Remembering Nureyev: The Trail of a Comet

by Rudi van Dantzig, Katie de Haan (Translator)

Famously volatile, fickle in his passions for people, but with astonishing charisma onstage and off, Rudolf Nureyev is regarded as one of the greatest male ballet dancers of the twentieth century. In 1968, Nureyev approached Rudi van Dantzig for permission to dance in one of van Dantzig's ballets. So began a close friendship and artistic collaboration that lasted until Nureyev's death in 1993. This searing memoir is an uncompromising look at artists in relationship. The passion for dance that drove both men created a bond that was constantly strained by Nureyev's outrageous lifestyle and van Dantzig's uncompromising idea of how his work should be portrayed. Worlds apart in temperament, van Dantzig's demands for high-caliber performances led to the eventual firing of Nureyev as the dancer's prowess waned. This is a book balletomanes cannot miss, with an eagle-eyed sharpness that never dissolves into hagiography or gossip.

Genres: Nonfiction

304 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1999

About the author

Rudi van Dantzig (Amsterdam, 4 August 1933 - 19 January 2012), was a Dutch choreographer, ballet dancer and writer. Since 1965 he was co-artistic leader of Het Nationale Ballet (Amsterdam, The Netherlands). After Sonia Gaskell (left in 1969) and his other colleague left in 1971, he was the only artistic leader, till 1991.

In 1986 he wrote an autobiographical novel, Voor een verloren soldaat, about his love affair while a young boy with a Canadian soldier, which became a great success. It was awarded several times and a film was made of it. An English translation, For a Lost Soldier, was published in 1996. Van Dantzig published a biography of the Dutch artist and resistance fighter Willem Arondeus in 2003.

Van Dantzig died in 2012, aged 78 from lymphoma and male breast cancer.

Reviews

[Derk · Rating 5 out of 5]

Een heerlijk boek. Het riep de tijd op dat ik daar zelf werkte als pianist. Ik heb Noerejev daar overigens nooit gezien. Wel heel wat van de andere dansers en anderen die in het boek voorkomen. Het riep de heerlijke tijd bij me op: het einde van het NB in de Stadsschouwburg en daarna het begin in het Muziektheater. Piano studeren tot diep in de nacht, tot de portier je er uit kwam jagen. (Daar gaat het boek natuurlijk niet over.)
Wat een tragische levensgeschiedenis. Prachtig kleurrijk, beeldend en menselijk verteld door Rudi van Dantzig.

[Anastasia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Unlike most of the books written about Rudolf Nureyev, The Trail of a Comet is not aimed to critisize or emphasize the absurd habits and attitudes of the dancer. This book was written by a friend and colleague of the ballet legend and it is a book about true friendship and true professionalism.
You don't want to read this book too quickly. Like a good dish or wine, you want to savour every word and enjoy every page, observing extravagant life, sensational career and complex relationships of the dancer.
Apart from being a brilliant choreographer, Van Dantzig has a beautiful writing style full of metaphors. The way he describes Nureyev makes you feel like you know him personally and you begin to understand complexity of his character a little better. You learn that he was not only an outstanding, lyrical dancer, that he was not only an eccentric, demanding and self-centred but also that he was scared of the "system" most of his life, that he was afraid to be unwanted or forgotten and most importantly that he was very lonely.
I have been deeply moved by the warmth with which the book was written.
Van Dantzig describes the last months, weeks and days of Rudolf's life with so much love, emphasizing loneliness and vulnerability of the star, that the last bits of judgement and criticism are replaced by compassion and sadness in the eyes of a reader.
In the last months of his life,  Rudolf gets himself a dog and names him Solor. It feels like his last attempt to have someone close to him.
 ""Solor". Wearily he tries to turn his head toward the black dog that has entered the room and immediately cowers back again. "Come here", but the dog disappears in fear, its nails clicking over the wooden floor. "I want him to sleep on my bed, but he refuses. I like him to be close to me""
It's fascinating to follow this unusual friendship of two extraordinary people so different in many ways. Dutch humblenes of Van Dantzig and Russian "exaggeration " of Nureyev are so controversial and yet the bond
that these two have developed is remarkable in so many ways.
This book gives the reader a glimpse on the masterpieces like Le Corsaire, La Bayadere (and many more world renowned ballet pieces) and the legends such as Margot Fonteyn, Sonja Marchiolli and Alexandra Radius (to name a few). It's educational,  it's sincere, it's touching... It is certainly the book to read and to keep.

[Brenda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just had to read this one..... Been to the academy for Ballet when I was young...

[Monique · Rating 5 out of 5]

Prachtig eerbetoon van Nederlands grootste danser en choreograaf aan een fantastisch en eigenzinnig danser.