In the 1960s, Russian ballet dancer Rudolf Nureyev, who is widely considered the greatest male ballet dancer of his generation, was described as a “wild animal out of a cage” and “one of the most electrifying male dancers of all time.” Nureyev displayed masterful and unsurpassed control over his body in every move; to watch him dance is to see poetry and music in motion. More than any other dancer, he transformed the role of men in ballet, and reinterpreted it, putting it on equal footing as that of women dancers. As a choreographer, Nureyev also reworked Swan Lake to give a more dominant role to the male dancer. Since then, male ballet dancers have risen to ‘icon’ statuses, with popular names such as Mikhail Baryshnikov and Roberto Bolle. In Egypt, the history of male ballet dancers also extends back to the 60s, which saw the rise of big names like Reda Sheta, Abdel Moneim Kamel and Tarik Saleh. However, lack of adequate support, funding and training presents a growing risk of losing a whole generation of young male dancers in ballet. Luca Abdel-Nour is a ballet dancer that we desperately…
‘You Have to Take a Leap of Faith’: Meet Egyptian-French Ballet Dancer Luca Abdel-Nour
May 8, 2021
