caption website death_date death_place years_active birth_place citizenship nationality ethnicity name birth_date alma_mater image article_title birth_name partner occupation death_cause
rudolf nureyev in 1973 by allan warren -lsb- http://www.nureyev.org/ www.nureyev.org -rsb- 6 january 1993 levallois-perret , france 1958 -- 1992 near irkutsk , russian sfsr , soviet union austria russia tatar rudolf nureyev 17 march 1938 kirov ballet school nureyev 10 allan warren.jpg rudolf nureyev
 rudolf khametovich nureyev erik bruhn -lrb- 1961 -- 1986 -rrb- ballet dancer , choreographer aids
rudolf nureyev

rudolf khametovich nureyev -lrb- , -rrb- -lrb- 17 march 1938 -- 6 january 1993 -rrb- was a soviet-born dancer of ballet and modern dance , one of the most celebrated of the 20th century .
nureyev 's artistic skills explored expressive areas of the dance , providing a new role to the male ballet dancer who once served only as support to the women .
nureyev defected from the soviet union to the west in 1961 , despite kgb efforts to stop him .
