Nijinsky (1889-1950)

Nijinsky danced during ten years, a short period of time during which his destiny was linked to that of Diaghilev, the founder of the Ballets Russes – one of the great artistic adventures of the first half of the twentieth century. The unforgettable interpreter of Armide's Pavillion, The Spectre of the Rose, Petrushka, he was also a groundbreaking choreographer, in particular for L'Après-midi d'un faune and the Rite of Spring, an unprecedented masterpiece, the premiere of which was a scandal in 1913. Admired by many - Rodin, Bakst, Kokoschka, Modigliani, Cocteau - he also served as a model to them. All endeavoured to freeze movement and to retranscribe the process of metamorphosis of the dancer and the originality of this avant-garde choreographer who broke with the conventions of classical ballet. Nijinsky remains one of the few mythical figures of dance.