Vaslav Nijinsky was one of the most compelling figures of an explosion in the arts that took place at the beginning of the 20th century. He was both an innovative choreographer and an extraordinary performer, with a stage presence that perplexed his contemporaries. Here are ten interesting facts about Nijinsky’s life and his works, by way of an introduction to an remarkable dance universe.
From the nursery to the stage
Born into a family of ballet dancers, Nijinsky had an insider’s knowledge of the world of theatre. His parents were touring artists, so he grew up at rehearsals and performances. The stage was his natural environment, which he inhabited with the unselfconsciousness of a native.
An unusual entrée to ballet school
A boy with a fragile physique, he did not immediately convince everyone at the entrance exam that he had what it took to become a remarkable dancer. When he was asked to leap, Nijinsky amazed everyone with his display of strength, lightness and flexibility.
Unbound by the laws of physics
His name is still synonymous with incredible leaps. Eyewitnesses were convinced that he was capable of stopping mid-air when taking a jump. What they saw, of course, was not magic but a special harmony of technique, muscle work, timing and an ear for music.
An encounter that wrote dance history
It was not only as the legendary impresario of the Ballets Russes that Sergei Diaghilev became part of Nijinsky’s life: he maintained an artistic milieu in which leading composers, visual artists and designers of the period worked together. Thanks to him, Nijinsky, the choreographer, emerged beside the performer.
Radically new dances
While Nijinsky did not choreograph a very large number of works, every one of them left a strong mark on the history of ballet. The Afternoon of a Faun, Games and the scandalous premiere of The Rite of Spring all bore witness to a desire to discover the unknown.
Moving visual art
The Afternoon of a Faun consciously renounced the soft motions of the classical ballet. Nijinsky envisioned flat compositions, as if the figures on antique vases were stirring after their millennia-old dreams. The viewer’s attention was also captivated by the outlines of the bodies, their rhythm and pictorial arrangement.
The account of spring
Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring is a rhythmically and structurally complex work, and the choreography based on it required immense concentration. Instead of emotions, Nijinsky used a disciplined, calculating and constructing method.
Playful unorthodoxy
Games is compelling because, instead of a mythic or fabulous world, it is set in a modern milieu. For Nijinsky, ballet was more than an elegant museum of old stories. When he made the flirtation of young people on a tennis court his theme, he revealed his curiosity about his age.
The Hungarian connection
Nijinsky’s wife was Romola Pulszky, the daughter of Emília Márkus, a prominent actress of the time. An educated woman with a deep interest in the arts, she became an important part of the dancer’s life. Her memoir was key to ensuring that Nijinsky’s figure persisted in cultural memory.
Influence without borders
Vaslav Nijinsky’s influence went far beyond the ballet stage. From visual artists through costume and set designers to writers and critics, his contemporaries could not ignore him. They recognized that the dancer was a unique phenomenon whose novel attitude to the body set off revolutionary changes, and not only in dance.
