Leaping to the defense
Sir: I feel sure that I am not alone in being distressed by Mr Charles Gordon's unkind and trivial article on Rudolf Nureyev (Arts, 16 January), especially in view of his recent death.
Having befriended Nureyev during his final performances with the Kirov Ballet in Paris, I went with the designer, James Bai- ley, to his dressing-room before the first performance of the unforgettable Fonteyn- Nureyev Giselle chiefly to persuade him to wear white tights, rather than some 'lucky' purple ones. Nureyev, visibly stricken with stage fright, nevertheless told us to expect 'a surprise' in Act H, referring, we later realised, to the exceptional 16 `entrechats six'. May not a young, bewildered genius be forgiven this unique form of cadenza, in his determination to make his mark, indelibly, upon an alien audience?
Like many refugees, Nureyev looked upon money as security. Admittedly, his envious outbursts upset his friends; but he was a very highly strung perfectionist, and did not suffer fools gladly.
While we mourn him, let us recall his loy- alty to those close to him, his mercurial wit, his instinctive understanding of all the arts, his stoicism in the face of a cruel death, and above all his immeasurable contribution to the dance in so many fields.
As for Mr Gordon's 'not so much a great dancer', I submit that there has never been a greater.
Michael Wishart
`The Travellers', 25 Avenue des Champs-Elysées, 75008 Paris
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