Bronislava Fominitshna
Nijinska
1891-1972
Russian ballet dancer and choreographer; sister of Vaclav Nijinsky
and considered to be one of the most gifted and original choreographers
of the twentieth century.
Being the younger sister of perhaps the most famous dancer of the
twentieth century - Vaclav Nijinsky - had
to have been a difficult situation for Bronia. Not only did she handle
this with dignity, but she went on to become his protector.
Nijinska was born in 1891 while her parents, Eleonora Bereda and Foma
Nijinsky, were on tour in Warsaw. Her first teacher was Enrico Cecchetti,
and later she became a student of St. Petersburg's Imperial Ballet
School. After graduating in 1908 she joined the Maryinsky Ballet. Bronia
and Vaclav became members of the Diaghilev Ballets
Russes in 1909. Some of the roles she created were in Fokine's
Carnaval (1910) and Petrushka (1911).
As a dancer she was especially renowned for her jumps. When Vaclav
was dismissed from the Maryinsky Ballet in 1911, she insisted that
she also be dismissed, and she was forced to forfeit her title "Artist
of the Imperial Theater." Nijinska danced in her brother's short
lived ballet company in London in 1914. In 1915 she returned to Russia.
She danced in Kiev, and opened a school where she trained her most
famous student, Serge Lifar. In 1921 Nijinska
rejoined Ballets Russes.
One of the first pieces she choreographed was "Three Ivans" for
Petipa's The Sleeping Beauty, later renamed Sleeping Princess. While
she was a dancer with Ballets
Russes she became the chief choreographer of the company. Her first
ballets were Igor Stravinsky's Renard
(1922) and Les Noces (1923). The following year she choreographed Les
Biches, Les Fâcheux and Le Train Bleu. She also helped her brother,
Vaclav with his L'Apres-midi d'un faune, and danced in many of his
ballets.
Bronislava later choreographed for the Paris Opéra, Opéra
Russe à Paris, and her own company. She choreographed Ravel's
Bolero, which received its premiere at the Paris Opéra in 1928
and was an overnight sensation. Nijinska eventually settled in California
and opened a ballet school. From time to time she would teach at the American
Ballet Theatre School. In 1972 she died in Los Angeles.
Above right: Marie Laurencin's
original designs for Les Biches
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