Death of a Faun, with actor-dancer Nicholas Johnson as the legendary dancer, recently played Off-Off-Broadway, at St. Clements Theatre. Formerly a dancer with The Royal Ballet and English National Ballet, Mr. Johnson is a now an actor in London's West End, and on television.
The play, written by David Pownall and directed by Jennie Buckman, professes to be Nijinsky's reactions to the death of Russian impresario Serge Diaghilev, in August 1929. While the body of Diaghilev is being buried on one of the Venetian islands, Nijinsky, hopelessly insane, is seen in the chapel of the Bellevue Sanatorium, located in Kreuzlingen, Switzerland.
There is considerable raving against Diaghilev who, in the playwright's words, "wanted the mastery of his [Nijinsky's] soul and broke his life to get it." Nijinsky's requiem for Diaghilev, loaded with mad ravings for close to two hours (no intermission), got to be a bit of a burden.
Although numerous writers have blamed and dumped on Diaghilev through the years, the program's excerpts from a biography by Nicholas Dromgoole seem logical. He indicates that "After the break with Diaghilev, Nijinsky exchanged the domination of Diaghilev for that of a scheming wife, whose domination led to Nijinsky's mental instability and finally madness."
Diaghilev did rescue Nijinsky when he was caught in Budapest during World War I and was held under house arrest, and Diaghilev did attempt to reconcile with Nijinsky, but wife Romola's machinations resulted in the final break.
Wherever the blame for Nijinsky's confinement in an asylum lies, we may rest assured that he must have been born under a malignant star. His fame as a dancer only spanned eight years.
Where this production scores is in Johnson's performance of short bits from ballets by Fokine and Nijinsky. Fokine's supreme masterpiece Petrouchka was said to be among Nijinsky's most triumphant roles. The short sequences performed by Mr. Johnson were so electrifying, we couldn't help wishing that there had been fuller manifestations of this ballet.
Johnson also scored in excerpts from Nijinsky's Afternoon of a Faun. Here, too, we could have wished for a extended portrayal. There were also snippets from Fokine's Scheherazade, Les Sylphides, and Spectre de la Rose.
Predominant after seeing the excerpts from Petrouchka was the desire to see a full revival of this ballet. Although some of Fokine's works may seem dated, from the excerpts performed by Nicholas Johnson, Petrouchka remains an undiminished masterpiece.
Mr. Johnson, who is of Anglo-Polish descent, managed to convey an authentic Russian-Polish accent, even if some of the dialogue was lost--no doubt due to the acoustics at St. Clement's Church. He even managed to look like Nijinsky at times. This Death of a Faun ran April 1-13.
Kicking Off National Dance Week
The New York City Dance Alliance, in conjunction with Dance Magazine, is co-sponsoring an outdoor "kick-off" to celebrate National Dance Week. The event will include celebrity guest speakers and spectacular highlights from "New York Onstage: Dance for Life"--a series of performances benefiting Dancers Responding to AIDS. Cities across the U.S. will also present "kicklines" to join forces with New York City. The event is open to the public.
Celebrity guests expected include Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, Representative Carolyn B. Maloney, Schuyler G. Chapin, Dance Magazine Editor-in-Chief Richard Philp, Jacques D'Amboise, Ann Reinking, and Leslie Brown. Participants comprise American Ballroom Theatre, American Tap Dance Orchestra, Complexions: A Concept in Dance, Lar Lubovitch Dance Company, Jennifer Muller/The Works, Joyce Trisler Dance Co., Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo, The Limon Company, Murray Louis and Nikolais Dance, New York Theatre Ballet, and many more.
The kick-off takes place at noon, April 28, at the Fountain Plaza, Lincoln Center.
Lectures at Lincoln Center
"An Introduction to the Dance," a free lecture series by Adam Pinsker, continues with two sessions in May, sponsored by The Dance Collection at The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts.
On May 8 the subject is Fred Astaire, hailed by Balanchine as the greatest dancer of his time. The universally loved Fred Astaire also inspired Merce Cunningham, Kenneth Macmillan, and Mikhail Baryshnikov.
On May 22 the creations of Alvin Ailey and George Balanchine will be explored, under the blanket title "American Theatrical Dance."
Pinsker has been executive producer of the Public Theater's New York Dance Festival, general manager of the Pennsylvania Ballet, president of the Association of American Dance Companies, and executive director of Dance St. Louis. He has written about dance for The New Yorker and for Ballet Review, and has lectured on dance, music, and arts management at several universities.
Lectures: Thursdays, 5:30 pm, May 8 and 22. Site: the Bruno Walter Auditorium at Lincoln Center. Free.
Ballet Builders
Ballet Builders, under the direction of Michael Kraus and Ruth Chester, returns for its seventh annual season of presenting works by both young and established ballet choreographers. As always, the program consists of varied choreographic approaches to classical dance. The seven choreographers featured this year are: Vladimir Anguelov, Pascal Benichou, Colleen Cavanaugh, Laura Doughty, Kevin Bernard Johnson, Tracy Present, and Chris DC Ramos.
Performances: Sat., April 26, at 8 pm; Sun., April 27, at 3 pm. Site: Florence Gould Hall, 55 E. 59th St. (between Madison and Park avenues), NYC. Tickets: $20. Reservations: (212) 355-6160 or Ticketmaster (212) 307-7171.