Rudolf Nureyev & Erik Bruhn | A Christmas Trip To The Ballet With Irina Klyagin

Welcome back to the Christmas special of Past Loves - the weekly history podcast that explores affection, infatuation and attachment across time.

With Covid and the closure of so many theatres this year, it only seemed apt to take the Past Loves Christmas special to the stage. So for this very special episode, I am joined by Irina Klyagin - a Russian ballet scholar who looks after Harvard University’s extensive theatre collection at the Houghton Library - to discuss the love story between Rudolf Nureyev and Erik Bruhn.

Erik was the Danish ice to Rudolf's Russian fire and the two were both titans within the ballet world, defining an era. Their art was, therefore, at the heart of their relationship and was so from the very beginning. When Rudolf defected to the West from the Soviet Union, it was his aim to meet and train with Erik. He knew that was where he was meant to be. They learnt from each other, honing their talent to become two of the most famous male ballet dancers in history.

Their love story is one of passion which I very much hope you enjoy. May your festive season be full of light and love. Merry Christmas!

Where To Find Us

More about Irina: https://library.harvard.edu/staff/irina-klyagin

Discover Julie Kavanagh's Rudolf Nureyev: https://www.waterstones.com/book/rudolf-nureyev/julie-kavanagh/9780241986905

Discover Diane Solway's Nureyev: His Life: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Nureyev-His-Life-Diane-Solway/dp/0688128734/

Follow Past Loves on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pastlovespodcast/

If Past Loves has become your current love, you can email me at pastlovespodcast@gmail.com