STUDIOCANAL
Academy Award®-nominee Ralph Fiennes and BAFTA-winning screenwriter David Hare bring the incredible true story of the legendary Rudolf Nureyev, one of the greatest and most famous ballet dancers of the 20th century, vividly to life in The White Crow – which comes to Digital Download, Blu-ray and DVD on 5th August.
Ukrainian ballet star, Oleg Ivenko, took on the role of the young Nureyev in his first ever acting role, following in the footsteps of the Russian dancer himself who ventured into acting as Rudolph Valentino in Ken Russell’s film of the same name in 1977.
To celebrate the release of The White Crow, we take a look back at the ballet dancers who have also made the same leap from stage to the screen.
MOIRA SHEARER
Scottish-born Moira Shearer received her early ballet training with the Russian teacher Nicholas Legat, a former premier dancer with the Russian Imperial Ballet. She then joined the Sadler’s Wells Ballet School and became a principal dancer for the company in 1942. Shearer became an international film star when she was cast in the Powell & Pressburger classic The Red Shoes (1948). This role was so powerful that, although she went on to star in other films such as The Tales Of Hoffman (1951) and Peeping Tom (1960), she will always be remembered as the red-haired Vicky Page with the red shoes.
CHRISTOPHER GABLE
A contemporary of Nureyev’s, Christopher Gable was already an acclaimed principal dancer when the Russian star arrived in London and they danced together in 1964 in Kenneth MacMillan’s ballet ‘Images of Love’. Unfortunately, his dancing career was cut short due to a chronic rheumatoid condition in his feet and he left ballet in 1967 to pursue a career in acting. He appeared in a number of films directed by Ken Russell including Women In Love (1969), The Music Lovers (1970) and the film adaptation of the stage musical The Boyfriend (1971) alongside Twiggy. Other famous roles included John in the hit Cinderella film musical The Slipper and the Rose (1976).
MIKHAIL BARYSHNIKOV
Following in Nureyev’s footsteps, Mikhail Baryshnikov was trained as a ballet dancer in Russia with the same company, The Kirov. In 1974 he too made the decision to defect to the West in order to further his dance career.
Baryshnikov became a huge star with the American Ballet Theatre and the New York City Ballet and was soon starring in Hollywood films. His first role was as the dancer Yuri in The Turning Point (1977) alongside Shirley Maclaine and Anne Bancroft. In White Nights (1985) art imitated life in this story of an expatriate Russian ballet dancer alongside Gregory Hines and in 2003, Baryshnikov starred in Sex and the City as Carrie’s “Russian”, the contemporary artist Aleksandr Petrovsky.
ALEXANDER GODUNOV
Alexander Borisovich Godunov began his ballet studies at the age of nine, in the same class as Mikhail Baryshnikov. He later joined the Bolshoi Ballet company in Moscow and became its premier dancer but, in 1979, he too defected to the West seeking political asylum in the US.
Godunov joined the American Ballet Theatre, under its then Artistic Director Baryshnikov, but he fell out with his old friend and went on to travel the world as a guest artist with various ballet troupes. When Hollywood came calling Godunov passed on the roles that would typecast him as a ‘dancer’ and his varied film roles included the good-natured Amish farmer in Witness (1985), a comically narcissistic symphony conductor in The Money Pit (1986) and an unforgettably violent terrorist in Die Hard (1988).
PATRICK SWAYZE
At high school, Patrick Swayze pursued ice skating, classical ballet, acting and even football until a knee injury forced him to give it up. In 1972 he moved to New York to train as a professional ballet dancer, but his talents led him instead to Broadway shows such as the long-running Grease. Many TV and film acting roles followed including The Outsiders and then the role that confirmed him as a bankable romantic lead, Dirty Dancing (1987). The role of Johnny also showcased his professional dance training to the delight of teenage girls across the world. The huge box office success of Dirty Dancing meant that Swayze was in great demand and starring roles in Road House (1989), Ghost (1990) and Point Break (1991) followed.
