Nureyev Legend & Legacy @ Theatre Royal Drury Lane Review

At the age of 7, whilst his father was serving at the front towards the end of WWII, a young Rudolph Nureyev would, alongside his mother and 3 siblings watch ballet performance Songs of the Cranes at the Ufa Opera House, Russia – and it is was this performance that would align Nureyev onto a path to becoming one of the ballet world’s greats. He very early on showcasing his need to rebel a very set in stone structure and world, and imprint a language all of his own, developing his own emotive style that would go on to be celebrated and replicated. A celebration of his contribution to the ballet world, Nureyev Legend & Legacy passes on the baton also, celebrating the talent of tomorrow.

Introduced by multi-award winning actor Ralph Fiennes and former ballet dancer and Artistic Director of The Royal Ballet Dame Monica Mason DBE, the two immediately draw us all into Nureyev’s turbulent world of defecting to the West from Russia, yet using this fire to fuel what would become his artistic legacy, Mason who had actually danced with Nureyev really bringing it to home what he contributed to the rehearsal room as well as on the stage, his passion for the art form fundamental for innovation.

Comprising of 9 sequences honouring Nureyev’s stage career, 22 dancers from The Royal Ballet, Paris Opera Ballet, Dutch National Ballet, National Ballet of Canada and the English National Ballet, hand selected by former Royal Ballet Principal Nehemiah Kish set the evening’s mesmeric tone, each routine within themselves contributing a particular quality to the evening.

Guillaame Coté’s The Sleeping Beauty, Act 2, Entr’acte is as light as air, dream-like, Maia Makhateli and Oleg Ivenko’s Gayané, Pas de Deux romantic, Xander Parish OBE and Iona Salenko’s La Bayadère, Act 3, Pas de Deux graceful, Ida Praetorius and Francesco Gabriele Frola’s Flower Festival in Genzano Pas de Deux quaint and jovial, Yuhui Choe, Benjamin Ella, Francesco Gabriele Frola, Emma Hawes, Daichi Ikarashi and Marianna Tsembenhoi’s Laurencia Pas De Six vibrant, full of vitality.

Natascha Mair and Vadim Muntagirov’s The Sleeping Beauty, Act 3, Grand Pas de Deux regal, William Bracewell and Francesca Hayward’s Giselle, Act 2 Pas de Deux enchants, Alina Cojocaru and Alexandr Trusch’s Don Juan (Excerpt) intense and spiritual, Yasmine Naghdi and Cesar Corrales‘ Le Corsaire, Pas de Deux athletic, packed full of spins that never end and amaze! Accompanied by music director David Briskin’s meticulous conducting of the Royal Ballet Sinfonia, we soak in the show’s enthusiasm and need to make us emotionally invest. Filmed interviews of the artists taking part adding soul to the evening, we gauging how Nureyev’s legacy has helped them all on their impressive dance journeys so far. A riveting watch.

Written by Lucy Basaba.

Nureyev Legend & Legacy will show until Monday 12th September at Theatre Royal Drury Lane. To find out more about the production, visit here…

Nureyev Legend & Legacy will be available to watch from Friday 16th until Monday 26th September 2022 on Marquee TV on a pay-per-view basis. To find out more, visit here…

Written by Theatrefullstop