Dance to Freedom

Half-hearted concessions to freedom of expression were not enough to hold Rudolf Nureyev in the Soviet Union. The young dancer, a superstar soloist of the Kirov Ballet, caused an international sensation when he became the first Soviet artist to defect to the West during the Cold War. The White Crow, a new film directed by Ralph Fiennes, charts Nureyev’s journey from childhood poverty in Siberia and meteoric rise as a principal dancer to the decisive moment of his defection in June 1961 at Le Bourget airport in Paris. The story’s personal and political drama surges through Sir David Hare’s screenplay and is intensified by the austere beauty of Ilan Eshkeri’s original score. Deutsche Grammophon artist Lisa Batiashvili plays a prominent off-screen role as soloist in the score to The White Crow. The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack of The White Crow is out now.