People

Deborah Bull is a Cross Bench Peer in the House of Lords. She danced with The Royal Ballet for 20 years and appeared alongside Nureyev – as Mercutio’s Harlot – in his final performance at the Royal Opera House in 1990. She has held senior executive roles at the Royal Opera House and King’s College London and non-executive roles at the BBC and Arts Council England. She has written extensively on dance and written and presented for radio and television, including the award-winning The Dancer’s Body. She was awarded a CBE for services to dance in 1999 and is the recipient of five honorary doctorates.

Thierry Fouquet is Director of Editions Mario Bois and former director of the National Opera of Bordeaux and deputy director of the Opéra National de Paris. In 1982 he was appointed dance administrator of the Paris Opéra by Rudolf Nureyev, remaining close to Nureyev until his death. He is a Knight in the National Order of the Legion of Honour, Knight in the National Order of Merit and Officer of Arts and Letters.

A protégé of Rudolf Nureyev, Charles Jude is a former étoile of the Paris Opéra who now stages Nureyev’s choreographies around the world. He danced an extensive repertoire in Paris and as an international guest artist, including on the Nureyev and Friends tours. From 1996-2017 he was director of the ballet of the Opéra National de Bordeaux. He has been awarded the Nijinsky Prize, Lifar Prize and been appointed Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres, Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur and Officier des Arts et des Lettres.

Carlo Bagutti is the Medical Director of the Vidymed Swiss Olympic Medical Centre in Lausanne and a member of the International Olympic Committee Athletes’ Entourage Commission as well as the Swiss Athletics Federation Medical team. He is the elected Chief Medical Officer for the Refugee Olympic Team and the referral doctor for dance companies and freelance dancers in Switzerland. 

Mavis Staines is Global Ambassador for Canada’s National Ballet School, having served as the School’s Artistic Director between 1989-2024: a 35-year tenure in which she was recognised as an innovator of evolved education practices. Prior to this, she danced with Het National Ballet (Amsterdam) and as a soloist with the National Ballet of Canada, where she was coached by Rudolf Nureyev and performed multiple roles in his Sleeping Beauty during the 1970s. She is a recipient of the 2019 Governor General’s Performing Arts Award, a Member of the Order of Canada and a recipient of two honorary doctorates.

Susanne Keicher is a professional trustee with Allgemeines Treuunternehmen (ATU) in Vaduz (Liechtenstein), where the Rudolf Nureyev Foundation is domiciled. She studied law in Zurich, completing her law degree in 2004 (lic. iur.) and joining ATU in 2007. In 2025, she was appointed President of the Board of Trustees of ATU.

John Mortlock is a senior finance professional who has held financial leadership roles in organisations including the Royal Opera House (London) and the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games. He lives and works in Berlin and specialises in strategic financial planning and support for arts and cultural organisations.

Claude Blum is a lawyer in Zurich (Switzerland) who acted for Rudolf Nureyev during his dancing career and as co-executor of his estate following his death. Dr Blum became a board member of the Foundation in the early 1980s and was its President from 2008-2024. 

Vadim Muntagirov is a Principal of The Royal Ballet who trained at Perm Ballet School before transferring to The Royal Ballet School. He has danced with English National Ballet and performed as a guest artist with companies including the Paris Opera Ballet, Mariinsky, American Ballet Theatre and the National Ballet of Japan.

Karen Kain is a former principal dancer with Canada’s National Ballet and was the company’s artistic director from 2005 to 2021. She was chosen by Nureyev to dance Aurora in his 1972 production of The Sleeping Beauty in Canada and on tour and restaged this production for the company in Toronto in 2006. 

Nehemiah Kish is an American dancer and a former principal with Canada’s National Ballet, the Royal Danish Ballet and The Royal Ballet. His interest in Nureyev led him to create and direct Nureyev: Legacy and Legend, performed at London’s Theatre Royal in 2022. 

Christian Spuck is the Artistic Director of the Staatsballett in Berlin, having danced in companies including the Stuttgart Ballet, where he was resident choreographer from 2001 2012. He was director of Ballett Zürich from 2012-2023, choreographing multiple works for the company and for dance and opera companies around the world. 

Hazel Province’s extensive career in the classical music industry includes roles as professional violinist, artists’ manager, executive and non-executive director. She has worked with many leading orchestras, opera and dance companies in the UK, spending a large part of her career at the Royal Opera House, London, first as Director of the Orchestra and subsequently as Director of Planning. She holds a number of non-executive roles, including as Chair of Opera UpClose.