Ballet Archives

Photo Credit: Vaslav Nijinsky in ballet "Paquita", 1908, Mariinsky Theatre, St. Petersburg, Russia Bronislava Nijinska recounts a memory in 1907 where her brother Vaslav Nijinsky met his idol the pianist Josef Hoffman though  Nijinsky's friend  Prince Lvov. Nijinska describes this moment in her own words and when her brother quit teaching his Social Dancing classes.   "He has only to enter a room and his presence and personality brighten everyone and everything around him"  "Seeing how impressed Vaslav was by Hoffman, Lvov talked to him at length, trying to encourage Vaslav's ambition and stressing how important it was for him to have continuous training in dancing and then he should take every possible lesson with Cecchetti. I think Lvov must have known that Vaslav did not feel that Legat's classes had much to offer him and that Vaslav took advantage of the slightest excuse in order to miss them." "Lvov also advised Vaslav that he should

Photo Credit: Concert number "Lezginka" Vaslav Nijinsky from the Divertissement "Pir", 1909, Berlin   During 1907 Nijinsky was to dance the part of the Prince in Swan Lake with ballerina Anna Pavlova but he became ill and wasn't able to make the performance.  Pavlova instead finding a new partner decided to perform a solo, the  swan this  performance would be the most memorable and live on as one of her greatest performances. Nijinsky read about what the critics thought about the performance and he was happy for Pavlova and Fokine but was disappointed he couldn't be part of that success and he was disappointed he didn't get to  dance with Anna Pavlova.  In my post about Nijinsky Dancing with Anna Pavlova please see  https://balletarchives.blogspot.com/2021/03/nijinsky-and-pavlovas-almost-swan-lake.htm l for more about how that night he was sick went. During Vaslav Nijinsky dealing with a cold Bronislava Nijinska asks him about his time in Moscow. Bronisl

Photo Credit: Nijinsky in the Siamese Dance in Les Orientales, 1910 Vaslav Ninjinsky gave a mind blowing performance when he took the stage as Blue Bird from The Sleeping Beauty  Ballet Bronislava Nijinska recounts this memory in her own words.    "Three days after the first performance of Le Pavillon d' Armide, Vaslav's dream was realized. On Wednesday, November 28, 1907, he was to dance the grand pas de deux, " Princess Florine and the Blue Bird," in Act II of The Sleeping Beauty." "Nijinsky was only eighteen years old when he was chosen to appear as the Blue Bird on the stage of the Maryinsky Theatre. It was most unusual that such an important dancing part as the Blue Bird should be entrusted to an Artist in his very first ballet season in the Imperial Theatres," "Princess Florine was to be danced  by Lydia Kyaksht. I was not familiar with this excellent classical dancer, for soon after her graduation from the School, in 1902, she had only