What cut short the creative ascent of Vaslav Nijinsky. Vaslav Nijinsky: Indecent egoist

For twenty-nine years of his life, Vaslav Nijinsky belonged to this world. It included a road from Mokhovaya to Teatralnaya to the Imperial Theater School. Granite descent to the Neva, on the steps of which he cried when he was fired from the Mariinsky. Paris, London and Nice, where he danced in the Diaghilev seasons. Diaghilev himself, who took away his love and freedom, but led to worldwide fame. Three productions that laid the foundation for the ballet of the twentieth century.

Then there were thirty years of living in our own world of dreams and fantasies, about which we know almost nothing. Because every schizophrenic has his own.
Perhaps his most enduring role was Petrushka in Stravinsky's ballet. The tragedy of a rag doll with a human soul was truly felt only in the 20th century. People gradually gained freedom, freeing themselves from the fetters of the illusory and real world in which their parents still lived. But this liberation brought terrible loneliness, because now the person himself was responsible for his life.
The theme of carnival, theatre, booth, fair was in demand in the artistic life of Russia at the beginning of the 20th century. Dolls suffering like people. People who turn into puppets. Both of them are wearing masks.
In 1905, Alexander Blok wrote the poem "Balaganchik".

"Here is a booth open For cheerful and glorious children. A girl and a boy are watching

On ladies, kings and devils."

How glorious it all began, what a good fairy tale could come out of this life.

In 1890 the premiere of The Sleeping Beauty took place in triumph on the stage of the Mariinsky Theatre. It was a landmark performance. For many contemporaries, the reign of Alexander III was associated with the golden age of the Russian Empire.
"Sleeping Beauty" was, perhaps, the last "forgive" the era of classicism in ballet. The solemn music of Tchaikovsky and the pompous scenery of Levot and his comrades, the exquisite production of Petipa, which combines the best of the French, Italian and Russian schools of ballet.

But all this is in the Imperial Theatre. Behind its walls, neither 32 nor even 64 fouettes, "twisted" by the ballet soloist, could help the cause. A completely different life was going on outside the walls, which the ballet theater had to see and accept.

This became possible in 1903, when Petipa resigned as chief choreographer of the Mariinsky. He gave the theater more than half a century. But by the beginning of the 20th century, ballet remained, perhaps, the only art form that had nothing to do with real life. It was a dried flower or a butterfly on a pin in the collection of an eccentric who, in the age of electricity and cars, wears a camisole and a powdered wig, with the departure of Petipa, the ballet began to catch up with its time by ten-mile steps.

At first, Nikolai Gorsky and Nikolai Legat tried to do this. Then a young dancer and choreographer Mikhail Fokin appeared. It seems that he became the one who woke up the ballet Beauty. Everything was ready for the production of a new play called "Russian Seasons" in Paris. Gentlemen, the actors came to the rehearsal. Shel 1907

Actors and performers

Mikhail Mikhailovich Fokin, 27, dancer at the Mariinsky Theatre, teacher at the Theater School, choreographer.

In 1906-1907. Fokine created "Grapevine", "Evnika", "Chopiniana", "Egyptian Nights", "Swan" (better known as "The Dying") and "Pavilion of Armida". So the ballet theater entered the era of eclecticism, when heroes and plots of all times and peoples appeared on the stage. Artists Alexander Benois and Lev Bakst, ballerinas Anna Pavlova and Tamara Karsavina, dancer Vaslav Nijinsky became Fokine's like-minded people.

Sergei Pavlovich Diaghilev, 35 years old, gentleman, philanthropist, discoverer of talents, author of daring projects, and in this sense - a fighter, a player.

In 1898, he began publishing the first art magazine in Russia, Mir Iskusstva. In 1905, he organized a grandiose historical and artistic exhibition of portraits of the 18th-19th centuries. Then he organized the exhibition "Russian Art from Icon Painting to the Beginning of the 20th Century" at the Autumn Salon in Paris. Concerts of Russian music soon follow, introducing Europe to Glinka, Mussorgsky, Borodin, Rachmaninov, Rimsky-Korsakov. A year later, the opera season. Paris heard Fyodor Chaliapin. At the same time, the idea of ​​stage synthesis in ballet arose - the unification of the forces of dancers, musicians, choreographers and artists. There was what was later called "Diaghilev's seasons".

Tamara Platonovna Karsavina, 22 years old, is not yet a ballerina of the Imperial Theatres, although she already dances ballerina parts.

Talented, beautiful and smart. An ideal model for Fokine's historical productions. It was at this time that Fokine, passionately in love, was refused by her, and Karsavina remained a ghostly dream for him.

Vatslav Fomich Nijinsky, 17 years old. Just graduated from the Theater School and accepted into the troupe of the Mariinsky Theater.

In life - a clumsy and ugly young man with an absent look and often with a half-open mouth. On the stage - a graceful handsome man with radiant eyes, striking with the perfection of jumps and poses, "elevation and balloon", as they wrote in the reviews. A Pinocchio doll that becomes a man at the first sounds of the overture.

"And this infernal music sounds, A dull bow howls. A terrible devil grabbed a little one, And cranberry juice flows down."

Eternal slave

In his first season at the Mariinsky, Nijinsky danced in almost all ballets. Both classical and new, staged by Fokine. He was a partner of Matilda Kshesinskaya, Anna Pavlova, Olga Preobrazhenskaya. He was the romantic youth in Chopiniana, the slave of Cleopatra in the Egyptian Nights, the page of the sorceress Armida in the Pavilion of Armida.
Somehow, quite naturally, the role of a slave and a page followed him into real life. At first, his master and lover was the representative of the "other Petersburg" - Prince Pavel Dmitrievich Lvov. Reckless drivers, fur coats, night restaurants, and expensive gifts appeared in Nijinsky's life. And the feeling of being used and then abandoned by Petrushka, which remained forever.

Then there was Diaghilev, who saved him from the clutches of a cynical bohemian, surrounded him with care and attention, but at the same time fenced him off from life with glass walls. Because Diaghilev always knew better what Nijinsky wanted.
Then there was Romola's wife, who also knew everything better and by 1918 quite successfully "saved" her husband from a heartless world, driving him into a nightmare of madness.
But none of them could boast of knowing the person who was nearby - Vaslav Nijinsky. Because Nijinsky became himself only in the dance, and there he was alone, even if he was passionately hugging his partner at that moment.

Perhaps that is why he could dance so incredibly, that he did not waste himself in everyday life, but only smiled and bowed learnedly, answering sumptuous compliments in monosyllables. In some ways, both Diaghilev and Romola were right, believing that Vaclav was not able to take care of himself. Until now, only cared about him.

He was born in 1889 in a family of dancers who traveled around Russia with a troupe of itinerant actors. A year younger was Bronislava, a little older - Stanislav. As a child, the elder brother received a head injury, as a result of which a mental illness developed. The family also remembered the terrible outbursts of rage from his father. So it is quite possible that Vaclav's schizophrenia was hereditary.
The father started another family for himself, and the mother decided to send Vatslav and Bronislava to state maintenance at the St. Petersburg Ballet School. He was taken only because he jumped beautifully, otherwise the data was unimportant.

From the very beginning of training, ballet was occupied in performances. They were both imps, and tin soldiers, and pastoral shepherdesses. Once in the dance of the "fauns" they had to run up and jump. When everyone had already landed, it turned out that one was still flying. The choreographer (and it was Fokin) staged a solo part for the jumping kid (Nijinsky). This was their first meeting.
At the school, Nijinsky was teased as a "Japanese" for his slanted eyes, he was shaken for being unsociable, but they did not offend him much. The teachers immediately made it clear who the main talent is here. In high school, he read a lot, but for himself. Those around him remained in the dark about his mental abilities. It was the same with music lessons. He played music alone in an empty classroom, showing impenetrable stupidity in the classroom. His favorite novel was The Idiot. Then Wenceslas himself will be treated in St. Moritz, like Prince Myshkin.

Mania Giselle

The first season of the "Russian Ballet" in 1909 in Paris was opened shortly after the end of the season at the Mariinsky. The performances were an unprecedented success. Everyone was shocked by the "Polovtsian Dances" with the chief archer - Fokine, "Cleopatra" with the monstrously seductive Ida Rubinstein, "La Sylphides" ("Chopiniana") with the airy Anna Pavlova and the "Pavilion of Armida", which opened Nijinsky to the world. Fokine's ballet reform also consisted in that he revived the male dance. Before him, dances were staged exclusively for ballerinas, and partners were needed only to support them at the right moment, to help them show their talent, beauty, grace. Dancers began to be called "crutches".

Fokin was not going to put up with this. Firstly, he himself wanted to dance, and the role of a "crutch" did not suit him in any way. Secondly, he felt what the ballet had lost by practically removing the dancer from the stage. The ballet has become cloying and fruity, absolutely asexual. It was possible to show the characters only by contrasting the female dance with an equal male dance. In this sense, Nijinsky was the ideal material for Fokine. From his body, superbly drilled at the Theater School, it was possible to mold any form. He could dance everything that the choreographer intended. And at the same time spiritualize your every movement with your own talent.
The old ballet was largely based on pantomime. This is how it was possible to convey in sign language, for example, a message about Scheherazade's betrayal. "Listen (hold out your hand to the Shah), just imagine (tap your forehead) that your queen (point to her and depict a crown over her head) was making love (embrace yourself with both hands) with a black man (make a fierce grimace and hold your hand in front of face down, depicting blackness)".

In Fokine's ballet, the ruler of Persia, putting his hand on the hilt of the sword, slowly approached the defeated opponent and turned the body of the black man face up with his foot. And before that, they had engaged in a deadly dance, and Nijinsky - "The Golden Negro" - expressed in this dance all the torment of love and despair.
Yes, he was a slave again and involuntarily began to think about the degree of responsibility that a person bears by making another his toy. These thoughts resulted in a new interpretation of the role of Albert in the ballet "Giselle".
Previously, handsome Albert seduced a young peysan, "teared" her heart, but was generously forgiven. Albert Nijinsky was looking not for pleasure, but for beauty. He did not want the death of Giselle and did not imagine how everything would turn out. Albert had just managed to discern the Other in the girl - a different, but kindred soul. That is why he is in such despair, that is why he is ready to punish himself and follow the jeeps (creatures of his mind) into the swamp of madness.

The interpretation fully corresponded to the spirit of the era, captured in Blok's poems or in the image of the "magic lake" from Chekhov's "The Seagull". But it did not correspond to the spirit of the routine of the Imperial Mariinsky Theatre. Therefore, having arrived in St. Petersburg after the Paris season of 1910 and having danced Giselle, Nijinsky was fired from the theater for performing in an inappropriate costume. A costume made according to a sketch by Benois was considered inappropriate: a tunic and tights without puffy pants, an integral part of the Alberts on the Russian stage of recent decades. Now Nijinsky fell into serfdom from Diaghilev, Yuryev was taken away from him the day he returned to the imperial stage.

"He will be saved from the black wrath With a wave of a white hand. Look: the lights are approaching from the left ... See the torches? See the haze? This is, right, the queen herself ..."

blue god

There were many rumors about why Nijinsky was fired after all. One of them connected the dismissal with the intrigues of Diaghilev himself, who thus acquired a permanent artist for himself. One way or another, now Wenceslas belonged only to him. (Dyagilev once said to Karsavina: "Why didn't you marry Fokine? Then both of you would belong to me").
It was possible to start a permanent troupe with a single star - Nijinsky. Everything had to work for him: Karsavina (who never broke with the Mariinsky), invited "stars" (negotiations with Pavlova and Kshesinskaya), a couple of characteristic dancers, the art of Bakst and Benois, the music of famous composers.
The very first performance in 1911 again shocked the Parisian public. It was "The Phantom of the Rose" to the music of Carl von Weber's "Invitation to the Dance". It was based on a line from Theophile Gauthier: "I am the ghost of the rose that you wore yesterday at the ball."

Nijinsky had to dance not a person or even a flower, but the scent of a rose, which reminds the sleeping girl of yesterday's ball. Jean Cocteau, a frequenter of the Seasons, exclaimed that from now on the scent of a rose would be associated with Nijinsky's last jump, disappearing through the window. Probably, it was this ballet (not even a ballet, but an extended pas de deux by Karsavina and Nijinsky) that allowed critics to correlate what they saw on stage with impressionism in painting.
The 1911 season could be called the most successful and fruitful. Fokin approached the peak of his activities as a choreographer. In addition to "The Phantom of the Rose", the program included "Sadko" by Rimsky-Korsakov, "Narcissus" by Nikolai Tcherepnin, "Peri" by Paul Duke and "Petrushka" by Igor Stravinsky. Ballets, as always, "from a different life": antiquity, the East, Russian exoticism.
Somehow everything came together in "Petrushka": both time and people. XX century with its main theme of freedom and lack of freedom. "Eternal femininity" (Ballerina Karsavina), dull masculinity (Arap Orlova), lust for power (Chechetti the Magician) and "little man" (Petrushka Nijinsky) made their choice. The fair dancer, according to Stravinsky, "suddenly broke from the chain", allowed him to look into his soul. The soul of a doll that has become a man, in which there is so much pain, anger and despair.

The audience was fascinated by the tragedy of the doll, but no one compared it with the tragedy of Nijinsky himself. After the performance, he ran away from the praise to the dressing room and removed layer after layer of makeup from his face, looking past the mirror. But "The Magician" Diaghilev came. He said that it was necessary to unwind, and took Nijinsky to supper in the Bois de Boulogne. Petrushka turned into a doll again.
Soon they started rehearsing "The Blue God", this time from Indian life. Almost all countries have already been covered by "plots" that will soon have to be repeated.
All performances of The Seasons were attended by a young lady named Romola Pulska.

"Ah, no, why are you teasing me? This is an infernal retinue ... The Queen - she walks in broad daylight, All entwined with garlands of roses ..."

Taming a wild beast

In 1912, Diaghilev said that Vaclav should try himself as a choreographer. He suggested thinking over Debussy's symphonic prelude "Afternoon of a Faun". Fokin will not be able to deliver it. He will again arrange Bacchic dances. Moreover, for greater persuasiveness, he will require to bring a herd of sheep.
Nijinsky asked that Debussy be played for him. And then he turned his head in profile and turned his hand palm outward. The man disappeared, the beast appeared, which itself became music. I wonder if Diaghilev understood that he was giving Nijinsky to the slaughter? There were no such ballets yet, they were ahead of their time, especially in Paris, which had not yet had time to enjoy the exoticism of the Russian Seasons.

The dance lasted only 12 minutes and showed a completely different aesthetic of ballet theater. Where you can move in two-dimensional space. Where you can forget about the eversion of the feet and step from heel to toe. Where you can move not in unison with the music, but in pauses. After all, the main thing is not this, but the afternoon heat, to which both the young faun and the nymphs, as if descended from the frieze of the temple, obey. And the veil lost by the nymph, and the vague desire directed by the faun to this fetish.
The ballet was booed, after which it was shown a second time. They booed even more. But there were also those who welcomed the appearance of the "newest" ballet. Among them is Auguste Rodin, who fiercely defended Nijinsky.
The next premiere of the 1912 season was Fokine's Daphnis and Chloe. The innocent shepherd rejected the claims of the unloved and united with his chosen one in the apotheosis of ancient dance. A herd of sheep walked across the stage.
This was the end of the Fokine era, which did not last long. Ballet caught up with its time by leaps and bounds.
Then came the "Games" staged by Nijinsky in the style of Gauguin, whom he loved very much. The ballet was about contemporary young people playing tennis, but as free as the islanders of Tahiti.
Then in the season of 1913 for Nijinsky it was the turn of "The Rite of Spring" to the music of Stravinsky and in the scenery of Nicholas Roerich. The pagan festival of the spell of spring burst into the hall. Dances - divination, a prayer for the awakening of the forces of nature, the sacrifice of the Chosen One. Hall could not stand this energy. The power of archetypes turned out to be too heavy for spectators who were not ready to participate in the ritual. The ballet was interrupted several times, the raging spectators were taken out by force and continued on. It was fame, only not lifetime, but posthumous.

And then Nijinsky was mortally tired and in this state he went on tour with the troupe to South America. Romola Pulska was on the ship, but there was neither Diaghilev nor the sober-minded Karsavina. Romola launched an attack on the object of her passion so energetically that the engagement was soon announced. They got married in Buenos Aires.

Then Romola began to free her husband from the fetters of Diaghilev, not realizing that Diaghilev, Ballet and Life are synonymous for him. In Rio de Janeiro, Nijinsky refused to perform in the next ballet, Diaghilev considered the contract broken. Now Nijinsky could only perform in music halls, which he did for a while. The way to Petersburg was ordered for him as for a person evading military service.
Romola was not to blame. Or was, but only as Albert in Giselle. She didn't think it would happen. And when I realized what I had done, I directed all my energy to correcting the mistake. She gave birth to Vaclav two daughters, whom he loved very much ... until he recognized. She went to bow to Diaghilev, thinking that old impressions would stir up feelings in her husband's soul, lost somewhere. She treated him with insulin shock.

Nijinsky died in 1950.

"A girl and a boy cried, And the merry booth closed.."

I want to dance, draw, play the piano, write poetry.
I want to love everyone - that's the purpose of my life. I love everyone.
I don't want wars or borders. My home is wherever the world exists.
I want to love, love. I am a man, God is in me
and I am in Him. I call Him, I seek Him. I am a seeker because I feel God.
God is looking for me and that's why we will find each other.

Vaslav Nijinsky

Vaslav Nijinsky is an outstanding dancer and choreographer of Polish origin, who glorified the Russian ballet of the early twentieth century. and riveted the attention of the cultural environment to the male dance with his skill. He was the first who dared to individualize male ballet parts, because before that, dancers in ballet were called nothing more than “crutches” to support approx. The innovative choreography of his modest ballet heritage caused militant controversy among theater critics, and his body control, plasticity and, most importantly, jumps inimitable in height and length, thanks to which Nijinsky was called a bird man, brought him fame as a dancer with phenomenal physical data and talent, who had no equal. Vaslav Nijinsky was an idol throughout Europe - he was admired by Auguste Rodin, Fyodor Chaliapin, Isadora Duncan, Charlie Chaplin and his other contemporaries. Vatslav's creative biography is small - he managed to create only four productions, and he danced his last dance in less than thirty years, being already a seriously ill person.

Vatslav Fomich Nijinsky (1889-1950) was born in Kyiv, in the family of touring Polish dancers Tomasz Nijinsky and Eleonora Bereda. Two of the three children in the creative family followed in the footsteps of their parents - Vaclav and his sister Bronislava, and the eldest, Stanislav, was prevented from dancing since childhood by mental health problems. According to a family legend created by Eleonora, Stanislav fell out of a window at the age of six, after which his mental development was disturbed. Almost nothing is known about the life of Brother Nijinsky, except that until 1918 he was kept in one of the St. Petersburg psychiatric hospitals, probably with a diagnosis of schizophrenia. When the revolution took place in Russia, he, along with other patients, ended up on the street, after which his trail was lost (according to some reports, he committed suicide). In addition to the fact that Nijinsky's brother had been ill with schizophrenia since childhood, it is known that his maternal grandmother suffered from chronic depression, which led to the refusal of food, as a result of which she died..

When Vatslav was 9 years old, the father of the family left for a young mistress, and Eleanor moved to St. Petersburg with her children in search of opportunities to earn money for the treatment of her eldest son and the education of her younger children at the Imperial Ballet School.
Vaclav, as a child, showed traits of a schizoid character. He was closed, silent. The children at the school teased him with a "Japanese" for slightly slanting eyes, he was offended and avoided communicating with them, believing that they were simply jealous of him. He studied poorly, showing selective interest only in dancing. In the classroom, he sat with an absent expression on his face and a half-open mouth, and his sister did his homework for him. Low learning ability, however, did not prevent a successful career start - in 1907, immediately after graduating from college, Nijinsky was accepted into the troupe of the Mariinsky Theater, where he almost immediately became prime minister. Vatslav danced with such prima ballerinas of Russian ballet as Matilda Kshesinskaya, Anna Pavlova, Tamara Krasavina. However, already in 1911, Nijinsky was fired from the theater due to an unpleasant incident that happened during the performance of the ballet Giselle - he did not go on stage in the trousers familiar to the eyes of the then public, but in tight tights designed by Benois. Someone from the representatives of the royal family present in the hall, the outfit seemed too frank, and the dancer was accused of depraved behavior. Later, when Nijinsky played the role of a Faun in a performance staged by himself, such accusations would again fall on him - eroticized, similar to the process of masturbation, would seem to the audience and critics of his movement in the scene when he enthusiastically clings to the cape left by the Nymph on the river bank. Perhaps ahead of the time, in which echoes of the Victorian era reigned, the productions of Vaslav Nijinsky seemed to be. However, it should be recognized that the theme of sexuality played a big role in the formation and clinical picture of the artist's mental disorder.

It's no secret that Vaslav Nijinsky had intimate relationships with men. The first homosexual relationship with a well-known art lover in secular circles, Prince Pavel Lvov, occurred with the full approval and encouragement of the young dancer's mother, who believed that such connections would help him gain a foothold in a bohemian environment. Prince Lvov was a wealthy man and not only introduced Nijinsky into theatrical circles, but also practically supported Vaclav, giving him expensive gifts and indulging his whims. In parallel with his homosexual relationships, Nijinsky also kept in touch with women, periodically visiting brothels. It is likely that it was precisely from his bisexuality, partly imposed on him by his mother and creative environment, that Nijinsky "fled into illness", and the dancer's dual gender-role identity can be regarded as splitting, "schism".
Soon after his dismissal from the theater, Vatslav joined the troupe of Sergei Pavlovich Diaghilev, a famous impresario who blew up the audience with the performances of his team, which toured Europe with the Russian Seasons. A short period of interaction with the "Russian Seasons" is the most fruitful in the creative development of the dancer. Diaghilev himself had a huge influence on the development of Nijinsky as a dancer, but relations with him were ambivalent - Vaclav had creative freedom and financial support, but was almost completely dependent on him, including sexually. Diaghilev defended his protégé from the attacks of critics, paid for his purchases, practically clothed and fed Nijinsky, who was absolutely unsuitable for an independent life in society, just as in childhood he impressed others with his unsociableness, isolation, and not always adequate emotionality. (for example, he could look back at his partner’s usual call with an unexpectedly fierce look or smile when some sad news was told to him). Diaghilev took him to museums and art exhibitions, introduced him to famous representatives of the modern intelligentsia and the world of art, shaped his artistic taste. However, he forbade Nijinsky to meet with women, was domineering and jealous, sought to control all his actions.

Vaslav Nijinsky with Sergei Diaghilev

With Sergei Diaghilev

With Sergei Diaghilev

Vaslav Nijinsky was a much less confident choreographer than a dancer - he thought up movements for a long time and painfully, constantly demanded support from Diaghilev, hesitantly asking his approval for almost every step, rehearsed for a very long time.
The features of the personality and the emerging disease could not but affect the nature of Nijinsky's work. His most famous independent production is The Afternoon of a Faun to music by Debussy, which Vaclav staged in 1912.
In the unusually angular, "cubic" movements of the Faun, the fading profile poses, borrowed from the subjects of ancient Greek vases, one can see the symbolism of catatonic freezing. Only one jump was present in the ballet - the famous rise of Nijinsky, personifying the awakening of an erotic feeling in a young creature, half-animal, half-human.
The second modern production of Nijinsky - the pagan "The Rite of Spring", to the music of Stravinsky, with sketches of costumes and scenery drawn by Roerich, was ambiguously accepted by the public. Deliberately rough, grounded choreography, with wild dances, careless jumps and heavy landings, in itself resembled a stage psychosis, a storm of instincts that broke free.

Ballet "Petrushka"

Ballet "Afternoon of a Faun" 1912

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Ballet "Siamese dance" 1910
Nijinsky was aware of his dependence on Diaghilev, she weighed him down. It is not surprising that sooner or later a riot followed. Having gone on tour to South America with his troupe, but without a mentor who refused to travel because he was afraid to travel by water, Vaclav makes an unexpected decision to get married. His chosen one was an unprofessional Hungarian dancer Romola Pulski. Romola tried her best to attract the attention of the actor and it was for this that she made every effort to get a job in the Diaghilev troupe. In the end, Vaclav gave up. Upon learning of the protege's marriage, the offended mentor immediately responded with a letter in which he wrote briefly that the troupe no longer needed Nijinsky's services.
So, completely unaware of an independent life, Vaclav, at the age of 24, faced the everyday need to look for work and support his family. Nijinsky rejected all offers of cooperation and decided to create his own team and repertoire. But the talented dancer, devoid of the commercial vein of the pragmatic Sergei Diaghilev, turned out to be a mediocre manager, and his troupe suffered a financial failure.
Soon the First World War began, which prevented Nijinsky and his family from returning to Russia - by that time they were in Hungary, where Vaclav, as a subject of a hostile state, was interned, in fact, as a prisoner of war. In the same 1914, Romola gave birth to Vatslav's first daughter, Kira (the second daughter, Tamara, was born in 1920). Such significant changes, including the lack of the opportunity to dance, the need to live with his wife's parents, who lived in Budapest and were not too supportive of the choice of their daughter, turned out to be too much stress for the dancer. Only in 1916, thanks to the petition of friends, Nijinsky and his family were allowed to leave the country. They moved to France, where Diaghilev, having recovered from insults, suggested that the artist go on tour to America.
In general, moving did not have the best effect on Vaclav's psychological well-being - even on tour in Germany in 1911, it seemed to him that all Germans were secret agents in disguise who were watching him. And during the year spent on the American continent, the changes in Nijinsky's mental state became clearly visible to those around him. Under the influence of some of the artists of the troupe, he became interested in the ideas of Tolstoyanism, became a vegetarian, demanded that his wife give up meat, dreamed of moving to a remote Siberian village and leading a “righteous” lifestyle, speaking about the sinfulness of the acting profession.

Ballet "Giselle" with Tamara Karsavina

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Ballet "Vision of the Rose" 1911 with Tamara Karsavina

In 1917, he entered the theater stage for the last time. After the end of the tour, he and Romola moved to the small mountain resort of St. Moritz in Switzerland. Nijinsky stopped dancing, was constantly working on projects for his future ballets, secretly from his wife began to keep a diary in which he wrote incoherent thoughts, stereotyped verses without rhyme, described hallucinatory experiences, made sketches, among which, in addition to ballet scenery, there were spherical mandalas and human faces contorted with horror. He spent a lot of time alone, periodically going to the mountains and walking among the rocks and cliffs, risking getting lost or falling into the abyss. He put on a palm-sized wooden cross over his clothes and walked around St. Moritz in this form, telling passers-by that he was Christ.
In 1919, Nijinsky decides to perform for the guests of a local hotel, telling his wife that his dance will be "a wedding with God." When the invitees gathered, Vatslav stood motionless for a long time, then, finally, unfolded white and black matter on the floor, placing them across each other, creating a symbolic cross. His wild, frenzied dance, rather, frightened the audience. After the speech, Nijinsky explained in a short speech that he was depicting the war. The writer Maurice Sandoz, who was present in the hall, described the performance as follows: “And we saw Nijinsky, to the sounds of a funeral march, with a face twisted with horror, walking across the battlefield, stepping over a decaying corpse, dodging a projectile, protecting every inch of the earth, covered with blood, sticking to the feet; attacking the enemy; running away from a rushing wagon; going back. And now he is wounded and dying, tearing his clothes on his chest with his hands, turned into rags. Nijinsky, barely covered by the tatters of his tunic, croaked and gasped; an oppressive feeling took possession of the hall, it grew, filled it, a little more - and the guests would have shouted: “Enough!” The body, which seemed to be riddled with bullets, twitched for the last time, and another dead man was added to the account of the Great War. This was his last dance. Nijinsky ended the evening with the words: "The horse is tired."

Vaslav Nijinsky was partially aware of his illness - among the paralogic lines of his diary, in an entry dated February 27, 1919, one can read: “I do not want people to think that I am a great writer or that I am a great artist, and even that I am a great human. I am a simple person who has suffered a lot. I believe that I suffered more than Christ. I love life and want to live, cry, but I can't - I feel such pain in my soul - pain that frightens me. My soul is sick. My soul, not my brain. The doctors don't understand my illness. I know what I need to get well. My disease is too great to be cured quickly. I am incurable. Everyone who reads these lines will suffer - they will understand my feelings. I know what I need. I am strong, not weak. My body is healthy - my soul is sick. I'm suffering, I'm suffering. Everyone will feel and understand. I am a man, not an animal. I love everyone, I have flaws, I am a man - not God. I want to be God and therefore I try to improve myself. I want to dance, draw, play the piano, write poetry, I want to love everyone. That is the purpose of my life."
Nijinsky suffers from insomnia, shares ideas of persecution with his wife, after which, finally, in March 1919, Romola travels with Vaclav to Zurich, where he consults psychiatrists, including Bleuler, who confirmed the diagnosis of schizophrenia, and decides to send her husband for treatment at the Bellevue Clinic. After a six-month stay in a sanatorium, Nijinsky's hallucinations suddenly worsened, he became aggressive, refused to eat, later deficiency symptoms began to increase - Nijinsky ceased to be interested in anything at all and most of the time he sat with an absent expression on his face. The remaining years of his life, Vaclav spent in various clinics in Europe. In 1938 he underwent insulin shock therapy, then a new treatment. For a short time, his behavior became more orderly, he was able to carry on a conversation, but soon the apathy returned.

Vaslav Nijinsky with Charlie Chaplin
Nijinsky was remembered and honored in theater circles. Diaghilev himself in 1928 brought Vaslav to the Paris Opera for the ballet Petrushka, in which the artist once danced one of his best parts. Nijinsky, to the offer of his former mentor to rejoin the troupe, reasonably replied: "I can't dance, I'm crazy." Count Kessler, in his memoirs, shares the impression that Nijinsky made on him that evening: “His face, which remained in the memory of thousands of spectators shining like that of a young god, was now gray, sagging, ... only occasionally a reflection of a senseless smile wandered over him ... Diaghilev supported him by the arm, helping him overcome the three flights of stairs leading down ... The one who once seemed to be able to carelessly fly over the roofs of houses, now barely stepped from step to step of an ordinary staircase. The look with which he answered me was meaningless, but infinitely touching, like that of a sick animal.
After the death of Diaghilev, Romola repeated the attempt to bring Nijinsky back to dance (which in the case of a dancer was tantamount to the concept of “bring back to life”). In 1939, she invited Serge Lifar, Nijinsky's famous compatriot, also born in Kyiv, to dance in front of her husband. Vaclav did not react in any way to the dance, but at the end of the performance, he suddenly, unexpectedly for all those present, took off into the air in a jump, and then again became indifferent to everything. The last jump of the great dancer was captured by photographer Jean Manzon. Monument to Vaslav Nijinsky at the Montmartre Cemetery in Paris

In 1952, S. Lifar, the famous artist and choreographer of the Grand Opera, bought a place in the 22nd department at the Montmartre cemetery in Paris, where outstanding figures of French culture are buried. Half a century after the death of the great dancer, on his grave, where previously there was only a modest tombstone with an inscription on the plate “To Vaslav Nijinsky - Serge Lifar”, now a magnificent monument has been erected. The genius of the dance is captured in the image of Petrushka from the ballet of the same name by I. Stravinsky.

On my own behalf, I will add that there is a wonderful film "Nijinsky" in 1980, directed by Herbert Ross, I advise you to see it, I really liked the film.

I want to dance, draw, play the piano, write poetry. I want to love everyone - that's the purpose of my life. I love everyone. I don't want wars or borders. My home is wherever the world exists. I want to love, love. I am a man, God is in me, and I am in Him. I call Him, I seek Him. I'm looking for eh, because I feel God. God is looking for me and so we will find others friend friend. Vaslav Nijinsky

Nijinsky was a legend during his lifetime, but he became even more of a legend after his death. The mystery of his personality attracts artists, playwrights, novelists, film directors, choreographers. Interest in his personality intensified especially after the publication in Paris in 1953 of Nijinsky's Diary. In 1971, Maurice Bejart staged the world-famous ballet Nijinsky, the Clown of God. In 2000, John Neumeier created his own version, which he called "Nijinsky". Documentary and feature films were made about the famous dancer. At the Theater on Malaya Bronnaya in Moscow success enjoyed the performance "Nijinsky" based on the play by Glenn Blumstein - the play went around many theaters around the world. The legendary dancer is still of interest, although his entire creative biography fits into some 10 years of his life, but what!

Vaslav Nijinsky amazed the audience with the extraordinary ability to "hover t" in the air. During the jump, he could make more than ten rotations, which at that time was an absolute record. Vaclav covered the distance from the proscenium to the back in one jump. They say that he could jump higher than his height ... isn't that why he called "God of Dance"?

Nijinsky was born March 12, 1890 in the city of four hundred churches - Kyiv. He was given the name Wenceslas, baptized in Warsaw in the Roman Catholic faith, the faith of his mother.

At the preliminary examination in 1900, the commission selected Vaclav among six other boys out of one hundred and fifty applicants. He was very shy and could hardly answer the questions of the examiners, since palace decoration he was pro-exhausted overwhelming impression . But the famous Nikolai Legat, soloist of the Mariinsky Theater, noticing the applicant's extraordinary legs and superbly developed body, insisted on being accepted.

Vaclav had never known this before: six changes of underwear, three uniform suits - black for every day, dark blue for a holiday, gray linen for the summer; two coats - including a winter coat with a heavy astrakhan collar; leather boots and light shoes for the house. The uniform of the pupils was reminiscent of the uniforms of the students of the Page Corps - on a high velvet collar there was an embroidered silver lyre - uh problem of the school. Caps with a double-headed eagle looked like army ones. The greatest joy Vaclav dos tavilo dance leotards and real ballet shoes. pedantically meticulous, Nizhi Nsky always took care of his clothes, looked smart and tidy.

Nijinsky's successes were so stunning that di the rector of the school offered to make him a full-time artist of the Mariinsky Theater two years before graduation, which was an unheard-of event, having no precedent in the history of the Ballet School. Proud and happy, Vaclav nevertheless asked to be allowed to finish his studies at the appointed time and, of his own free will, remained at the school until graduation. But the Mariinsky Theater used his talent as best he could, and in 1907 it was time for him to chili one of the main roles in the Pavilion of Armida.

The graduation performance took place at the Mariinsky Theatre. The hall with a golden velvet curtain and heavy pyramids of crystal chandeliers filled the color of St. Petersburg high society. Gave Mozart "Don Juan", and the name of Vaclav was on the poster next to Obukhov and Legat, and Nijinsky's partner was Lyudmila Shkolyar. The success of the young dancer exceeded all expectations. The dancers of the Mariinsky Theater and ballet school comrades surrounded him, congratulating him, and he just smiled with tears in his eyes.

In the winter of 1909, Vatslav met a man who played a special role in his fate - both as an artist and as a person - Sergei Pavlovich Dyagilev, who invited Nijinsky to participate in the "Russian Seasons" organized by him. It was the finest hour of the artist. Although Diaghilev was almost twenty years older than Nijinsky, he immediately managed to break through the youth's isolation and win his friendship, which, despite quarrels and disputes, Vaclav invariably kept. Diaghilev was immediately attracted by his strong, flexible body, the amazing combination of boyish demeanor with unusual softness and even, calm strength - the main feature of Nijinsky's character.

Until 1913, Nijinsky was the leading dancer of the Diaghilev troupe. He performed his most famous roles in productions by M. Fokin, the chief choreographer of the Russian Seasons: Carnival, Vision of the Rose, Scheherazade, Daphnis and Chloe, Petrushka. The Diaghilev Seasons brought Nijinsky the fame of "the world's first dancer". The sculptor Auguste Rodin, who saw him, said that Nijinsky was "one of the few who could express in dance all the excitement of the human soul." Marcel Proust wrote to a friend about Nijinsky: "I have never seen such beauty." And the great Sarah Bernard, seeing Nijinsky in the role of Petrushka, exclaimed: "I'm scared, I see the greatest actor in the world!"

Of all the people I have ever known, Diaghilev, of course, meant the most to me. He was a genius, a great organizer, discoverer and educator of talents, with the soul of an artist and great seigneur, the only person with a universal talent that I can compare with Leonardo da Vinci. Vaslav Nijinsky

Vaslav Nijinsky while working on the ballet. 1916

Hundreds of secular ladies dreamed of seeing Nijinsky, getting to know him, just touching him. To lure Wenceslas, they resorted to all sorts of tricks, which almost always broke on the vigilant watch. Vasily's grace. Nijinsky did not notice isolation , had no idea that Diaghilev deliberately subjected his the strictest seclusion. Vaclav's time was filled with work and friendship with Sergei P Avlovich. A close circle of friends - Benoit, Bakst, Stravinsky and Nouvel completely satisfied him.

It is not enough to call Nijinsky a dancer; to an even greater extent, he was a dramatic actor. His beautiful face, although not beautiful, could be the most impressive acting mask I have ever seen. Stravinsky

In each role - an oriental slave, a Russian clown, a Harlequin, Chopin - he created a bright, unique character, reincarnating so much that it was hard to believe that this is one and the same artist. It remained a mystery to everyone in which of the roles his essence was most reflected. Everything changed: face, skin, even height. Only one constant was always present, constanta, his genius. When he danced, everyone was mesmerized by his reincarnation. forgot about Nijinsky as a person, and completely surrendering to the created image.

For Vaslav Nezhinsky, dance was more natural than speech, and he had never been so much himself, so happy. astlivy and free, as in a dance. At the moment when he stepped onto the stage, for him there were no creatures alo nothing except for the role. Nezhinsky selflessly enjoyed the very movement, the very possibility t antsev at. But he never tried to stand out, outshine others or play one's own role more significance than was intended by the choreographer. H Izhinsky was completely harmonious ym and often restrained himself in order to better fit into the overall ensemble. And yet the performance of Vaslav Nezhinsky was so magnificent that he seemed like the sun illuminating the rest of the dancers. His presence on stage electrified other artists and they worked to the limit. There was a universal the opinion that the ballet lost some of its splendor if Nijinsky was not in it.

Waiting for a new ballet - Nijinsky's ballet!

The program included Debussy's Prelude "Afternoon Rest x faun”, inspired by the exquisite eclogue of their compatriot Mallarme. Will this Russian artist be able to convey the spirit of D ancient Greece, recreated by two prominent Frenchmen? What will be his interpretation? They were expecting something completely different from Fokine's ballets, but no one expected to see a new form of art.

Throughout the twelve minutes of the choreographic poem, the audience sat motionless, so stunned that they did not even try to show their feelings. stva. But as soon as the curtain fell, the almost unimaginable began. Shouts of approval and outrage The waves shook the air like thunder. It was impossible to hear the neighbor's voice. Furious applause and whistles mixed after the end of one of the most breathtaking performances in the history of the theatre.

Auguste Rodin, who was sitting in a box next to the stage, stood up and shouted: “Bravo! Bravo!" Others whistled. There were shouts; "B is! Bis!”, “Stunning!”, “Ridiculous!”, “Unheard of!”, “Incomparable!”. Explosions of applause grew. Everyone shared their impressions loudly. Intellectual Paris split into two camps: pro and contra Faun. But the audience approving the performance was the majority.

The curtain rose and The Afternoon of a Faun was full for the second time. The audience continued furiously ovate. Sergei Pavlovich ran to Nijinsky's dressing room, where Bakst and the others had already gathered. "This is a success!" exclaimed Diaghilev.

«

No, they didn’t understand me,” Vatslav shook his head. “No, everyone feels that an event of great importance has occurred.” Friends, balletomanes, journalists flocked to the dressing room. Nijinsky was surrounded, congratulated, consoled... Indescribable chaos reigned. No one really knew what it turned out who won, whether it was success or defeat, - so after the decisive battle Chale does not know exactly who won the battle.

Rodin came up and hugged Vaclav with tears in his eyes: “My dreams have come true. And you did it. Thanks". Now Nijinsky felt that he was really understood, at least by those whose opinion mattered to him.

Nijinsky's performances caused heated debate. Someone argued that they were devoid of bright artistry, someone saw in them a proclamation of the ballet technique of the future. Perhaps the latter were right. Later masters - George Balanchine, Roland Petit, Martha Graham, Maurice Bejart, John Neumeier - adopted a lot from what was discovered and anticipated by Nijinsky the dancer and Nijinsky the director.

The sensational Parisian season of 1912 was drawing to a close. Critics still continued to break spears, discussing the innovation of Faun, and Sergei Pavlovich's time and thoughts were already occupied by future creative plans. Nijinsky was also involved in them.

Artists and sk the ulptors launched a real attack on Wenceslas - he was sculpted, painted in pencil and in oil. In the past, Blanche, Bakst, Serov and others caught the features of his face and movements, but they had to steal the moments when Nijinsky was free - a gesture, pose backstage or in the rehearsal room. Among many, Rodin now decided to sculpt Nijinsky. We agreed that after the morning rehearsal, Vatslav would come to him in the studio to pose. Nijinsky began to pose for Rodin. Usually Sergei Pavlovich himself took him to the studio, sometimes he went there alone, and Diaghilev came to pick him up. First, Rodin did many pencil sketches, showing a passionate interest in sketching each muscle his models. Nijinsky posed naked. on horseback ts Rodin settled on a pose that was very similar to the pose of Michelangelo's David. Nijinsky patiently posed for hours, and when he got tired, Rodin sat him down and showed him sketches. Sergei Pavlovich was seriously alarmed by what had so quickly arisen between the elderly sculptor and the young dancer. Rodin and Nijinsky were connected by the spiritual relationship of artistic natures . Rodin's sculpture of Nijinsky was never completed: Diaghilev constantly found pretexts to interfere with the sessions. His jealousy became uncontrollable...

Marriage to Romol e actually put an end to Nijinsky's ballet career. He left about t Angelica va, two girls were born in the family - Kira and Tamara. After leaving on tour in 1911, Vaslav Nijinsky never returned to Russia. After the break with Sergei Diagil Evev and his troupe, he performed independently, dabbled in choreography. Since 1917, he began to have bouts of schizophrenia, they say that he was affected by Ray from dancing and the stage. The disease progressed, and he spent the rest of his life in psychiatric hospitals.

Nezhinsky died in Ramola's arms on April 8, 1950 in London. Three years later, his ashes were transferred and to Paris and was buried in the cemetery of Montmartre.

After the death of Vaslav Nijinsky, doctors examined his legs.

They assumed that the special structure of the bone allowed Vaclav to make incredible jumps, thanks to which he became famous. Pathological anatomical autopsy found nothing unusual.

Nijinsky is not enough to name a dancer, he was even more of a dramatic actor. His beautiful face, although not beautiful, could be the most impressive acting mask I have ever seen.

Life story
During his brief and illustrious career as a ballet soloist, first at the Mariinsky Theater in St. Petersburg and then with the Russian Ballet Company under Diaghilev, Vaslav Nijinsky performed lead roles in Petrushka and The Rite of Spring, performances that became ballet classics and included in the golden fund of Russian and world ballet. Abandoning the traditional techniques of classical ballet, Nijinsky brought to brilliance the performance of jumps, during which he seemed to soar above the stage. His unusually original and daring choreography and real talent as a dramatic actor opened up new horizons for ballet art and earned him a reputation as a brilliant choreographer and performer.
Nijinsky was born into a family of dancers in Kyiv, Ukraine. He started dancing early, although he was a "clumsy and slow-witted" child. At the age of three, he already went on his first tour with the troupe in which his parents danced. When Nijinsky was 9 years old, his father left the family, deciding to change his wife and son for a mistress who was already pregnant. Mother managed to convince Nijinsky that he should study ballet even more diligently, since a career in this art form could bring both fame and money. In the spring of 1907, Nijinsky graduated from the Imperial Ballet School in St. Petersburg and became a soloist with the Mariinsky Theatre. In 1909 he met the impresario Sergei Diaghilev. His performance in Paris with the Russian Ballet became a real sensation. In 1911, Nijinsky was expelled from the Mariinsky Theater troupe for not fully putting on his stage costume when appearing on stage in a play. He was immediately offered a place in the Russian Ballet. As part of this troupe, Nijinsky performed his most famous ballet parts. In 1912, a scandal arose over his ballet The Afternoon of a Faun, where in the last scene Nijinsky portrayed a masturbating faun. Nijinsky was warned that he must change this scene. He was told that otherwise this ballet would be banned. He refused to change anything in the performance and continued his performances, performing the famous scene in the original version. No action was taken against him or against this ballet.
In 1913, Nijinsky married Countess Romola de Poulsky. His marriage offended Diaghilev so much that he immediately dismissed Nijinsky from his troupe. Nijinsky gathered his own ballet troupe and began to travel with it with performances throughout Europe and America. This tour lasted for about a year. Nijinsky was a brilliant dancer but a poor businessman, and his troupe was a financial failure. During World War I, Nijinsky was captured and imprisoned in Austria-Hungary. He was accused of spying for Russia. After a long forced break, Nijinsky again appeared on the stage only in 1916. In 1919, 29-year-old Nijinsky suffered a severe nervous illness. He stopped dancing. He was tormented by insomnia, persecution mania, schizophrenia and depression. Until his death from kidney disease in 1950, Nijinsky spent most of the last 30 years of his life in a psychiatric hospital in Switzerland.
The turbulent love life of Nijinsky made a worthy contribution to the emergence and development of his nervous diseases. In love, he was passive, apparently saving all his energy for stage performances. In 1908, Nijinsky, a naive and beautiful young man, struck up a close friendship with the 30-year-old Prince Pavel Dmitrievich Lvov. Tall, blue-eyed, handsome Lvov liked Nijinsky at their first meeting. The prince introduced Nijinsky to the intoxicating pleasures of nightlife and helped him gain the first experience of homosexual relationships. Lvov, however, was quite disappointed with the size of Nijinsky's penis. One of Nijinsky's biographers later wrote: "Nijinsky was small in that part, the large size of which usually leads to admiration." Despite his disappointment, the prince was kind to Nijinsky and even helped him arrange the dancer's first sexual encounter with a female prostitute. This sexual encounter frightened Nijinsky and aroused in him a feeling of disgust. Lvov was generous and generous and managed to win the heart of his young lover. A few months later, however, he got tired of Nijinsky, whom he called another of his "toys", and cut off contact with him. Before they parted, Lvov introduced Nijinsky to Sergei Diaghilev. Diaghilev was 30 years older than Nijinsky. He was a homosexual and did not try to hide it. The only sexual contact in Diaghilev's life with a woman, his 18-year-old cousin, gave him a venereal disease. Diaghilev and Nijinsky became lovers. Diaghilev completely deprived Nijinsky of any independence whatsoever. He controlled Nijinsky's professional and personal life. He insisted that Nijinsky should never sleep with women, arguing that this would negatively affect his performances. Diaghilev was so able to convince Nijinsky of the correctness of his words that Vaclav once refused the offer of Isadora Duncan herself, whom he met in 1909 in Venice. Isadora said at a meeting with Nijinsky that she really wanted to give birth to a child from him. Diaghilev also repeatedly offered Nijinsky to have group sex with him and another of his lover, but Nijinsky constantly refused such offers. By the age of 23, he felt that he was already old enough to stop being just one of Diaghilev's "boys". In September 1913, when Nijinsky, along with the Russian Ballet, sailed on a ship on tour to South America, he was engaged to the 23-year-old coquette Romola de Pulsky, the daughter of the Hungarian actress Emilia Markus. Before that, Romola pursued Nijinsky for several months and even began to study ballet in order to be closer to him. According to Hungarian tradition, the engagement gave the bride the opportunity to have sex with her fiancé before the wedding. Sexual relations between Nijinsky and Romola, however, did not begin until after their marriage, which took place in 1913. The reason for this was Nijinsky's shyness, and his timidity in relationships with women, and the language barrier, and his desire to have a real Catholic wedding.
Upon learning of the engagement, Diaghilev was stung. He took revenge on Nijinsky by firing him from the Russian Ballet and refusing to answer his former lover's letters. Shortly after his marriage, Nijinsky acquired another admirer, the Duchess Durcal, who fell so in love with him that she invited him to become her lover. With the permission of Romola, Nijinsky entered into a sexual relationship with the duchess. He later regretted this, saying, "I'm sorry I did that. It wasn't fair to her. I didn't love her..."
When Nijinsky's mental state worsened, he and Romola began to sleep in separate rooms. Sometimes Nijinsky would leave his house at night and walk the streets in search of prostitutes. With them, he only talked and engaged in masturbation. He did this in order to "protect himself from the danger of a venereal disease." In 1914 and in 1920, Romola had two daughters from Nijinsky. Shortly after the birth of his first daughter, Diaghilev again entered Nijinsky's life. Romola tried in every possible way to prevent this and even sued Diaghilev to pay Nijinsky 500,000 francs for his performances in the Russian Ballet. Romola won the case, but Diaghilev never paid this amount. Romola dragged Nijinsky with all her might in one direction, and Diaghilev, in no way inferior to her, dragged him in the exact opposite direction. Nijinsky, unable to dance and unable to give vent to his feelings, fell into a state of quiet insanity.

Vaslav Fomich Nijinsky(Polish Wacław Niżyński; March 12, Kyiv, Russian Empire - or April 11, London, UK) - Russian dancer and choreographer of Polish origin, dance innovator. One of the leading members of the Diaghilev Ballets Russes. Brother of dancer Bronislava Nijinska. Choreographer of the ballets The Rite of Spring, The Afternoon of a Faun, The Games and Till Ulenspiegel.

Biography

Born in Kyiv, the second son in the family of Polish ballet dancers - the first number of Tomasz Nijinsky and soloist Eleonora Bereda. Eleanor was 33 and five years older than her husband. Wenceslas was baptized as a Catholic in Warsaw. Two years later, their third child was born - daughter Bronislava. From 1882 to 1894, the parents toured with the Josef Setov ballet troupe. The father introduced all children to dancing from early childhood. Vatslav first performed on stage when he was five years old, dancing a hopak as an entreprise at the Odessa Theatre.

After the death of Josef Setov in 1894, his troupe broke up. Nizhinsky, the father, tried to create his own troupe, but soon burned out, years of difficult wanderings and odd jobs began. Probably, Vaclav helped his father by performing at the holidays with small numbers. It is known that he performed in Nizhny Novgorod at Christmas. In 1897, while on tour in Finland, Nijinsky the father fell in love with another, the young soloist Rumyantseva. Parents divorced. Eleanor with three children went to St. Petersburg, where a friend of her young years, the Polish dancer Stanislav Gillert, was a teacher at the St. Petersburg Ballet School. Gillert promised to help her.

The eldest son of the Nizhinskys, Stanislav (Stasik), fell out of the window as a child and since then has been “a little out of this world”, and the gifted and well-trained Vaclav was accepted into the ballet class quite easily. Two years later, his sister, Bronya, entered the same school. At school, some oddities began to appear in the character of Vaclav, once he even got to be examined in a clinic for the mentally ill - apparently, some kind of hereditary disease had an effect. However, his talent as a dancer was undeniable and quickly attracted the attention of a teacher, once an outstanding, but already a little old-fashioned, dancer, N. Legat.

Since March 1905, the innovative teacher of the school, Mikhail Fokin, staged a responsible examination ballet for graduates. It was his first ballet as a choreographer - he chose Acis and Galatea. Fokine invited Nijinsky to play the part of the faun, although he was not a graduate. On Sunday, April 10, 1905, a demonstration performance took place at the Mariinsky Theater, reviews appeared in the newspapers, and in everyone they noted the extraordinary talent of the young Nijinsky:

Graduate Nizhinsky amazed everyone: the young artist is barely 15 years old and will have to spend two more years at school. It is all the more pleasant to see such exceptional data. Lightness and elevation, together with wonderfully smooth and beautiful movements, are amazing [...] It remains to be wished that the 15-year-old artist does not remain a child prodigy, but continues to improve.

From 1906 to January 1911 Nijinsky performed at the Mariinsky Theatre. He was fired from the Mariinsky Theater with a big scandal at the request of the imperial family, as he performed in the ballet Giselle in a costume that was considered indecent.

Almost immediately after graduating from the school, Nijinsky was invited by S. P. Diaghilev to participate in the ballet season, where he gained great success. For his ability for high jumps and long-term elevation, he was called the bird-man, the second Vestris.

In Paris, they danced a repertoire tested on the stage of the Mariinsky Theater (“Pavilion of Armida”, 1907; “La Sylphides”, 1907; “Cleopatra”, 1909 (revised from “Egyptian Nights” (1908)); “Giselle”, 1910; “Swan lake", 1911), as well as the divertissement "Feast" to the music of Russian composers, 1909; and parts in Fokine's new ballets, "Carnival" to the music of R. Schumann, 1910; "Scheherazade" by N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov, 1910; “Orientals” in numbers to music by E. Grieg and K. A. Sinding, orchestrated by I. F. Stravinsky, 1910; The Vision of a Rose by C. M. Weber, 1911, in which he startled the Parisian public with a fantastic window jump; Petrushka by I. F. Stravinsky, 1911; The Blue God by R. Ana, 1912; Daphnis and Chloe by M. Ravel, 1912.

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Choreographer

Encouraged by Diaghilev, Nijinsky tried his hand as a choreographer and, secretly from Fokine, rehearsed his first ballet - The Afternoon of a Faun to music by C. Debussy (1912). He built his choreography on profile poses borrowed from ancient Greek vase painting. Like Diaghilev, Nijinsky was fascinated by Dalcroze's rhythmoplasty and eurythmics, in the aesthetics of which he staged his next and most significant ballet, The Rite of Spring, in 1913. The Rite of Spring, written by Stravinsky with a free use of dissonance, albeit based on tonality, and choreographically built on complex combinations of rhythms, became one of the first expressionist ballets. The ballet was not immediately accepted, and its premiere ended in scandal, as did The Afternoon of a Faun, which shocked the audience with its final erotic scene. In the same year, he performed the plotless ballet "Games" by C. Debussy. These productions of Nijinsky were characterized by anti-romanticism and opposition to the usual elegance of the classical style.

The Parisian public was fascinated by the undoubted dramatic talent of the artist, his exotic appearance. Nijinsky turned out to be a bold and original-minded choreographer who opened up new paths in plastique and restored male dance to its former priority and virtuosity. Nijinsky owed his success to Diaghilev, who believed and supported him in his daring experiments.

Personal life

In his youth, Nijinsky had an intimate relationship with Prince Pavel Dmitrievich Lvov, and later with Diaghilev. In 1913, after the departure of the troupe on a South American tour, he met on a ship with a Hungarian aristocrat and his admirer Romola Pula. Having gone ashore, on September 10, 1913, they secretly got married from everyone, including family members. Diaghilev, having learned about the incident from a telegram from his servant Vasily, assigned to look after Nijinsky, fell into a rage and immediately expelled the dancer from the troupe - in fact, this put an end to his short dizzying career. Being a favorite of Diaghilev, Nijinsky did not sign any contracts with him and did not receive a salary, like other artists - Diaghilev simply paid all his expenses from his own pocket. It was this fact that allowed the impresario to get rid of the artist who became objectionable without any delay.

Entreprise

After leaving Diaghilev, Nijinsky found himself in difficult conditions. It was necessary to earn a livelihood. A dance genius, he did not have the ability of a producer. The proposal to lead the ballet "Grand Opera" in Paris rejected, deciding to create his own entreprise. It was possible to assemble a troupe of seventeen people (it included Bronislava's sister and her husband, who also left Diaghilev) and conclude a contract with the London Palace Theater. The repertoire consisted of performances by Nijinsky and, in part, by M. Fokin (The Phantom of the Rose, Carnival, La Sylphides, which Nijinsky remade anew). However, the tour was not successful and ended in financial failure, which led to a nervous breakdown and the beginning of the artist's mental illness. Failure followed him.

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Reburial of ashes

In 1953, his body was transported to Paris and buried in the Montmartre cemetery next to the graves of the legendary dancer G. Vestris and playwright T. Gauthier, one of the creators of the romantic ballet. On his tombstone of gray stone sits a sad bronze jester.

The meaning of Nijinsky's personality

• Critics [ who?] called Nijinsky "the eighth wonder of the world", praising his talent. His partners were Tamara Karsavina, Matilda Kshesinskaya, Anna Pavlova, Olga Spesivtseva. When he - the god of ballet - hung in a jump over the stage, it seemed that a person was able to become weightless.

He refuted all the laws of balance and turned them upside down, he resembles a human figure painted on the ceiling, he easily feels himself in the air…

Nijinsky possessed a rare ability of complete external and internal reincarnation:

I'm scared, I see the greatest actor in the world.

Caught on the edge of bliss, Uncompromising, like a poet, Nijinsky, with the strength not of a woman, Twisted an air pirouette.

Giving birth to mountain peaks, He, in spite of the spirit of gravity, Now unclenched like a spring, Now hung, raising his wing.

As if tremulously at will Fearlessly escaped the soul His impetuousness in the role, His magical entrecha.

He looked into other distances, Called to himself an unearthly light, And this somersault-immortale

Rotates the Earth for many years.

• Nijinsky made a bold breakthrough into the future of ballet art, discovered the later established style of expressionism and fundamentally new possibilities of plasticity. His creative life was short (only ten years), but intense. The famous ballet by Maurice Bejart in 1971 "Nijinsky, the Clown of God" to the music of Pierre Henri and Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky is dedicated to the personality of Nijinsky.

• Nijinsky was the idol of his time. His dance combined strength and lightness, he amazed the audience with his breathtaking jumps - it seemed to many that the dancer was "hanging" in the air. He possessed a wonderful gift of reincarnation, extraordinary mimic abilities. On stage, he exuded a powerful magnetism, although in everyday life he was timid and silent.

Awards

Memory

• In the year in Monaco was established Nijinsky Prize, which is awarded to ballet dancers and choreographers.
• As part of the celebration of the 100th anniversary of the Ballets Russes, on June 11, 2011, a bronze sculpture of Vaslav and Bronislav Nijinsky in the image of Faun and Nymph from the ballet The Afternoon of a Faun was installed in the foyer of the Warsaw Bolshoi Theater (sculptor Gennady Ershov).

Image in art

In the theatre

• October 8 - "Nijinsky, God's Clown", a ballet by Maurice Béjart based on the diaries of Vaslav Nijinsky (" Ballet of the 20th century”, Brussels, in the role of Nijinsky - Jorge Donn).
• July 21 - “Wenceslas”, ballet by John Neumeier according to the scenario plan of the unrealized production of Vaslav Nijinsky using the music of J. S. Bach chosen by him ( Hamburg ballet).
• 1993 - "Nijinsky" based on the play by Alexei Burykin (Theatrical Agency "BOGIS", in the role of Nijinsky Oleg Menshikov).
• 1999 - "Nijinsky, God's Crazy Clown", a performance based on the play by Glen Blumstein (1986, the theater on Malaya Bronnaya, in the role of Nijinsky Alexander Domogarov).
• July 2 - Nijinsky, ballet by John Neumeier (Hamburg Ballet, starring Jiri Bubenichek).
• March 22, 2008 - "Nijinsky, God's crazy clown", a performance based on the play by Glen Blumstein (Puppet Theater named after S. V. Obraztsov (director and starring Andrei Dennikov).
• April 19, 2008 - NN(choreographer Richard Kalinowski, Lublin Dance Theatre)
• June 28 - The Pavilion of Armida, ballet by John Neumeier (Hamburg Ballet, in the role of Nijinsky Otto Bubenichek and Alexander Ryabko).
• - "A Letter to a Man", a play by Robert Wilson based on the dancer's diaries (as Nijinsky