British Dance Photographer Rosemary Winkley original vintage silver gelatin photograph of 20th Century dance icon and legend Rudolph Nureyev performing “Moments” by modern dance choreographer Murray Louis in 1975.

Photograph is 8 x 10 inches in excellent condition printed on a light textured silver gelatin photographic paper. Photograph is from the photographer’s personal collection. 

Rosemary Winkley (born 1931) is a prominent British freelance dance photographer active throughout the 1960s, 70s, and 80s. Operating primarily out of London, Winkley specialized in capturing live performing arts, theater, and contemporary dance. Her stark, high-contrast black-and-white photography style perfectly preserved the dramatic lines, physical musculature, and intense emotional expression of dancers mid-motion. 

Winkley’s extensive body of work serves as a vital historical record of the mid-to-late 20th-century dance boom, capturing iconic portraits of touring international dance companies, choreographers, and legendary performers like Nureyev during their peak years. She was the twin sister of Patricia Barnes who for 20 plus years was married to NY Times drama and dance critic Clive Barnes. 
 
Rudolf Nureyev (1938–1993) was a Soviet-born ballet dancer and choreographer widely considered one of the greatest dance artists of the 20th century. In 1975, Nureyev broke traditional boundaries by crossing over from classical ballet into the world of contemporary American modern dance, collaborating as a guest artist with Paul Taylor, Martha Graham and the Murray Louis Dance Company.

Nureyev completely revolutionized the role of the male ballet dancer, elevating it from a secondary supportive partner for the ballerina to an equal, highly athletic focal point of the performance. After defecting from the Soviet Union in 1961, he attained global pop-icon status and later served as the director of the Paris Opera Ballet.
 
Murray Louis (1926–2016) was an influential American modern dancer, teacher, and choreographer renowned for his fluid, witty, and highly physical movement style. He originally created Moments in 1975. He went on to choreograph several other major pieces specifically for Nureyev, including the solo Vivace and The Canarsie Venus, which they jointly toured internationally to massive acclaim across New York, London, and Paris during the late 1970s.

Alongside his lifelong artistic and personal partner, Alwin Nikolais, he founded the influential Nikolais/Louis dance technique, which focuses on the core principles of shape, space, time, and motion. Over his 50-year career, Louis choreographed over 130 works.