The best performance about the life of Rudolf Nureyev, the greatest dancer of the 20th century, is coming to the Hellenic Cosmos!

The “phenomenon” performance about the life of Rudolf Nureyev, with over one million spectators worldwide, is coming to Athens as part of its pan-European tour!

Featuring top soloists from the Czech National Ballet

“A winner is one who follows their dreams..”

Rudolf Nureyev: an amazing dancer, self-exiled from the USSR, an intense personality. These are just a few aspects of the life of one of the top dancers who shone internationally on the grand stages of classical ballet. His life was tumultuous, almost cinematic, with his innate talent quickly leading him to the top and to recognition.

The best performance about the life of this great dancer who left us too soon is finally coming to Athens, as part of its pan-European tour.

The legendary production, featuring soloists from the Czech National Ballet, tells the story of the great dancer Rudolf Nureyev. The performance was enthusiastically received by people who knew Nureyev personally and participated in his life.

O Oleg Vinogradov (head of the Mariinsky Theatre, the organizer of Nureyev's 1989 tour) said: “This is an exceptional performance and the true story of Rudolf Nureyev's life”.

Vladimir Ren (close friend of Nureyev): “Everything in this performance was just as it happened; it is an exceptional work”.

Alla Osipenko (prima ballerina, People's Artist of Russia, who danced with Nureyev):

“An amazing transformation from a dramatic artist to a ballet dancer. I recommend everyone to see it”.

Author, director, and lead actor of the work is Sergey Yankovsky who portrays Nureyev's role so faithfully and realistically that when the performance ends, the viewer wants to see it again as it inspires and strengthens faith and will for life.

The performance is based on true events. The actual incidents of Nureyev's life it describes are based on his own notes, books, and live accounts from Rudolf Nureyev's friends and colleagues.

Spectators will witness the difficult path to glory, which for Nureyev began from a God-forsaken village near the city of Irkutsk that, however, produced a star that shone on the best theater stages in the world.

We will see on stage different aspects of Nureyev's life: the inexperienced and young boy, the legendary dancer of the Mariinsky Theatre, and the great

artist whose popularity was compared to that of the Beatles. His name often made headlines in the press of the time, and he became the first Russian dancer to serve as the director of the French National Theatre – the "Grand Opera". Rudolf Nureyev left behind a valuable legacy, radically changing not only the work rules in the world's best theatre but also the standards of classical dance on the global ballet stage.

The theatrical work "Leap to Freedom" is a story about the futility of wealth and glory in the face of death. At the peak of his life, the actor is struck by a serious and incurable disease.

The central theme of this performance is the greatness of a personality that does not lose its dignity and strength even when it is just a breath away from death. It is a narrative of the last appearance on stage of an inexhaustible talent.

The news of his passing was a bolt from the blue for the entire world community. Nureyev's star shot into the sky as suddenly as it faded, leaving behind a brilliance that remains a landmark for all ballet dancers to this day.

The premiere took place in 2007 at the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg, and immediately afterward it began its tours across Europe.

The performance was a great success not only in Russia but since 2010 it has also been staged in over 150 cities worldwide, including England, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Montenegro, Finland, etc., and it has been translated into twelve languages.

The performance will be presented at The «Hellenic Cosmos» Cultural Centre with Greek subtitles and featuring top soloists from the Czech National Ballet.

Excerpt from Rudolf Nureyev's notes:

It was the smell of my skin that was changing, it was the preparation before each lesson.

It was the escape from school and later from working in the fields with my father because we were ten siblings.

To walk two kilometers on foot to go to dance school. And when I was there...

The smell of camphor, of wood, the dance uniform...

I was an eagle at the top of the world. The poet among poets. I was everywhere and everything!!!

The only thing that accompanies me is my dance. The freedom to exist...

I am here but I dance with my mind, I fly farther than my words, farther than my pain.

If we pity our wounded feet, if we only run after our goal and do not understand the unique pleasure of movement, we do not understand the meaning of life.

Where meaning lies in becoming and not in seeming.

Every man should dance. All his life. Even if you are not a dancer... but to dance...

To dance!!!

Rudolf Nureyev

Rudolf Nureyev, 1938-1993, Russian dancer and choreographer. Rudolf Hametovich Nureyev was a Russian dancer and choreographer of Tatar descent, one of the greatest of the 20th century in classical ballet. He began his career with the famous Kirov Ballet in 1958 after studying at the Vaganova Academy in St. Petersburg, having been accepted in 1955 at the age of 17. His technique, harmony, and talent soon emerged, contributing to his becoming the lead in most major roles in the classical repertoire. In 1961 in Paris, during a tour with the Kirov Ballet of Leningrad, the 23-year-old Rudolf Nureyev, who was the principal dancer of the ballet, sought political asylum in France while preparing to leave with the company for England. From then on, he lived and excelled in the great ballets of the West.