The defection of Russian ballet star Mikhail Baryshnikov in June 1974 has to rank as the most sensational off-stage drama that took place during the first 50 years of the Sony Centre (originally called the O'Keefe Centre and later the Hummingbird Centre).
The true inside story of what happened is recounted in delicious detail by John Fraser in his 1986 book Telling Tales.
Fraser would go on to become the China correspondent for the Globe and Mail and editor of Saturday Night magazine before landing on his current perch as master of Massey College. But in 1974 he was the Globe's ballet critic.
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