Russian ballerina defects to the west
Witness History
BBC
4.5 • 1.6K Ratings
🗓️ 10 January 2024
⏱️ 10 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
In 1970, Natalia Makarova became the first female ballet star to defect to the West from Russia.
The dancer claimed asylum during a UK tour, nine years after another Russian dancer, Rudolf Nureyev, had defected.
Natalia later joined the American Ballet Theatre in New York. She wouldn’t return to her home country for almost 20 years.
Jane Wilkinson has been looking through the archive to discover the reasons behind her defection.
(Photo: Natalia Makarova in New York, 1980. Credit: Brownie Harris/Corbis via Getty Image
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Take some time for yourself with soothing classical music from the mindful mix, |
| 0:06.0 | the Science of Happiness Podcast. |
| 0:08.0 | For the last 20 years I've dedicated my career to exploring the science of living a happier more meaningful life and I want |
| 0:14.4 | to share that science with you. |
| 0:16.1 | And just one thing, deep calm with Michael Mosley. |
| 0:19.4 | I want to help you tap in to your hidden relaxation response system and open the door to that |
| 0:25.4 | calmer place within. Listen on BBC Sounds. Hello, welcome to the Witness History podcast from the BBC World Service with me Jane Wilkinson. |
| 0:41.6 | I'm taking you back through the BBC Archives to 1970 |
| 0:46.0 | and the defection of one of Russia's greatest ballerinas, |
| 0:50.0 | a star of the Kirov Ballet Company, |
| 0:52.0 | who walked out during a UK tour of London. |
| 0:57.0 | After the final performance tonight at the festival hall, the Russian Ballet Company will be leaving England without any real clue as to where |
| 1:04.1 | their leading ballerina Natalia Makarov is right now, nor do they know why she actually |
| 1:09.2 | defected to Britain. Some feel perhaps that Miss Markerova having enjoyed a very successful six-week |
| 1:15.3 | season here might have become captivated by the much more relaxing atmosphere that apparently |
| 1:20.6 | visiting dancers do enjoy when they come to this country. |
| 1:23.2 | Just days later on the current affairs programme 24 hours, |
| 1:27.2 | Natalia Makarovarova emerged to explain her reasons, |
| 1:30.5 | speaking through an interpreter. I thought about it a great deal. |
| 1:35.0 | There was a lot for and a lot against. |
| 1:38.0 | But I have no doubts. |
| 1:42.0 | I've made a firm decision and it's my own decision. |
... |
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