A Brother Comes To The Defense Of His Sister

Photo Credit: Vaslav Nijinsky in portrait, 1909

Bronislava Nijinska recounts the time her brother Vaslav Nijinsky stood up for her when no one else would she explains this whole situation in her own words.

 

 "For her new ballet Salanga, music by Peter Schenck, Kulichevskaya had chosen her graduating student Lydia Soboleva to dance the title role, and Vaslav was also to dance in this ballet as Prince Sing, the only principal male role. "

 "Rehearsals had begun sometime before, and all Kulichevskaya's graduating students were dancing important roles."

"Frossia and I, though we both had our white dresses, were not given any solo in Salanga, as we  were not graduating students. We were both placed in front of the other dancers and given the responsibility of leading them, so we were in about half  the scenes in the ballet."

"Several scenes included the entire ensemble of forty-seven girls and seven boys, six little boys-- in their first year as students-- and the graduating student, Nijinsky."

"At rehearsals Vaslav looked very elegant. He wore his new dancing trousers specially made for his graduation. They were fastened from his ankles over his calves with mother- of pearl buttons. Each day he came in a freshly laundered shirt of fine Holland linen, and his dancing shoes always looked new."

 "As several of us danced in both ballets, we were constantly called for rehearsal with either Fokine of Kulichevskaya. The call often came in the afternoon in the middle of one of our academic classes. I enjoyed the rehearsals and did not mind missing classes, for I was repeating this year anyway in Class IV, but I felt sorry for some of the others who were in Class IV for the first time. We were given no extra time to study or prepare for the next day's assignment."

"Through rehearsals for Salanga and L'Animation  des Gobelins were in progress, we were still waiting to hear the Divertissment. Everyone wanted to have a place in the Divertissment, where in each number the attention of the audience would center on the individual dancers, thus giving them more notice that when appearing in a ballet."

"The Divertissment was mounted by Kulichevskaya and Fokine, and by Sergeyev as the teacher of the Stepanov System of Dance Notation, and all the solo numbers were given to the graduating students."

"It was not customary to distinguish advanced students before their graduation year, but four of us-- Georgievskaya, Gerdt, Tchumakova, and I-- hoped that our professors would choose us, as we had all received our white dresses, the highest distinction in dancing, a year earlier than usual , while some of the graduating students only had the second highest, the pink dress." 

 "During the ten-minute break between academic classes, all the students gathered in the big dance hall while the classrooms were aired. The atmosphere was electric; maybe today would be the day that the program for the Divertissement."

"The four of us were standing together when I told Tchumakova that I doubted that would be chosen for the Divertissement; there were so many graduating students, I did not expect there would be a place for me. But the others reassured me saying that I was considered the best pupil in Sergeyev's Theory Class and that they were sure I would be used.

"But I was still doubtful for I did not have the kind of "influence" the three of them had. Yelizaveta's father, Pavel Gerdt, held the rank of Soloist to His Imperial Majesty, the highest distinction for an Artist of the Imperial Theatres."

"Tonya had the protection of both her sister, Olga, and Nikolai Legat. And Frossia's elder sister, Zenaida Georgievskaya, was also an established Artist of the Imperial Theatres."

 "Just at the moment somebody came up behind me and hit me hard on the head. I heard the voice of one of my classmates, Maroussia Dobrolubova-

"Don't lie. Don't pretend you don't know you have a place in the Divertissement."

"I was dumbfounded. I had always been well-liked in the School and I had never imagined I might have enemies."

"I had known Maroussia ever since we attended Cecchetti's classes before entering the Imperial Theatrical School. She was pretty, quiet girl, and I never thought her capable of mean feelings."

"Maybe her mother found out that Maroussia was not to be distinguished in the Student Performance, for unlike my mother she often came to the School to check how her daughter was progressing. Possibly, then Maroussia was boiling inside with resentment to a point where she was unable to control her feelings, even though she must have known that she could be expelled for such behavior."

"The governess on duty that day was Olga Andreevna Molass, and though she saw the incident, to the surprise of everyone Olga Andreevna did not intervene. Maroussia was her pet."

"The bell rang for us to return to our classroom. Everything inside me was burning. I could not forget the incident; I could not concentrate on the lesson. I had be called a liar, and in front of all the students and the governess too."

"At the next break the program was read out, and in fact I did  receive a place in the Divertissement, in a pas de quatre. Sergeyev gave me a roll of paper with notations for the dance, which I had read and then demonstrate to the other three students-- Frossia Geogievskaya. Georgi Rosai. and Alexi Erler-- before the first scheduled rehearsal."

"But I did not experience any sense of happiness. I was sick with hurt. Possibly because of the Polish pride that was part of my ancestry. I was by nature oversensitive to insult, often to the point of injury."

"Each evening the governess marked our grades for conduct in the journal. If a mark was not satisfactory -- that is, below 10-- then an explanation was also written in and the offending student was called to the desk of the governess."

"The following morning the Inspectrice would check the marks and then call the offending student to her office."

"But that evening though Maroussia was given a 6, no reason was written beside the grade, and the next morning the Inspectrice did not call her to account for her misbehavior, or make her apologize to me. As well as hurt, I was now angry, but to whom could I complain and pour out my indignation at this injustice?"

"During our day off at home, I told everything to Vaslav. He promised,

"I will not let the matter rest. No one should dare to offend you without cause!"

"The discipline in the School was strict and specific. The Inspector and the Inspectrice of the Imperial Theatrical School were subject to the authority of the Director of the Imperial Theatres, but as far as we students were concerned they were our highest authority. "

"And we were never allowed to speak to them, except in answer to their questions. So naturally, I could not imagine that Vaslav had gone to speak to the Inspector. As I learned later, the Inspector listened to his story and then explained that he could do nothing. The only jurisdiction he had over the Girls' Division was the area of General and Academic Studies. It was the Inspectrice who, though the governesses, was soley responsible for conduct in the Girls' Division."

"Suddenly I heard that Vaslav, a student, without considering the personal consequences had gone to the Office of the Directorate of the Imperial Theatres ad asked to see Telyakovsky himself. "

"Normally the Directorate was entirely out of the reach of the students. We only saw them at our examinations and the Annual Student Performances. Probably, though it was through Inspector Missovsky that Vaslav got an interview with the Director. " 

"Indignantly Vaslav told Telyakovsky what had happened to his sister and demanded that Dobrolubova apologize in the presence of the whole School, and that there be some punishment."

"The next day all the students were called into the rehearsal hall and the Inspectrice asked Dobrolubova and me to approach her."

"She reprimanded Dobrolubova and told her to apologize to me."

"Then an unheard-of thing happened. The Inspectrice began to talk to me, excusing herself in front of the whole School and asking, 

"Why did your brother not come to me instead of going with a complaint to the Director? I did not know anything about this."

 "How is that possible?"

                               "Nobody told me anything."

"But you saw the mark in the journal."

"For that mark she was deprived of home leave."

"But I persisted with my questions. "

 

"Why was there no  explanation next to the mark? Why was she not called to your office for a reprimand?"

"For misbehavior calling for that, Dobrolubova should have been expelled. Do you want that?"

"No, I do not want her to be expelled but no one should dare call me a liar. "

 

"And firmly I added, "I could not bear it that you, Varvara Ivanova, let the matter go without consequence and accepted Dobrolubova's statement as fact. I always tell the truth." 

 "That's about all I said, but I remember well the effect of my words on the students and how Vaslav became a hero to the whole School through his courageous defense of his sister." 

"I noticed particularly the warm regard which Neslukhovskaya directed towards Vaslav, Later in rehearsals all the girls told me how much they admired Vaslav." - Quote from Bronislava Nijinska on the time her brother stood up for her.

 

I think you can see Nijinsky was seeing his sister, who has always been a good student, wasn't being treated right. When he saw the ones supposed to defend her were turning a blind eye to injustice, he knew that he had to do something if they weren't going to do it, so he went to the top. I don't think many would have done what Nijinsky did because it was risky and who knows what consequences could be, but Nijinsky was not afraid he wanted justice for his sister. Maybe his past had made him realize you have to be assertive and speak up when others won't, and that's precisely what he did. He took matters into his own hands.