DEDICATED TO THE 130TH ANNIVERSARY OF WATZLAV NIJINSKY

A man of great talent and tragic fate, Vatzlav Nijinsky, during his lifetime, became a legendary person. Possessing unique plasticity, a soaring jump, seemingly not obeying the laws of gravity, musically gifted, he became the first ballet superstar of the 20th century. Without stinting praise, viewers and critics of Russia, Europe, and America called him “the god of dance”, “the eighth wonder of the world”, a genius ... Nizhinsky’s talent changed the attitude of ballet theater to male dance, determining its development in the 20th century. History has elevated authorial productions to the status of masterpieces that are ahead of their time. And how glorious was the time allotted to Nizhinsky for a creative flight, the next thirty years, coupled with mental illness, were just as bitter. The genius and madness, united in the fate of Vaclav Nizhinsky, created for history an image of an incomprehensible and shrouded in a halo of mystery.

Vatzlav Nijinsky was born in 1889 in Kiev in a family of dancers. At the age of 9 he was admitted to the St. Petersburg Ballet School, after graduation - to the troupe of the Mariinsky Theater. Masterfully performing the parts of the classical repertoire, he fully revealed his talent in the performances of his contemporary Mikhail Fokin. After the scandalous dismissal from the St. Petersburg troupe in 1911, Nijinsky became a permanent artist of the entreprise Sergei Diaghilev, with whom he had already collaborated since 1909, performing as part of Russian Seasons. In 1912, the production of “Afternoon of a Faun” to the music of Debussy revealed to the public the talent of the Nijinsky choreographer. A year later, the ballets "The Rite of Spring" to the music of Stravinsky and "Jeux" to the music of Debussy appeared, later "Till Eulenspiegel" to the music of Richard Strauss. At the end of 1913, Diaghilev broke off his creative relationship with Nijinsky, and three years later, after a tour to America, the union was completely broken. Nijinsky is trying his hand as an entrepreneur, but to no avail. In 1919, he last spoke to the public in Switzerland, in view of the worsening state of mind, forced to end his career. From this year until his death in 1950, Vatzlav Nijinsky has been undergoing treatment in clinics and lives with his family in Europe. He was buried in Paris at the Montmartre cemetery, where a monument was erected in memory of the dancer - Nijinsky as "Petrushka" from the ballet of the same name by Mikhail Fokin.

PROGRAM:

"THE TALISMAN"
pas de deux Niriti and god of the wind Vayu
(choreography by Marius Petipa)

GISELLE
pas de deux Giselle and Count Albert
(choreography by Marius Petipa)

"SWAN"
(choreography by Mikhail Fokin)

CHOPENIANA
(choreography by Mikhail Fokin)

SHEHERAZADA
Duet of Zobeida and the Golden Slave
(choreography by Mikhail Fokin)

“LE SPECTRE DE LA ROSE”
(choreography by Mikhail Fokin)

"PETRUSHKA"
Petrushka monologue
(choreography by Mikhail Fokin)

"AFTERNOON OF A FAUN"
(choreography by Vatzlav Nijinsky)