Baron Adolf de Meyer. Photograph of Nijinsky as the Faun
in L’Après-midi d’un Faune, Paris,
1911. Roger Pryor Dodge Collection, Jerome Robbins Dance
Division, The New York Public Library for the Performing
Arts
Why does Nijinsky continue to fascinate? 100 years ago, it was his
dancing - the technique, the elevation, the power and stage presence.
Then it was his choreography, the totally unexpected movement vocabulary.
Later, it was his life story - the personalities, the impact of
World War I on an artist, the questions about his emotional health.
Artists seek clues in his life to understand their own reactions
to war and turmoil. Historians seek clues to his work, trying to
understand how he synthesized the artistic revolutions happening
around him.
Since no film survives,
our judgments of Nijinsky's dancing are based on descriptions
and photographs. The Jerome Robbins Dance Division houses the
acclaimed Roger Pryor Dodge Collection of photographs showing
Nijinsky in action. Some are by celebrated artists of the lens,
such as the Baron Adolf de Meyer; others are by promotional photographers
whose job was to shoot what was happening on stage and deliver
it quickly to a newspaper or magazine. They let us understand
the impact of Nijinsky on stage - the power, the weight and the
excitement felt by his contemporary audiences. In the gallery,
you can also see artists' depictions of Nijinsky, in motion and,
occasionally in mid-air. At the back of the Gallery is a theater
in which reconstructions of Nijinsky's choreography can be viewed.
