Ruolf Nureyev (born Rudolf Khametovich Nureyev) was a Soviet-born ballet dancer and choreographer. Nureyev is regarded by many as the greatest male ballet dancer of his generation.
Written shortly after his defection to the West at the height of the cold war, this autobiography is a personal and poignant remembrance of his life full of trials, failures and successes.
From a poor childhood from a remote village near Siberia, Rudolf began his career with Kirov Ballet (now called by its original name, the Mariinsky Ballet) in Leningrad. He continued to gain fame and rose in popularity in the Soviet Union until his defection in 1961.