Numerous attributes are credited to the legendary Nijinsky, the most acclaimed dancer of the 20th century. In his short career, he not only achieved fame as a dancer, he created four ballets: "L'Après-midi d'un Faune," "Jeux," "Le Sacre du printemps," and "Till Eulenspiegel." With these, he established new directions for ballet. Many consider him among the first of the modern ballet choreographers whose influences set 20th-century ballet on to the future. He was certainly among those who enabled ballet to go forward.
It never fails to boggle the mind when we realize that Nijinsky, who had been trained in the traditions of the old Russian Imperial Ballet, managed to pull away from his classical background in his dancing and choreography. The influence of impresario Serge Diaghilev, who was his mentor and lover, was inestimable in setting Nijinsky on his contemporary way. Diaghilev not only influenced new trends in ballet, he recognized and employed famed graphic artists and composers of the century, including Picasso, Matisse, Stravinsky, and Ravel.
From 1919 until 1946, Nijinsky was in and out of various sanitariums. He died in England in 1950. John Neumeier, artistic director and choreographer of the Hamburg Ballet, focuses this work on a performance Nijinsky gave, in 1919, in a ballroom of the Suvretta House Hotel in St. Moritz, Switzerland, where he danced publicly for the last time.
As Neumeier explains, "My ballet Nijinsky begins with a realistic re-creation of this situation. The choreography which follows, however, visualizes his thoughts, memories, and hallucinations during this last performance."
In Part I, Nijinsky, through the imagined appearance of Diaghilev, recalls vast images of his career with Diaghilev's Ballets Russes. Nijinsky visualizes fragments of his roles, which are performed by other dancers as aspects of his personality. The dancing images merge and mingle with characters from his private life. His parents, who were his first teachers, along with his sister, Bronislava (later on a famed choreographer), and brother, Stanislav, also appear in his fantasy.
Images of Nijinsky's own choreography and his marriage to Romola Pulsky, which caused the rift with Diaghilev and the Ballets Russes, conclude the first act.
Part II blends Nijinsky's memories of childhood, family, school, and friends as his madness drives him further into himself. His "Sacre du printemps," which caused the biggest scandal in ballet history, is juxtaposed with the horrors of war and the death of his brother, Stanislav. In choreographer Neumeier's own words: "In Nijinsky's eyes, it is the world around him—not 'Nijinsky' that has gone mad… The Suvretta House performance and my ballet end with Nijinsky's last dance—the War."
Neumeier has realized a phenomenal work in his creation. Just the way he re-created fragments from the works of Michel Fokine's "Les Sylphides," "Scheherazade," "Spectre de la rose," and "Petrouchka," all of which Nijinsky performed, was simply astounding. Neumeier didn't just copy Fokine; that would have been too easy. The Hamburg Ballet's artistic director re-created in his own mold, even to the extent of giving the fragments in an almost contemporary vein.
But then, he had an extraordinary group of dancers, so that he could assign them the most difficult combinations of ballet and modern patterns, all of which they performed with amazing ease.
Jiri BubenÃcek had the most grueling of characterizations in the title role, one that could tear any performer apart physically and emotionally, but he managed to sustain consummate artistry throughout the entire ballet. Anna Polikarpova was warmly sympathetic as Nijinsky's wife, Romola. Ivan Urban as Diaghilev, Elizabeth Loscavio as Bronislava Nijinska, Lloyd Riggins in the role of Petrouchka, and Yukichi Hattori in dual roles portraying Nijinsky's brother, Stanislav, as well as one of Nijinsky's shadows, all managed riveting performances.
Sets, costumes, and lighting concept, based partly on original sketches by Léon Bakst and Alexandre Benois, were by John Neumeier.
There were so many fleeting images involved that it would take several viewings in order to absorb everything. We regret that there were only three late-February performances at City Center, for this was a work that should be seen not just by balletomanes, but by anyone avid to extend his or her sense of diversity in the performing arts.
Anita Cheng Dance at St. Mark's
Danspace Project presents dance maker and award-winning video artist Anita Cheng as part of the Winter 2004 City/Dans series. For "Open Order," which includes three premieres and live music, Cheng collaborates with artists and composers to merge dance, new music, and video-art installations into an evening of performance. She explores the invention and juxtaposition of prerecorded and live dance, digital and acoustic music, and order and spontaneity. Video design and décor is by Ronaldo Kiel.
Venue: St. Mark's Church-in-the-Bowery, 131 East 10th St. (at Second Avenue), NYC. Performances: March 4-7 at 8:30 pm. Tickets: $15, or TDF vouchers; reservations can be made by calling the box office at (212) 674-8194, or online at www.danspaceproject.org.
Harkness Dance Project Is 10
The 92nd Street Y Harkness Dance Project will be celebrating its 10th anniversary year with performances by four different companies at the Duke on 42nd Street.
Venue: The Duke on 42nd Street, 229 West 42nd St., NYC. Performances: Wed., Thurs., and Sat. at 8 pm; Sun. at 2 and 7 pm: Nicholasleichterdance—March 3, 4, 6, and 7; Johannes Wieland—March 10, 11, 13, and 14; Wally Cardona Quartet—March 17, 18, 20, and 21; David Dorfman Dance—March 24, 25, 27, and 28. Tickets: $20, available at the box office, or via Telecharge by calling (212) 239-6200 or online at www.telecharge.com. Tickets for students and seniors are $15 with ID in person only at the Duke box office.
BodyVox Debuts at Joyce
BodyVox, a crisscrossing of dance, film, and theatre created by Jamey Hampton and Ashley Roland in 1997, is readying itself for its Joyce Theater debut in March.
The troupe will present 13 works, including two films. Among the pieces is "Reverie," a lush excursion into another world that features six playful performers costumed in bamboo and calla lily outfits.
Venue: The Joyce Theater, 175 Eighth Ave., NYC. Performances: March 9-14, Tues.-Fri. at 8 pm, Sat. at 2 and 8 pm, Sun. at 2 and 7:30 pm. Tickets: $36, available at the Joyce box office, by calling JoyceCharge at (212) 242-0800, or online at www.joyce.org.
BAX/Brooklyn Arts Exchange Grants
Guidelines and applications for the BAX/Brooklyn Arts Exchange's Space Grant and Artist in Residence programs became available on March 1. Six Space Grants will be awarded to dance, theatre, or performance artists, to be used between June and September of 2004. Awards consist of between 60 and 70 hours of free rehearsal space in any of BAX's three rehearsal studios. This grant is designed to give Brooklyn-based artists the opportunity to create new work in a setting that is conducive to working deeply and exploring new territory.
All awardees will perform the work they develop in one of two showcases, Oct. 15 and 16 or Nov. 19 and 20, in BAX's theatre. Applicants must be Brooklyn residents. Artists may apply in only one category. Deadline for receipt of applications is April 15. For an application and guidelines, call (718) 832-0018.
Harkness Fridays at Noon
Choreographers may apply to the Harkness Fridays at Noon program for subsidized rehearsal space to create new works or develop works in progress. Applications are reviewed on an ongoing basis. Show your work in Fridays at Noon, a weekly informal mixed-bill performance series. Call (212) 415-5553 for an application.