Rudolf Nureyev & Margot Fonteyn

RUDOLF NUREYEV AND MARGOT FONTEYN. Much revered and the most famous ballet dance couple of all time who it was said "danced with one body and one soul". Their legendary partnership began in 1962 and ended (with their final performance together) on 16th September 1988 in "Baroque Pas De Trois. (Nureyev then 50 and Fonteyn then 69 years old). RUDOLF NUREYEV (17th March 1938 – 6th January 1993). Tatar ballet dancer from The Soviet Union, widely considered to be one of the best known and most celebrated of the 20th century. He defected to the West in 1961, despite KGB efforts to stop him. According to KGB archives studied by Peter Watson, President Krushchev personally signed an order to have Nureyev killed at the time. Nureyev's artistic skills explored innovative expressive areas of dance and provided a new role to the male ballet dancer (who had previously served only as support to their women partners) Rudolf Nureyev died of Aids aged just 54 in 1993. DAME MARGOT FONTEYN d1991. British prima ballerina widely considered to be one of the greatest of the 20th century. She married playboy Robert Arias in 1955 with whom she had an unhappy marriage. Arias was shot by a rival politician in 1965 leaving him a quadriplegic. His huge medical bills forced the loyal Fonteyn to dance well into her 60th year, despite suffering from arthritis in one of her feet. She died of cancer in 1991 aged 71.