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Pierre Lacotte, Choreographer Who Aided a Defection, Dies at 91 Pierre Lacotte, Choreographer Who Aided a Defection, Dies at 91
(about 11 hours later)
Pierre Lacotte, a French choreographer and dance historian who was known for researching and restaging 19th-century ballets — and also for playing a modest role in helping the dancer Rudolf Nureyev defect from the Soviet Union in 1961, which made headlines around the world — died on Monday in La Seyne-sur-Mer, in southern France. He was 91.Pierre Lacotte, a French choreographer and dance historian who was known for researching and restaging 19th-century ballets — and also for playing a modest role in helping the dancer Rudolf Nureyev defect from the Soviet Union in 1961, which made headlines around the world — died on Monday in La Seyne-sur-Mer, in southern France. He was 91.
The National Opera of Paris posted news of his death on its website. His wife, the dancer Ghislaine Thesmar, told Agence France-Presse that the cause was sepsis from an infected cut.The National Opera of Paris posted news of his death on its website. His wife, the dancer Ghislaine Thesmar, told Agence France-Presse that the cause was sepsis from an infected cut.
Mr. Lacotte had a long career in dance; just two years ago, at age 89, he choreographed and designed an adaptation of the 1830 Stendhal novel “The Red and the Black” for the Paris Opera Ballet. But the real-life drama in which he was involved more than 60 years ago brought him almost as much attention as his dance works.Mr. Lacotte had a long career in dance; just two years ago, at age 89, he choreographed and designed an adaptation of the 1830 Stendhal novel “The Red and the Black” for the Paris Opera Ballet. But the real-life drama in which he was involved more than 60 years ago brought him almost as much attention as his dance works.
Mr. Nureyev was 23 and already generating buzz for his powerful dancing when he went to Paris in 1961 with the Kirov Ballet of Leningrad. At a reception after the Kirov’s opening performance on May 16 (in which Mr. Nureyev did not perform), the Soviet dancers were keeping to themselves, as were the French dancers who had been invited, Mr. Lacotte among them. But eventually, Mr. Nureyev began inching across the divide.Mr. Nureyev was 23 and already generating buzz for his powerful dancing when he went to Paris in 1961 with the Kirov Ballet of Leningrad. At a reception after the Kirov’s opening performance on May 16 (in which Mr. Nureyev did not perform), the Soviet dancers were keeping to themselves, as were the French dancers who had been invited, Mr. Lacotte among them. But eventually, Mr. Nureyev began inching across the divide.
“This one is completely different,” Mr. Lacotte remarked to friends, according to Julie Kavanagh’s “Nureyev: The Life” (2007). “You can see from the way he is looking around that he’s interested in everything: He’s talking with his eyes.”
Mr. Nureyev did not speak French, but both men spoke English. The two became friends, and Mr. Nureyev, in defiance of his K.G.B. watchdogs, went on excursions around Paris with Mr. Lacotte and other French dancers. And when Mr. Nureyev made his Paris debut in a performance on May 19, “he was like a tiger,” Mr. Lacotte said.