Ismene Brown

Why did a Russian ballet dancer throw acid in his boss’s face?

Plus: the kamikaze rudeness of Rudolf Nureyev hits the big screen

  • Comments

  • Bolshoi Babylon

    Key Cities, from 8 January 2016

  • Rudolf Nureyev — Dance to Freedom

    BBC2

The 16th June 1961 and 17th January 2013 are two indelible dates in the annals of Russian ballet. Two events that left the world gobsmacked — the escape of a Cold War fugitive and an acid attack by a subordinate on his boss — all enhanced in strangeness and sensational interest because they came out of the ballet world, a world largely closed to the rest of us.

Already a subscriber? Log in

Keep reading with a free trial

Subscribe and get your first month of online and app access for free. After that it’s just £1 a week.

There’s no commitment, you can cancel any time.

Or

Unlock more articles

REGISTER

Read next

Trending

John Mac Ghlionn

Is Conor McGregor the Irish Trump?

From Spectator Life
The flamboyant, ridiculous mixed martial arts fighter Conor McGregor is considering a run for the Irish presidency. ‘Potential competition if I run,’ he tweeted yesterday, along with a picture of Gerry Adams, Bertie Ahern and Enda Kenny, the three septuagenarian current favourites for the job. ‘Each with unbreakable ties to their individual parties politics… Or me,

Because you read about ballet

Also by Ismene Brown

Latest

Comments

Don't miss out

Join the conversation with other Spectator readers. Subscribe to leave a comment.

Already a subscriber? Log in