Vaclav Nijinsky: biography, date and place of birth, ballet, creativity, personal life, interesting facts and stories, date and cause of death

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

The biography of Vaslav Nijinsky should be well known to all fans of art, especially Russian ballet. This is one of the most famous and talented Russian dancers of the early 20th century, who became a true innovator of dance. Nijinsky was the main prima ballerina of Diaghilev's Russian Ballet, as a choreographer he staged "Afternoon of a Faun", "Til Ulenspiegel", "The Rite of Spring", "Games". He said goodbye to Russia in 1913, since then he lived in exile.

Biography of the dancer

The biography of Vaslav Nijinsky is classic for a creative person of his time. He was born in 1889, March 12, was born in Kyiv. His parents were Polish ballet dancers, so he decided to follow in their footsteps. The name of Vaslav Nijinsky's father is Tomasz, his mother's name was EleonoraBereda.

At the time of the birth of Vaclav, Eleonora was 33 years old, she was five years older than her husband. Wenceslas was baptized in Catholic Warsaw, he was the second child in the family. Two years later, his parents had a daughter, who was named Bronislava.

From early childhood, the father introduced all his children to dancing, this played a big role in the life of Vaslav Nijinsky, whose biography is the subject of our review. He himself first appeared on stage at the age of five, performing a hopak as an entreprise on tour at the Odessa Theater.

Nijinsky's parents performed in the troupe of Josef Setov, after his death in 1894 the troupe finally broke up. Tomasz tried to assemble his own team, but went bankrupt, the enterprise failed, many years of wandering began, in which the family was interrupted by odd jobs.

Researchers of the biography of Vaslav Nijinsky claim that in those years, a young boy began to help his father, speaking at holidays and fairs with small, but bright and spectacular numbers. For example, reliable information has been preserved about his performances in Nizhny Novgorod on Christmas Day.

In 1897, Vaclav's father left the family. During a tour in Finland, he fell in love with a young soloist Rumyantseva. The parents of the hero of our article officially divorced. Eleanor with all three children went to St. Petersburg, where her youth friend Stanislav Gillert lived. This was a well-known Polish dancer from the capital, who himself taught at the St. Petersburg Ballet School and promised to help his family. Nijinsky than can.

Ballet education

Vaclav Nijinsky's older brother, whose name was Stanislav, and at home everyone called Stasik, fell out of the window as a child. Since then, he began to have disorders, as they said, "he was not of this world." Therefore, his parents did not send him anywhere to study, but as soon as they got to St. Petersburg, the hero of our article was sent by his mother to a ballet class. The experience gained from his father helped, he was accepted quite easily.

Two years later, his sister Bronislava entered the same ballet school. It is worth noting that not only Stanislav, but also Vatslav was distinguished by strange behavior in the Nijinsky family. The first manifestations of mental disorders in the hero of our article were discovered when he studied at a ballet school. He was even sent for examination to a clinic for the mentally ill, but nothing happened. Researchers and biographers suggest that some kind of hereditary disease was most likely to blame.

Everyone soon forgot about Vaslav Nijinsky's problems, his talent was so undeniable that the ballet school decided to turn a blind eye to some of his oddities. As a result, Vaclav attracted the attention of the recently outstanding dancer Nikolai Legat, whose views at that time were already considered somewhat outdated, but he was still appreciated and considered with his opinion.

In 1905, Nijinsky took part in an examination ballet, which was organized for the students of his school. It was staged by an innovative teacher who was gaining popularity in those years, Mikhail Fokin. Moreover, this was his first performance aschoreographer, he decided that he would stage Acis and Galatea. Vaclav got the role of the Faun, although he was not yet a graduate, but in terms of talent and skill level he surpassed many who had already graduated from ballet school.

The demonstration performance took place at the Mariinsky Theater on April 10, 1905. 15-year-old Nijinsky first appeared on the main Russian stage. All the newspapers that came out the next day unanimously noted the amazing talent of the young talent. Journalists and theater critics wrote that the young artist Nijinsky amazed and amazed everyone, but he still had to study at a ballet school for another two years, which meant that his skills would only be honed. Everyone noted his exceptional physical data and talent. Beautiful and smooth movements, the ease with which he performed each element of the dance. The main thing that everyone wanted was for him not to stop developing, being remembered only as a bright child prodigy, but to grow into a real ballet star.

Performance at the Mariinsky Theater

Telling a brief biography of Vaslav Nijinsky, it is necessary to mention the period of his work at the Mariinsky Theatre. After the triumphant performance of the role of the Faun, he was invited to perform permanently already in 1906. Nijinsky's career in this theater was bright, but short-lived. Already in 1911 he was dismissed with a scandal. During the ballet "Giselle" he appeared on stage not in harem pants, unusual for the public of that time, but in tight tights. Sketches for costumes for the ballet were designed by Benois, Nijinsky liked this approachsoul.

Among the audience in the hall were members of the imperial family, they had a permanent box at the Mariinsky Theater, they attended almost all the premieres. According to historians, the outfit of young Wenceslas was most outraged by the dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna. First of all, he seemed too frank to her, she insisted to accuse the artist of depraved behavior.

Later, when he began to play the role of the Faun in the play, which he staged himself, he was again accused of obscenity, excessive eroticism. His movements on the stage seemed to some viewers similar to masturbation, especially when he enthusiastically clings to the cape left on the shore by the Nymph.

Modern art connoisseurs say that his performances were far ahead of their time, and in Tsarist Russia there was a strong influence of the prim Victorian era. But we have to admit that the theme of sexuality played a huge role not only in the work of Vaslav Nijinsky, but also in his mental disorder.

Working with Diaghilev

Almost immediately after graduating from the school, Vaclav was invited to work by Sergei Diaghilev, so that the young man would take part in his ballet seasons. From 1909 he danced with Diaghilev. It was there that he got his nickname Birdman for his ability to make incredibly high jumps.

Dyagilev took the troupe all over Europe, gathering huge halls. In Paris they performed with the repertoire of the Mariinsky Theatre. From 1907 to 1911, "Chopiniana, or Sylphides", "Pavilion of Armida" were staged on the main French stage,"Giselle", "Egyptian Nights, or Cleopatra", "Swan Lake".

In addition to these productions, there was a successful divertissement called "Feast" to the music of domestic composers, "Carnival" to the music of Schumann, "Petrushka" by Stravinsky, "Daphnis and Chloe" by Ravel, "Scheherazade" by Rimsky-Korsakov, "Vision of the Rose" by Weber. During the last ballet, Vaslav Nijinsky amazed everyone with his jump. He just disappeared into the window. Describing what he saw, the French poet and playwright Jean Cocteau, who collaborated with Diaghilev, argued that it was a jump that denied the very laws of equilibrium in the world, a high and curved flight ended with Nijinsky simply disappearing into the window.

Own productions

The talent of Vaclav Fomich Nijinsky was always encouraged by his main mentor Diaghilev. He was the first to advise the hero of our article to try himself not only as a dancer, but also as a choreographer.

Secretly from Fokine, Nijinsky begins to rehearse his first ballet. His choice stops at the production of "Afternoon of a Faun" to the music of Debussy. Vaclav builds the entire choreography exclusively on profile poses, which he borrows from the paintings of ancient Greek vases. Diaghilev infected Nijinsky with eurythmics and rhythmoplasty, which the latter actively uses in productions.

"The Afternoon of a Faun" was released in 1912, the following year Nijinsky staged his second ballet, "The Rite of Spring" to music by Stravinsky, in the same aesthetics. Composer writesthe work, using dissonance as freely as possible, while relying on tonality, its choreography is based on complex combinations of rhythms. This production becomes one of the first expressionist ballets in history.

"The Rite of Spring" was not immediately accepted by viewers and critics, the premiere already turned into a scandal. The audience again, as after the ballet "Afternoon of a Faun", was outraged and shocked by the final erotic scene. Vatslav Fomich Nijinsky has always paid great attention to the topic of sex.

In 1913, he staged another ballet - this is "Games" to the music of Debussy, its main distinguishing feature is the complete absence of a plot. In all his first productions, Nijinsky emphasized the opposition to the elegance of the classical style and anti-romanticism, familiar to all admirers of the ballet of that time.

Vaclav Nijinsky's ballet literally charmed the French public. The Parisian theatrical community seemed to be ingenious for the artist's dramatic talent, as well as his unusual and even exotic appearance. As a choreographer, Nijinsky has always been a bold and non-trivial director who opened up new ways and possibilities for ballet in plastic, returned to male dance the virtuosity and former priority that had been lost by that time. At the same time, it is worth recognizing that Vaclav owes much of his success to Sergei Diaghilev, who always believed in him and supported him in the most daring and unexpected experiments.

Personal life of a dancer

Biography and personalThe life of Vaslav Nijinsky has always been under the scrutiny of his fans. It is no longer a secret that Nijinsky was a homosexual. In his youth, he had an intimate relationship with Prince Pavel Dmitrievich Lvov, later Sergei Diaghilev became his lover.

He was officially married. This happened when in 1913 the troupe went on tour to South America. On the ship, he met his fan, an aristocrat from Hungary, Romola Pulskaya. Having reached their destination, they entered into an official marriage in one of the South American countries. It happened on September 10, 1913. Moreover, the marriage was secret, they did not even inform their relatives about it.

Sergey Diaghilev learned about what happened from his servant Vasily, who was assigned to Nijinsky to look after him. The personal life of Vaslav Nijinsky was under constant control. Diaghilev himself did not go on tour to South America. Vasily sent a telegram to his boss, who immediately fell into a rage, deciding to expel the dancer from the troupe. In fact, this episode ended his career, which had such a dizzying start.

The fact is that the relationship between Diaghilev and Vaslav Nijinsky up to this point was built on complete trust. The dancer did not sign any contracts with his entrepreneur and did not receive an official salary, unlike other artists who worked for Diaghilev. Diaghilev simply paid for Nijinsky everywhere himself, the dancer did not think about money and his future. That is why he succeededget rid of his main star without any delay.

The personal life had a great influence on the biography of Vaslav Nijinsky. After the break with Diaghilev, he found himself without a livelihood and without a job.

Author's entreprise

Now Vaslav Nijinsky, whose photo is presented in this article, was forced to look for options to earn money. He got into very difficult conditions. Being a ballet genius, he did not have the acumen of a producer and was never a prudent person. True, job offers appeared almost immediately. But he refused to head the Grand Opera ballet in Paris, deciding to create and promote his own entreprise. He managed to assemble a troupe, which included 17 people, among them was his sister Bronislava and her husband, who used to dance with Diaghilev, but left the entrepreneur, supporting her brother.

Nijinsky managed to get a contract with the Palace Theater in London. The repertoire included several of his author's productions, as well as Fokine's ballets, which the hero of our article underwent a radical alteration. These were "Carnival", "Phantom of the Rose" and "Sylphs".

But the tour could not be considered successful, they did not pay off, ending in failure and complete financial collapse. These circumstances led to another nervous breakdown, which happened to Nijinsky, his mental illness began to develop with frightening speed. After the first failure, failure followed him one after another. You can learn more about them from books about Vaslav Nijinsky, which describe himfate and biography. For example, this is the work of Richard Barkle, which is called "Nijinsky", the memoirs of the wife of Romola Nijinsky about the legendary dancer.

The last premiere of Nijinsky

In 1914 Nijinsky and his wife Romola had a daughter. When the First World War began, they were returning from St. Petersburg to Budapest. In Hungary, husband and wife were interned until 1916. Being under arrest, Nijinsky was very worried, this further aggravated his mental state, he languished from creative idleness.

At this time, Diaghilev, despite the outbreak of war, successfully continued his tour. He renewed his contract with Nijinsky to travel with the Russian Ballet to performances in South and North America. On April 12, 1916, the hero of our article returned to the stage of the Diaghilev Theater, performing his crowning roles in the productions of "Vision of the Rose" and "Petrushka". He captivated the audience of the Metropolitan Opera in New York.

In the same year, the premiere of Nijinsky's ballet "Til Ulenspiegel" to music by Strauss took place on the stage of the Manhattan Opera. This turned out to be the last premiere in his creative career, in which he was involved. Nijinsky traditionally performed the main part. The downside was that the performance was created in a hurry, we were running out of time, the author had a lot of interesting stage finds, but the production ended up failing anyway.

Fatal disease

Unrest andthe failures of recent years have traumatized the already unstable psyche of Nijinsky. It is believed that his passion for Tolstoyanism, which was extremely popular at that time among the creative intelligentsia, played a special role. Members of the Diaghilev troupe who adhered to these ideas inspired Vatslav that the acting profession was sinful, which further aggravated his illness.

On September 26, 1917, he appeared on stage for the last time in the production of "Vision of the Rose". After that, he settled with his family in Switzerland. Here he found peace of mind, even began to make creative plans again, developed a new dance recording system, planned to open his own school. In 1918, he outlined the main thoughts in a book, which, called "Vaclav Nijinsky's Diary", was published in 1953 in Paris.

However, the enlightenment was short-lived. He was nevertheless sent for treatment to a clinic for the mentally ill. The doctors diagnosed him with schizophrenia. Until the end of his life, he remained in various psychiatric clinics, in which he was helped with varying success.

In 1945, journalists discovered him in post-war Vienna, dancing among Soviet soldiers. He was greatly impressed by the meeting with his compatriots. Nijinsky, who had not spoken for a long time, began to communicate with the Poles in his native language. Many attempts were made to bring him back to life. In 1928, Diaghilev came to his clinic, trying to revive his mind with a dance. He took Nijinsky to the production of "Petrushka", but Vatslav remained indifferent to what he saw.

After the death of Diaghilev in 1929, such attempts were made by the wife of the dancer Romol. Once she even invited Serge Lifar to the hospital to dance in front of her husband. Lifar danced to exhaustion for several hours, but all this time Nijinsky remained absolutely indifferent to what was happening. Suddenly, as if some kind of force picked him up, he took off, hung in the air in a jump, as he always knew how to do on stage, and then immediately fell into unconsciousness. This moment of momentary enlightenment was captured by photographer Jean Monzon. The picture is known as the last jump of Vaslav Nijinsky.

Death of a genius

Nijinsky died in London in 1950. It happened on April 11, he was 61 years old. In 1953, his body was transported to Paris, where it was reburied in the Montmartre cemetery. Nearby was the grave of another legendary dancer, Gaetano Vestris, who performed in the 18th century, the playwright Théophile Gauthier, who is considered one of the founders of romantic ballet. On the tombstone of Nijinsky's grave, which is made of gray stone, sits a sad bronze jester with his head bowed.

The significance of Nijinsky's personality in the history of Russian and world ballet is hard to underestimate. Critics called it "the eighth wonder of the world." His stage partners, among whom were the star of the first magnitude Matilda Kshesinskaya, Tamara Karsavina, Olga Spesivtseva, Anna Pavlova, claimed that when he hung on stage in his unique fantastic jump, it seemed that a person was able to defeat the laws of gravity, having mastered the stateweightlessness.

As the audience who came to his performances noted, Nijinsky managed to achieve an absolute internal and external reincarnation on stage. This was a real breakthrough in the art of ballet, he was the first to discover the style of expressionism, which was established only many years later. He presented to the audience fundamentally new possibilities of plasticity. And all this for an incredibly short creative life, which lasted only about ten years.

In 1971 Maurice Béjart dedicated his ballet to the personality of Nijinsky. The production en titled "Nijinsky, God's Clown" was performed to the music of Pyotr Tchaikovsky.

Nijinsky was the main idol of his generation, a dancer who managed to combine lightness and strength on stage, striking the audience with jumps that took everyone's breath away. On stage, he exuded powerful magnetism, while in ordinary everyday life he was a silent and timid person.

In 2011, in the foyer of the Bolshoi Theater in Warsaw, a bronze sculpture of brother and sister, Vaclav and Bronislaw Nijinsky, in their famous images of Faun and Nymph in the famous production of "Afternoon of a Faun" was installed.