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Birthing Nureyev is based on the life of Rudolph Nureyev, Russia’s finest dancer who slipped through his keepers’ fingers to defect to the West on 16 June 1961. The work focuses on Nureyev’s dramatic defection and the KGB’s insidious attempts from behind the iron curtain to destroy his career, juxtaposed with his prodigious success in the West. Despite his fame and fortune, Nureyev was shattered when his country of origin denounced him and damningly charged him with high treason. Most disconcerting was his inevitable alienation from his loved ones, and his untimely death due to AIDS-related complications.
Director: Andre Odendaal
Written By: Henque Heymans
Choreographer: Ignatius van Heerden
Company: leftfoot productions
Set Designer: Kosie Smit
Dialect Coach: Weslee Swain Lauder
Animation / Visual Art: Naret Loots
Concept & Performance: Ignatius van Heerden