Cragun spent one year at the Royal Ballet school, working with Errol Addison and Harold Turner.

At age 17, Cragun went to Copenhagen, Denmark, to privately train with Vera Volkova, who was responsible for polishing his remarkable classical technique.

[5] Besides his appearances with leading companies in Germany, Cragun danced in Denmark, Belgium, the Netherlands, England, Sweden, Italy, Canada, the United States, and Japan.

[6] Cragun was described as a big, handsome man, with a powerful physique who danced with dazzling virtuosity and distinct virility, a perfect foil for the brilliant technique and delicate femininity of Haydée.

Flawless triple tours en l'air were his trademark, an athletic feat accomplished only by such bravura dancers as Edward Villella and Mikhail Baryshnikov on rare occasions.

"[3] He won high praise for his performances in principal roles in Cranko's Romeo und Julia, Onegin, and, especially, The Taming of the Shrew.

The role suited his robustly masculine and charismatic stage personality and provided a first-class showcase for his virtuosity and partnering skills.

"[2] In the course of his long career, Cragun created many roles in the ballets of John Cranko and other European choreographers.

Cragun also became ballet director at the city's Teatro Municipal, where, he managed a company of 70 dancers and staged works from the Stuttgart repertory.

A friend gave this report of Cragun's funeral: "The most moving moment at yesterday's cremation ceremony in Rio came when the flower-covered coffin began to move away, and Richard's friends and admirers, led by Marcia Haydée, stood, applauded, and cried out 'Bravo', as they had so many times at the end of his magnificent performances.