The Dancer Who Flew: A Memoir of Rudolf Nureyev

Few ballet dancers have held the world’s attention like Rudolf Nureyev. Naturally talented and technically brilliant, Nureyev had a charisma that knocked the dancing world on its heels. This stunning book is a very personal glimpse of a unique artist through the eyes of a fellow dancer and friend.

Linda Maybarduk was a first soloist with the National Ballet of Canada, one of Nureyev’s favorite companies. She tells the story of her colleague, her mentor, and her dear friend from his late start as a ballet dancer, through his escape to the West and meteoric rise to fame, to the sad ending of his career, when his body, but never his spirit, was defeated by age and illness.

Complete with a glossary of ballet terms, a useful reading list, and index, this is a book for both those who dance, and those who wish they did.

Linda Maybarduk was born in New York City and raised in Orlando, Florida. Educated at the National Ballet School in Toronto, she was a first soloist with the company. When Nureyev became associated with the National Ballet of Canada, they danced together and grew to be close friends. Nureyev stayed with Maybarduk whenever he was in Toronto, her sons were as close as nephews, and her daughter was his godchild. Linda Maybarduk is now retired from dance and lives in Toronto with her husband and children.