Vaslav Nijinsky Overview

It has been said that no photograph ever captured the mysterious allure of Vaslav Nijinsky. The cameras of his time were too slow to capture the spectacular height of his leap, and static images could never depict the sensuality of his... [more]

It has been said that no photograph ever captured the mysterious allure of Vaslav Nijinsky. The cameras of his time were too slow to capture the spectacular height of his leap, and static images could never depict the sensuality of his dancing. Both men and women were drawn to his powerfully expressive (and seductive) performances: poet Jean Cocteau advised the young Nijinsky to rouge his cheeks and color his lips, and the liberated Isadora Duncan asked him to father her child (an invitation he declined). According to his biographer, he emanated an enticing and sometimes shocking virility. He was an early-twentieth-century sex symbol. Nijinsky had an androgynous physique that enhanced his cross-gender attraction. Considered "conspicuously masculine in tights," his powerfully muscular legs supported a slender torso that was accented with graceful, feminine arms. He danced roles of sexually potent men in costumes that sported paradoxically feminine elements like spaghetti straps, low d'colletage, and rose petals. And his sexual contradiction extended into his personal life. For years he was the lover of Serge Diaghilev, the Ballets Russes impresario who orchestrated the dancer's international fame; however, Nijinsky married Romola Pulsky, a Hungarian socialite whom many credit with ruining his career. Christened "God of the Dance," Nijinsky embodied male virtuosity in ballet -- in fact, his renown eclipsed the iconic status that ballerinas commanded for most of the previous century. With the international recognition he drew, his performances were the major box office draws for the Ballets Russes. Under Diaghilev's tutelage, Nijinsky choreographed for the company. He created four ballets, two of which are regarded as genius and revolutionary. The Greek-style 'L'Apres-midi d'un Faune' ('Afternoon of a Faun') premiered on May 29, 1912, in Paris. The choreography of the 12-minute ballet has a two-dimensional style -- the flattened poses, simple movements, and gestures were inspired by the Greek vase collection at the Louvre. Set to Debussy's 'Pr'lude' and inspired by a Mallarm' poem of the same title, it created scandal. Nijinski's faun, aroused after gamboling with bathing nymphs, enjoys an autoerotic encounter with a nymph's scarf. The French press lambasted the sexual impropriety and poor taste of the ballet's ending; however, the scandal piqued the public's interest. The ballet was performed to sold-out houses for the remainder of its theatrical run. Nijinsky's third ballet, the orgiastic-nihilistic 'Le Sacre du Printemps' ('The Rite of Spring') is considered a landmark of Modernism. The ballet was the brainchild of composer Stravinsky. He wrote the libretto, which is set during a pagan rite that culminates in the sacrifice (by dancing to the death, of course) of a virgin. The ballet's movements -- turned-in feet, contorted torsos, bent knees -- were not traditionally beautiful. The choreography, which featured sections performed with dancers' backs to the audience, was revolutionary. Nijinsky's innovations disregarded virtuosity and classical ballet lines. The audience erupted into a riot at the premiere, outraged by the blasphemous subject matter. Nijinsky's brilliant career as a choreographer and performer was cut drastically short by a nervous breakdown he suffered in his mid-twenties. He returned to dancing in his thirties, but was subsequently hospitalized as suffering from chronic schizophrenia. [show less]