1:25:42 > 1:25:46when you try to engage the West and allow people to travel to the West.
1:25:46 > 1:25:49You're going to end up with these kinds of disasters.
1:25:51 > 1:25:58How somebody has the ability in their life to escape,
1:25:58 > 1:26:00it's difficult to say.
1:26:01 > 1:26:07But I think some people have luck in their blood, you know?
1:26:18 > 1:26:20- CLARA:- I don't remember very well,
1:26:20 > 1:26:24but after all that, he became a star, of course.
1:26:24 > 1:26:30I went with him to this shooting...
1:26:30 > 1:26:34And then they said to me - "You know, you can stay now"
1:26:34 > 1:26:36"but then you have to leave
1:26:36 > 1:26:39"because I want to photograph him naked."
1:26:39 > 1:26:41And I said, "OK, yes, I'm not going to stay."
1:26:41 > 1:26:43SHE CHUCKLES
1:26:43 > 1:26:44"How long?
1:26:44 > 1:26:47And he said, "Well, come back in one hour if you want."
1:26:49 > 1:26:52INTERVIEWER: What do you think you meant to him?
1:26:52 > 1:26:55- I don't know. - Did he love you?
1:26:55 > 1:26:56No, I don't think so.
1:26:59 > 1:27:01No, he thought...
1:27:02 > 1:27:05..that I was...
1:27:05 > 1:27:07an interesting person.
1:27:07 > 1:27:10I was free - I didn't work at that time.
1:27:10 > 1:27:12I was completely free.
1:27:14 > 1:27:17Everything was easy with me, you see?
1:27:19 > 1:27:22But, you know, he was such a star.
1:27:23 > 1:27:25I was, I was happy for him.
1:27:28 > 1:27:30And this is the last time I will speak of...
1:27:30 > 1:27:32SHE LAUGHS
1:27:32 > 1:27:33..Rudolf Nureyev.
1:27:40 > 1:27:44PIANO MUSIC