Directions of the Dance

Archive Report

Growth of Dance in the Performing Arts

Lure of Western Ballet to Defecting Soviet Stars

To people who have watched the growth and ferment in American dance activity in the performing arts during the past two decades, it could hardly come as a surprise that ballerina Natalia Makarova decided to leave her native Russia for these shores. The 30-year-old dancer was one of the leading stars of the Kirov ballet in Leningrad until her defection to the West. Like the departure of Rudolf Nureyev in 1961, Miss Makarova's decision in September 1970 was based largely on artistic considerations. American ballet, she said in London upon being granted asylum, moves “constantly ahead, progressing to other things.”

That she chose to sign a year's contract with the American Ballet ...

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