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Legendary Dancer Vaslav Nijinsky Revealed in Exhibition
at the Library for the Performing Arts from February 12 through May 3
Nijinsky Diary and Ballets Russes American Tour Artifacts Help Place Nijinsky in Historical Context
New York, NY, February 5, 2003 -- With the debut of the Ballets Russes in Paris on May 17, 1909, a new era of dance was born. This Russian company led by Serge Diaghilev dazzled the Western world with its dance and its dancers, and foremost among the extraordinary troupe was Vaslav Nijinsky, a young dancer of breathtaking virtuosity and intensity. The Jerome Robbins Dance Division of The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, which has a renowned collection of Nijinsky photographs and other research resources, has drawn over 250 artifacts from its collections and from the Library’s music and theater collections to mount Vaslav Nijinsky: Creating A New Artistic Era. The exhibition on the legendary dancer/choreographer opens February 12 and runs through May 3 in the Donald and Mary Oenslager Gallery at the Library’s Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center, 40 Lincoln Center Plaza. Admission to the exhibition is free. For further information, telephone 212.870.1630. The exhibition focuses on Nijinsky’s career as a dancer and choreographer in a time marked by international disruptions of war as well as avant-garde collaborations and artistic fomentation. His life, work, and enduring legacy are revealed through the display of vintage photographs, drawings, costume and set designs, programs, posters, and his handwritten diary, which the Library acquired in 1994. Fifteen pages of dance notations, ten abstract drawings, and selected text pages (in a personal Polish/Russian argot) from the diary have been digitized and enlarged for display. Among other treasures, the exhibition features original costume designs by Robert Edmond Jones for Nijinsky’s last ballet, Till Eulenspiegel; the Le Sacre du Printemps score with composer Igor Stravinsky’s markings; and original artwork by Nijinsky. This will be the first time that many of the artifacts dealing with the 1916 American tour will be on display in an exhibition. Posters and other promotional artifacts place Nijinsky’s performances, tours, and choreography in cultural and historical context. Performance and personal photographs from among the 2,000 held by the Library are also included in the exhibition. Video documentation of reconstructions of his ballets L’Après-midi d’un Faune and Le Sacre du Printemps will be shown, and a series of related free programs will be presented in the Library’s Bruno Walter Auditorium. Many consider Nijinsky to have been the greatest dancer of all time. His charismatic portrayals and his phenomenal technique, including the height and lightness of his leaps, were astounding. After seeing his performance in Schéhérazade in 1910, Jean Cocteau wrote, "Nijinsky jumps like a young beast of prey that had been kept locked up in darkness and is now intoxicated by the light." In short order, Nijinsky would shock the world with his own revolutionary choreography, in which he rejected standard ballet technique for new movement vocabularies. In a minority report of approval, French writer Jacques Rivière observed that the choreographer’s Le Sacre du Printemps (1913) marked a turning point in the history of Western art. Tragically, Nijinsky’s brief, brilliant career was cut short by his descent into mental illness in 1919 (he died in London in 1950). His diary, written over a 6 1/2-week period in the winter of 1919, bears poignant witness to his breakdown. But his spectacular achievements in the 12 years that he danced and choreographed continue to fascinate and inspire. "Because of the extraordinary artistic alliances of the period, exhibitions on Nijinsky often focus heavily on his collaborators and fellow artists, such as Stravinsky, Fokine, and Leon Bakst, whereas this show takes a rare and intimate look at Nijinsky and his creative process," says Madeleine Nichols, Curator of the Library’s Jerome Robbins Dance Division and the exhibition’s organizer. "Like Nijinsky, artists today live in an atmosphere of uncertainty, so we hope they will draw inspiration in this exhibition from his art. All viewers – regardless of their background – will have a strong sense of Nijinsky’s passion and lasting inspiration for artists." Jacqueline Z. Davis, The Barbara G. and Lawrence A. Fleischman Executive Director of the Library for the Performing Arts, points out that this exhibition is part of the year of festivities across America that celebrates St. Petersburg’s 300th Anniversary in 2003. "Nijinsky was trained in St. Petersburg and had his earliest successes at the great Maryinsky Theater. This homage provides a window on a pivotal time in the arts, a time in which St. Petersburg played a key role." Vaslav Nijinsky
Vaslav Nijinsky (1889* – 1950) was born in Kiev to Polish ballet dancers who performed throughout the Russian empire and were his first teachers. At the age of nine, the young prodigy entered the Imperial School of Dancing in St. Petersburg, where his exceptional talent was nurtured by the foremost ballet teachers of the day. By the time he graduated in 1907, joining the Maryinsky Theater as a soloist, he had already performed with the company and was being hailed in Russia as the greatest dancer of the day. From 1907 to 1911, Nijinsky danced all of the leading roles at the Maryinsky, including Albrecht in Giselle and the princes in Swan Lake and The Sleeping Beauty. In 1909 he was invited by Serge Diaghilev to become a charter member and principal dancer of the Ballets Russes. When it debuted in Paris, the company – but most especially Nijinsky – took the city by storm. Such ballets as Michel Fokine’s Schéhérazade, Le Spectre de la Rose, and Petrouchka were created expressly for Nijinsky. Through the company’s tours and the international press coverage that ensued, his name and legend spread rapidly throughout the world. Nijinsky made his own choreographic debut in 1912 with L’Après-midi d’un Faune, in which he danced the title role. This was followed in 1913 by Jeux and Le Sacre du Printemps and then, in 1916, by his final ballet, Till Eulenspiegel, which had its premiere in New York. In all four ballets, Nijinsky rejected the classical ballet technique in which he excelled to explore new dance movement that was both powerful and emotional. His breaks with the two major companies with which he danced were wrenching. In 1911, he was fired from the Maryinsky for the Giselle costume he had worn in Act 1. This was the costume designed by Alexandre Benois that he had worn in Paris for the Ballets Russes performances. Then, in 1913, his mentor and lover Diaghilev fired him from the Ballets Russes after Nijinsky married a fellow dancer, Romola de Pulszky, on tour (although he returned to the company for its American tour in 1916). Mental illness forced his retirement from performance by 1919, but he continues to fascinate and, even in the age of Nureyev and Baryshnikov, he remains a vibrant part of our cultural heritage, his name synonymous with great dance.
Vaslav Nijinsky: Creating A New Artistic Era was developed by The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts: Jacqueline Z. Davis, The Barbara G. and Lawrence A. Fleischman Executive Director; Barbara Stratyner, The Judy R. and Alfred A. Rosenberg Curator of Exhibitions. The exhibition is curated by Madeleine Nichols, Curator of the Jerome Robbins Dance Division. Alloy created the concept and exhibition design. Alloy members include: Richard Dempsey, Mary Dinaburg, Gary Tooth, Terry Wendell, and Randall Yaw. The public programs presented in conjunction with the exhibition have been organized by Alan Pally, Manager of Public Programs at the Library for the Performing Arts. Vaslav Nijinsky: Creating A New Artistic Era will be on view from February 12, 2003 through May 3, 2003 at The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center, Donald and Mary Oenslager Gallery, 40 Lincoln Center Plaza, New York. Exhibition hours are Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday from 12 noon to 6 p.m.; Thursday from 12 noon to 8 p.m.; closed Sundays, Mondays, and holidays. Admission is free. For exhibition information, telephone 212.870.1630 or visit the Library’s website at www.nypl.org. Support for Vaslav Nijinsky: Creating A New Artistic Era has been provided by Anne H. Bass and by The Liman Foundation. The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts gratefully acknowledges the leadership support of Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman. Additional support for exhibitions has been provided by Judy R. and Alfred A. Rosenberg and the Miriam and Harold Steinberg Foundation. * His birth year has been variously given as 1888, 1889, and 1890, but is now generally believed to be 1889. Schedule of Public Programs for Vaslav Nijinsky: Creating A New Artistic Era To complement the exhibition, the Library is presenting a series of programs at the Library’s Bruno Walter Auditorium. Additional programs may be added. Admission is free. For information, telephone 212.642.0142. Thursday, February 27, 6:30 p.m. Thursday, March 27, 6:30 p.m. Thursday, April 3, 6:30 p.m. ###
Contacts: Rima Corben or Herb Scher at 212.704.8600.
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