Nijinsky Gives An Unforgetable Performance

 

Photo Credit: Vaslav Nijinsky as the God Vayyou in Nikolai Legat's revival of Marius Petipa Chorography and composer Ricardo Drigo's ballet Le Talisman, 1909

In 1905 Vaslav Nijinsky's Mother came to see her children dance at the Maryinsky Theatre. It was the first time his sister Bronislava Nijinska and his mother would see him dance at the Maryinsky Theatre. Bronislava describes in her own words how she and her mother felt that night.

"I combed my hair, put on my makeup, pulled on my pink tights, tried on my toe shoes, but I wasn't dreaming of my own future. I was worrying about Vaslav... How is he doing his makeup... How is he fixing his hair?... How will he look in his costume?... Will he freeze just before stepping on the stage... Will he be flustered in the excitement of his first appearance in a classical pas de deux?.. "

"I prayed silently and I knew that Mother would be praying too, even more fervently than I. She would be terribly anxious. This was the first time she would be seeing Vaslav dance in the Maryinsky Theatre. The Theatre was overflowing with guests invited for the program. In addition to the relatives and friends of the students, the Administration of the Imperial Theatres, and critics from the St. Petersburg newspapers, there were musicians and artists from the Ballet, Opera, and Drama. The curtain opened. I was onstage from the beginning of The Parisian Market but was not aware of anything until Nijinsky and Fedorova were onstage dancing the adagio."

 

I could detect no sign of nervousness in Vaslav. He was handsome and looked elegant in his costume, which fitted him well. He partnered Fedorova splendidly, and while with a light touch of his hand he assured her balance and imperceptibly assisted her in the pirouettes and lifts, he was always dancing and sustaining his own continuity of movement. Fedorova and Nijinsky were warmly applauded after the adagio. But now, Nijinsky is onstage alone. A short pose, 5'eme position, and suddenly a tremendous jump straight up, grand echappe, his legs firmly locked together, As he remains thus poised in midair, a rustle of appreciation is heard from the audience."

 

"He drops quickly, strikes the ground, 2'eme postion, to rebound straight up like a ball thrown hard against the floor, and once again Nijinsky is seen for a split second suspended in midair. He drops down slowly, lightly touching  the ground, 5'eme position, and a barely perceptible preparation, on half-toe, lifts him high in the air in a spiral movement, three tours en l'air on the ascent. After the third tour, he stops the spiral movement with an ascent of the whole body reaching upwards and then, en face, comes down. Smoothly, maintaining the of the dance, he glides in a short glissade, lightly touching the floor, and then Nijinsky flies across the whole width of the stage with grande assemble entrechat-dix. He beats the entrechats high above the center of the stage. There, as he seems to linger two or three seconds in the air before coming down, the audience explodes with applause. He continues to dance- the audience continues to applaud."

"For the second musical phrase of the variation Nijinsky soars from the depth of the stage. In his dance he flies diagonally across the whole stage with the following enchainment de pas: a short preparation, pas petit assemble devant, then he soars high in sissonne soubresaut, the body arched back, suspended in midair; he holds the fishlike pose, then smoothly the lines of his body flow into a new form as he descends on attitude effacee; he touches the floor lightly on the right foot, quickly bringing the left leg to the floor from for a coupe preparation to spring and fly onward, continuing his diagonal trajectory; grand brise vole entrechat-dix; once more the same enchainement de pas, bringing him to the ramp; he ends the variation with a pretissimo pirouette, the contour of his body disappearing in the increasing momentum of the ten pirouettes en dehors. "

"In the coda solo Nijnsky dances as effortlessly as in his variation. In all of his dancing movements, even the most difficult technical steps, no effort or forcing can be discerned in Nijinsky's body. When Nijinsky soars upward he takes off from the ground as lightly as a fly, or he  rebounds like a ball to articulate briskly the pas battu. He ends his solo with twelve pirouettes a la seconde. Fedorova and Nijinsky had danced the coda brilliantly. At the end of the pas de deux there was a storm of applause, but when Vaslav came onstage alone the audience greeted his appearance with a frenzy of enthusiasm. I was experiencing a totally new sensation of happiness. I was immeasurably proud and happy for Vaslav."

"I had never seen Vaslav  dance in any rehearsal the way he danced this night. Nijinsky, onstage was transfigured, an elated being overcoming the limitations of the human body. The radiance of his inner flame touched my soul with the same magic that was arousing the audience to its enthusiastic frenzy."

"In the Divertissement, when Nijinsky came out to dance the pas de trois from The Blue Dahilia with Maria Gorshkova and Elena Smirnova, he was immediately recognized by the audience and applauded. The pas de trois had been remounted by Sergeyev after Stepanov notations of the original Petipa choreography. When working and rehearsing with Vaslav, he had adhered strictly to the tempi established  by the previously dancers in The Blue Dahilia. Even so Nijinsky danced brilliantly, adapting his technique to the tempi of notions."

"Mother was so happy as she sat in the audience, hearing around her, 

"Nijinsky has surpassed them all." .... "The graduating students were hardly noticed." 

"Nijinsky has overshadowed everyone tonight."

"Maria  Gorshkova and Feodor Lopukhov, the graduating students, were both excellent dancers and did not get the appreciation that their talents deserved that night, for by comparison with Vaslav their presentations paled, possibly adversely affecting their later dancing careers."- Quote from Bronislava on her brother performing at the Maryinsky Theatre

Bronislava's words are so vividly detailed of her brother's dancing that you can picture it just from her description like you were there with her watching his performance. She lays out all the steps he did and how the audience reacted, so you understand the feeling during the performance. You also see how genuinely supportive and proud she was of her brother.

Also, Nijinsky's Mother, you could feel how proud she was of her son and happy to see him dance, just like it brought him joy to see his mother dance when he attended her performances.

Nijinsky's performance was so different and showed what the human body was capable of, which was unbelievable movements even in the air. It was remarkable. He showed it was all possible, almost like he was magic, and had bewitched the audience with his performance.