Because of what the genius dancer lost touch with reality: The two worlds of Vaslav Nijinsky's butterfly man

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

He was a real dance genius, graceful, flexible, very agile. His very first appearance on the stage at the age of five was greeted with applause, and every year his gift developed, becoming brighter and more distinct. It seemed that his life would be like a fairy tale, but the reality turned out to be too cruel and even merciless towards Vaslav Nijinsky. It is not surprising that his psyche could not withstand the blows, but who inflicted the last wound on him, which turned out to be fatal?

First hit

He was born into a ballet family in 1889. Of the three children of Tomasz Nijinsky and Eleanor Bereda, Vaclav, the middle one, turned out to be the most talented. Already at the age of five, he first appeared on stage and danced the hopak in the Odessa theater. The family of dancers soon broke up and Eleanor Bereda, along with her sons and little daughter, settled in St. Petersburg. Soon, Vaclav was enrolled in a ballet school, where the teachers immediately noted the boy's extraordinary talent.

In the examination ballet Acis and Galatea, staged by Mikhail Fokin, Vaslav Nijinsky played a faun, although he was not yet a graduate. After the premiere, which took place on April 10, 1905 at the Mariinsky, real laudatory odes sounded to Nijinsky, and the school director even offered him a place at the Mariinsky Theater even before Vaclav graduated. The young man, undoubtedly, was flattered by such an offer, but asked to postpone enrollment in the troupe until the end of his studies: he wanted to become a real dancer.

In 1906 he was recruited into the service of the theater, and already in 1907 fate dealt him the very first blow. It became known about him only after the originals of his diaries were discovered in 1979, almost 30 years after the death of the great dancer and choreographer-innovator. In 1907, Prince Pavel Lvov drew attention to Vaslav Nijinsky. He was wealthy and often supported financially young talents. But at the same time, he was known for his gay orientation and love for young beautiful dancers.

Historian Kirill Fitz Lyon, who personally held the originals of Vaslav Nijinsky's diaries in his hands, claims: the dancer decided on a relationship with Lvov with the full approval of his mother. She was able to assure her son that Lvov would be able to arrange the fate of Vaclav, would contribute to his career and financial well-being.

The prince courted beautifully, gave the young man expensive gifts, and the mother showed her approval in every possible way and insisted on the son's favor to the rich patron. Vaclav gave up, became the beloved of the patron, and a gold ring with a diamond sparkled on his finger.

Serge Diaghilev

Later, Sergei Diaghilev drew attention to the handsome dancer, who was able to convince Pavel Lvov to let his beloved go if he wants happiness and fame for Vaclav. And again Nijinsky was forced to live with a man. The unnatural connection weighed on him, and the mental disorder became more and more noticeable.

Vaclav himself described the situation when he fell ill and was bedridden in Paris, where he was involved in the "Russian Seasons". Diaghilev took Nijinsky home and looked after him. The dancer, worn out by illness, asked the patron to buy him an orange.

He later found him crushed on the floor. Vaclav was clearly burdened by Diaghilev's company, literally choking on his control, but he saw no other way out for himself, how to continue living with him. At the same time, he was a regular client of brothels, and the bills for his treatment after such visits were paid, of course, by patrons.

But it was thanks to Sergei Diaghilev that the world recognized the name of the genius dancer Vaslav Nijinsky. The first performances of Nijinsky as a choreographer were met by the audience very ambiguously. There were, of course, those who liked the innovative choreography, but for the majority, the approach of the butterfly man, as he was called, was unusual and incomprehensible.

Romola Pulskaya

During the tour, Vaclav Nijinsky met Romola Pulskaya, who looked at the dancer with delight and mute adoration. She already had the pleasure of seeing him on stage and was completely captivated by his plasticity. Young people began to communicate and Vaclav literally blossomed. He found Romula beautiful in every way, and her admiration for talent quickly grew into a real feeling.

They went ashore in Buenos Aires on September 10, 1913, and on the same day, Vaclav took his beloved down the aisle. Romula was incredibly happy and did not immediately inform her family about her marriage. Sergei Diaghilev also knew nothing about the intention of his dear friend to marry.

When the secret was revealed, Diaghilev was enraged, and a telegram was sent to the happy newlywed, informing that Diaghilev's troupe no longer needed Nijinsky's services. The dancer himself did not care at that moment: he got rid of the relationship that weighed him down in one fell swoop and finally felt like a man. At the same time, Vaslav Nijinsky did not enter into a contract and, therefore, did not receive any fees, all his expenses were paid by Diaghilev. Consequently, he also had no right to receive compensation upon dismissal.

Genius to madness

Departure from Diaghilev became a real test for Nijinsky. He did not have an entrepreneurial streak and the very first tours of his own entreprise were a failure. Failure triggered his mental illness.

At the beginning of the First World War, impressionable and vulnerable Vaclav Nijinsky ended up with his wife and daughter in Budapest. There they were interned and forced to live in the house of Romola's mother, who openly disliked her son-in-law.

Fortunately, in early 1916, Diaghilev invited the dancer on a tour to America, where Vaslav Nijinsky was a resounding success as a dancer, but the ballet Till Ulenspiegel, staged by him, turned out to be a failure.

Serious stress and anxiety completely undermined the health of the brilliant dancer. The wife watched in horror as the beloved Wenceslas turned into a completely different person. A delicate, gentle, caring husband began to show aggression and even once pushed her down the stairs.

He last appeared on stage in 1919, calling his performance "A Wedding with God." It was a strange game, like a growing nightmare. The spectators sat, literally numb with horror, and watched the strange dance of the bird-man. He himself later wrote in his diary that he "danced terrible things."

Soon, the brilliant dancer found himself in a clinic for the mentally ill. Only seven years were allotted to him and Romola for real happiness, and after 30 years of clinics, endless and, in fact, unsuccessful treatment. Diaghilev tried to help Nijinsky and began to take him to performances, but Vaclav remained completely indifferent. Later, in 1939, Sergei Lifar arrived at the clinic where Nijinsky was receiving treatment. He hoped to dance for the genius dancer, awakening his memories and returning him to art.

In a separate room, Lifar danced for his only spectator for several hours. And at some point, the hitherto indifferent Vaclav Nijinsky got up and performed one of his amazing jumps. Last.

He passed away in London 11 years after his last jump.

The beginning of the twentieth century was truly triumphant for Russian ballet abroad. Foreign dance masters stood at the origins of our ballet, but when abroad this kind of art seemed to have outlived its usefulness, the arrival of Diaghilev's Russian Seasons in Paris became akin to a sensation. Later, Russian choreographers made a real revolution in the art of ballet abroad. Many of the productions of that time really went down in the history of world ballet.