#nijinsky

Adolf de Meyer

1910

Nijinsky as Harlequin in Carnaval

Léon Bakst “The Afternoon of a Faun” costume design (1912) Source

Happy birthday Nijinsky!

Today, March 12th, is the birthday of queer Polish-Russian dancer Vaslav Nijinsky! 

Nijinsky was considered both the best and most controversial ballet dancer of the early 20th century. He shocked audiences with his skin-tight costumes, and the scandalous and often sexual themes of his choreography; his ballet The Rite of Spring incited a riot on its opening night.

nijinsky: a story where the imbalance of power between the two main characters unsettled me at first, a testament to the siennes' ability to portray such a intricate and haunting relationship; through dance, through glances, through dialogue, they embodied the fragile tension of a puppeteer and his marionette, bound together in a dance of salvation and ruin (gifs 4 & 5). when Chigi’s character, Nijinsky, broke down toward the end, spiraling into the heights of his illness, I got goosebumps (gifs 2 and 3). it might not be the best tkz show of all times, yet it left me thinking, which is worth something.