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Nijinsky, Vaslav

biographical name

Nijinsky in Spectre de la rose.—Courtesy of the Dance Collection, the New York Public Library at Lincoln Center, Roger Pryor Dodge Collection

(born March 12, 1890, Kiev, Ukraine, Russian Empire—died April 8, 1950, London, Eng.) Russian ballet dancer. After early lessons from his parents, famous dancers with their own company, he and his sister, Bronislava Nijinska, trained further in St. Petersburg, and he joined the Mariinsky Theatre company in 1907. With his spectacular leaps and unrivaled grace, he was an immediate success, dancing leading roles in Giselle, Swan Lake, and Sleeping Beauty, often with Anna Pavlova and Tamara Karsavina. In 1909 he joined the new Ballets Russes, and he created many roles in Michel Fokine's ballets, including Carnaval, Les Sylphides, Le Spectre de la rose, Petrushka, and Daphnis and Chloe. In 1912–13 he choreographed The Afternoon of a Faun, Jeux, and The Rite of Spring, all of which caused scandals. His marriage in 1913 led to his dismissal from the company by his mentor, Sergey Diaghilev. He continued to perform but with less success. His intensifying mental illness led to his retirement in 1919, and he lived mostly in mental institutions in Switzerland, France, and England until his death. His status as a legend is unequaled in the history of dance.