Rudolf Nureyev

Rudolf Nureyev (1938-1993) was a famed Russian ballet dancer and choreographer who guest starred on The Muppet Show episode 213.
Initially, the producers of The Muppet Show had such difficulty casting guest stars that they had to call upon all their personal friends in the entertainment industry for help. This changed dramatically after Nureyev's guest appearance. The publicity of a renowned ballet dancer appearing on such a bizarre show created such positive publicity that the show became popular and soon celebrities were lining up to appear on the show.
When asked by The Muppet Show producers which character he would most like to appear with, he said he would very much like to dance with Miss Piggy. Since she does not exist from the waist down, and such a sketch would prove difficult for a ballet, a full-bodied Muppet pig (the Ballerina Pig) was constructed for Nureyev's appearance. Instead of a dance number, Miss Piggy sang a duet with Nureyev, "Baby, It's Cold Outside." He fondly recalled his time with Piggy a decade later when he appeared as a guest on The Dame Edna Experience.
Nureyev was educated at the Leningrad Ballet School and starred with the Kirov Ballet. He defected to the West while performing in Paris, France in 1961, and then performed internationally, becoming an Austrian citizen in 1982. The English/French documentary I Am a Dancer (1972) featured him and his long-time dance partner, Dame Margot Fonteyn. 
Nureyev took on occasional acting roles and film work, starring as Rudolph Valentino in the Ken Russell film Valentino and later playing the male lead in the 1982 thriller Exposed (with Ian McShane). Some of his ballet roles were preserved in film or TV versions of Romeo and Juliet, Don Quixote, Swan Lake, and The Nutcracker. One of his later performances was starring in a 1989 national tour of The King and I. He died of AIDS-related complications on January 6, 1993.
==References==
*Two of the dwarfs in "Snow White and the Hundred Dwarfs" on the album Sleepytime Bird are named Margot and Rudolf, referencing Nureyev and Margot Fonteyn.
==External links==
*Rudolf Nureyev Foundation
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Category:Muppet Show Guest Stars
Category:Celebrities
Category:Classical Music
Category:Celebrity References