Research Paper On Vaslav Nijinsky

From Ballet to Modern Dance
Vaslav Nijinsky was a Russian ballet dancer and choreographer of Polish decent of the 20th Century. He was born on March 12, 1889 and died on April 8, 1950. He is commonly known to be the best male ballet dancer of his time. He was introduced to dance early on by his parents, who were also dancers. His sister, Bronislava Nijinska was also a dancer and worked with Vaslav Nijinsky throughout his career. Although he began dancing at a very young age and often played the lead in various dance pieces, he was not very well known until he joined Serge Diaghilev’s dance company “Ballet Russes,” where his talent was shared throughout a variety of audiences. Vaslav was so fascinating because he portrayed ballet in a way that
This is one of the most famous performances in history due to its cause of a huge riot at its opening night. This is due to the unexpected costumes, music, and choreography of the piece. For example, the choreography included untraditional, unexpected dance moves: they (the dancers) hunched over, hammering their feet into the floorboards (Acocella). The audience expected to watch a very graceful, smooth flowing performance. Rather than depicting a traditional ballet dance piece, unlike what was expected, The Rite of Spring contained harsh music, heavy costumes, and hard footsteps (Moore). These elements of the dance angered many audience members, while other audience members enjoyed it. Disagreement among the crowd led to a huge uproar and caused a riot. After this piece, Nijinsky and Stravinsky no longer collaborated. This event became one of the most historic moments in dance. “The premiere would pass into legend as one of the great moments of cultural history, but for each of the protagonists it was a personal turning point, too”
He created a dance style that caused people to feel a variety of emotion, from anger, to confusion, to even amazement. His skill was very unique and highly praised by many all over the world. He was very bold and created dances that were not typically expected to be performed in a traditional ballet piece. His dancing caused a stir among many audiences, causing people to question the art of ballet. Nijinsky began the pavement to the style of modern dance, contradicting the very strict and uniform movement of ballet. Although he had to undergo much criticism during many of his pieces, he continued to choreograph his dance pieces through his own style, instead of conforming to what the audience wanted to see. His legendary pieces and unique form of movement continue to influence various styles of dance