The Washington Diplomat

Painting the Dancer
American Artist ‘Captures’ Revolutionary Russian Ballet Star

Rudolf Nureyev’s prolific career as a dancer and choreographer transcended the boundaries of classical ballet. Now, American artist James Browning Wyeth pays tribute to this multifaceted Russian performer in a new exhibit at the Kennedy Center. “Capturing Nureyev: James Wyeth Paints the Dancer” also coincides with the first in a series of 10 annual visits by the spectacular Kirov Ballet and Kirov Opera from Russia.

Wyeth, inspired by the close friendship he formed with Nureyev during the year he spent observing him, chronicled the legendary dancer’s life with more than 35 paintings and drawings that span Nureyev’s roots in the Russian ballet to his collaborations with modern choreographers.

Nureyev began his career in the famed men’s class of Alexandr Pushkin and later went on to snag lead roles with the Kirov Ballet. While on the 1961 Kirov tour of Western Europe, Nureyev defected to Paris, where he began to expand his horizons.

By abandoning the traditional notions of what a ballet should be and insisting on the widest possible array of repertory choices and techniques, Nureyev re-energized classical ballet. He was the first major classical dancer to work with modern European and American dance choreographers, fusing his ideas with contemporary greats, such as Martha Graham and Roland Petit. And his partnership with the Royal Ballet’s Margot Fonteyn attracted legions of new fans to classical ballet.

Nureyev continued to dance well into the 1980s, his work constantly evolving until he died in 1993. In addition to the portraits of Nureyev, the exhibit features costumes worn by the great dancer and more than 60 archival photographs.

“Capturing Nureyev: James Wyeth Paints the Dancer” runs Feb. 5 to March 10 at the Kennedy Center’s Education Resource Center, 2600 Virginia Ave., NW. For more information, please call (202) 467-4600.

Anna Gawel is the assistant editor for The Washington Diplomat.