Chapter 1: How did Blue Robinson's unexpected job with Rudolf Nureyev begin?
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Chapter 2: What was Blue's childhood like on the Isle of Jersey?
Have you ever had a job that was totally unexpected?
Not something you could have predicted yourself doing in a million years? Simon Blue Robinson certainly has. Blue spent a year as personal assistant and private secretary to the legendary ballet dancer Rudolf Nureyev. Before that, Blue had played rugby, surfed a lot and sailed yachts in the Caribbean. By his own account, he knew absolutely nothing about dance.
And then he found himself working for Nureyev, celebrated as the greatest male ballet dancer of the 20th century. Nureyev had defected from the USSR in 1961, slipping away from his KGB minders in Paris during the height of the Cold War. The drama of his personal story, along with his phenomenal talent, made Rudolf Nureyev an international sensation.
His career included dancing with the Royal Ballet in London and directing the Paris Opera Ballet.
Chapter 3: What experiences led Blue to work on yachts in the Caribbean?
But by the time Blue met him, Nureyev was carrying a secret, was one that would ultimately claim his life. Hi, Blue.
Hi, Sarah.
Let's begin very far from the glamorous world of international dance, the Isle of Jersey, where you grew up. What sort of place was it when you were a kid?
Jersey is a, it was and is a wonderful place. It's a very small island, probably about 116, 117 square kilometers. And it's in the bay near Normandy, very close to France. So people will know of Mont Saint-Michel, San Marlo. It's, you know, 10 or 12 miles from France, a long way from England.
Chapter 4: How did Blue first meet Rudolf Nureyev and what was that encounter like?
So it is an island place. you know, way, way south of the English Channel. It's got a very large west-facing beach and small sandy beaches around it with some cliffs on top. There's no heavy industry on Jersey, so the atmosphere is very clean, the sea is relatively warm, and the surf can be pretty big. So it's a great place to grow up as a young surfer.
How did you spend your time as a boy?
I really, I mean, outdoors was everything. And the ocean, because the island is so small and it's quite packed, there's 110,000 people on it. So it's quite busy. So if you want some peace and quiet and fun, you go offshore.
Chapter 5: What were Blue's primary responsibilities as Nureyev's assistant?
You go in a kayak or you surf or you sail. And I learned to sail at school. Then I joined a cadet force and it was pleasure. It was great fun.
And what was the usual career trajectory for boys like you on Jersey?
Most of my friends, most of my mates went into finance because Jersey was occupied in the Second World War and after the war it was kind of desolate and it had to do something to pick up itself. So it adjusted tax, set tax laws at a low rate That allowed people to go in and invest in the island, and there was a lot of banking there.
So finance was the route, which I thought about for a while, but it wasn't going to be a good fit.
Did your parents give you any advice about whether they thought you should stay or leave the island?
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Chapter 6: How did Nureyev's health impact his career and relationship with Blue?
My father is a Scotsman, and he travelled a lot before he came to Jersey and met Mum. And he sat myself and my brother down and said, you know, Jersey's beautiful, it's very safe, it's a great place to be, but you must travel. You must go and have a look. You know, have an escape plan and come back with some funds, but please, please, you know, spread your wings a bit.
It's like living in a village. You either stay or you go.
So while a lot of the friends around you, Blue, were making their way in finance... You began your professional life in childcare.
How did you get interested in that?
I did.
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Chapter 7: What were some memorable moments during Blue's time with Nureyev?
I left school at 16, went into a shipyard. You know, school wasn't for me. I wanted to use my hands. I wanted to be around boats. And then a friend made sure that I got a job in a TV company, a cable TV company. just when cable TV was emerging. And so I was part of that planning operation there. And again, it wasn't a fit.
So I went to Kathmandu with a great friend and was really confronted by poverty and dark child mutilation I saw and heard of. We were going through the back streets of Kathmandu and staying in houses and shelters and what have you.
Chapter 8: What lessons did Blue learn from his year with Nureyev and how did it shape his future?
And that adjusted the way I thought about I was going to go back to a very wealthy, very organized island, and I didn't feel comfortable doing that. So I applied for a job in childcare, and that then led to a job in London in a girls' residential school as a team leader there.
And what was that atmosphere like at a girls' residential school in London?
It was hectic. There were a lot of fights. There was a lot of violence. There was a lot of riots. And the girls had been abused. They were troubled. They'd been rejected. And they were angry with the world. And I had some amazing colleagues. And there was a school on the grounds and we ran the residential side. And it was about order. It was about getting a routine into their lives.
It was getting food into their lives, nutrition. And sometimes it worked. Quite often it was just chaos. But you just kept going.
So how did your time there come to an end, Luke?
I was in a normal meeting with a colleague and one of the girls and the girl just got up and fractured my colleague's jaw. Fractured her skull, in fact, with a punch, a single punch. And that was really confronting right next to me. So I had meetings with my boss and he said, look, you've been here a while, maybe you need a break. 18 months is a long time in this unit.
And right then, a friend of mine had said, do you want a guest on a yacht that I'm sailing across the Atlantic?
I need friends like yours, Blue.
Stick around. I'll introduce you. And of course, I thought, well, am I going to do this? Am I going to do this career? And everybody around me said, you're not staying. You need to get on this yacht. This is really you. So go. Go on a sabbatical.
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