Nureyev: The Russian Years

If I can stop dancing for a moment, I will tell you how exciting the documentary was. I loved that it was NOT told in the Ken Burns style or any style that I had seen before. The old footage blended with recent footage of Russia gave it a feeling that Nureyev could have still been alive today. I totally disagree with Sarah Kaufman's assertion in the Washington Post today that this footage was uninteresting and that the film need to provide something new to prevent frustration. Kaufman says "the complete, complex richness that was Nureyev does not make it into the picture" but why should a director try to do this. It was focused on the Russia years and that is what we saw done very well. Nureyev's passion is breathtaking. His dancing is devastatingly beautiful, and present. I want to dance in the street like I did when I was 16 and watching ballet for the first time. It was sad to hear how he was so unknown in Russia but it was good to have that perspective. It made me think of what it means to be home. He certainly gave up a lot to be a rich and famous dancer but if he didn't I would not be talking about him now.