Watch excerpts from the Nureyev Legend and Legacy Gala highlighting challenging choreography from Nureyev’s career. The Flower Festival in Genzano, Pas de deux Dancers: Francesco Gabriele Frola and Ida Praetorius. The dazzling pas de deux from August Bournonville’s one-act ballet is often performed in competitions and galas. It shows off the ideals of Romantic ballet; warm simplicity in the upper body paired with lively and light virtuosity in the lower legs. Nureyev performed the pas de deux in his first American television appearance in 1962. This appearance brought ballet to thousands of living rooms across America and ignited a new passion for the art. In this gala excerpt, Francesco Gabriele Frola performs a showstopping rendition of Bournonville’s choreography alongside a brilliantly charming Ida Praetorius. Don Juan (excerpt) Dancers: Alina Cojocaru and Alexandr Trusch. This except showcases jaw-dropping choreography by John Neumeier. When Nureyev joined the National Ballet of Canada in 1974 Neumeier reworked the choreography to showcase the dancer’s ability and produced a gravity-defying work. Fonteyn and Nureyev performed this excerpt at a royal Opera House Gala in 1975. In this gala excerpt, Alina Cojocaru is a weightless angel of death alongside a captivating Alexandr Trusch. The Nureyev Legend and Legacy Gala took place at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane in London in September 2022 and was produced in association with the Rudolf Nureyev Foundation
