In 1963, esteemed ballet dancer Erik Bruhn performed the Black Swan Pas de Deux from Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake on primetime television in the USA. Two years later, Rudolf Nureyev performed the same dance, with a different female partner, for his appearance on another American variety show. In 2014, artist duo nova Milne erased the female ballerinas from the footage of each televised performance and brought Bruhn and Nureyev together in a pas de deux of their own...Nureyev and Bruhn – who were on-and-off lovers for twenty-five years – appear, posthumously, at once together and apart.

Performed by:
Erik Bruhn (1963)
Rudolf Nureyev (1965)

Work Details:
Digitised footage cast from the late Erik Bruhn and Rudolph Nureyev (televised February 10, 1963; February 4, 1965) from Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake Pas de Deux (1877); animation, 2 channel sync, 2 portrait screens, foiled cords, media players, steel structure, 5:00 min loop, silent.
Project supported by:
 Primetime