Evening star., 1950-04-08
Nijjiinsky
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umphant as the worlds greatest
male dancer.
His grandfather, a wealthy. Po-
lish landowner, gambled away his
fortune and committed suicide
His grandmother died of grief
His mother was disinherited when
she ran away from home to be-
come a dancer. His brother be-
came a permanent invalid from
injuries suffered in fall. Then
his father abandoned his mother
leaving her to provide as best she
could for three children.
Nijinsky was born in Kiev, Feb
ruary %, 1890. while his mother
was on dancing tour. His birth
certificate was filed in Warsaw
Poland, however, to save him from
Russian military service.
While in school. Nijinsky early
demonstrated his athletic skill
and dominant aesthetic sense
He was nicknamed "Kitajec'
(Chinaman) because of his ori
entail appearance.
Gained Imperial Ballet.
After his graduation from tn,
Imperial School of Dancing h,
joined the Imperial Russian Bal.
let. where under the tutelage o.
Sergei Diaghilev. he quickly be.
came it's brightest star. HI
stormed Paris in a ballet organ.
lied by Diaghilev.
Nijinsky married Romola Pull
szky, the daughter of a famous
Hungarian actress. in Buenos Aires
in 1913. ''''.S'
Thereafter Nijinsky danced his
noted compositions like "Schehe-
rezade," "Narcisse" and "L'Apres
Midi dun Faune" in all the CAPT.
tails of Europe and South America
and scored tremendous successes.
At the start of World War I he
was arrested in Budapest as a spy
when detectives found in his
rooms series of drawings they
thought was code but which he
proved were the mechanics of hi.
new dances.
He was held in a concentration
camp until 1916 when the late
Otto Kahn, New York patron O,
arts, persuaded the Hungarian
government to parole him. Min.
sky's debut in the metropolitan
Opera House was a huge success
He was noted for his tremendou.
and graceful leaps about tn,
stage-leaps that appeared to def.
gravity.
After a tour of the Unitee
States he went back to Europ,
where his mind began to fade
During this period he began tt
paint and drew unbelievabl.
weird designs and compositions
He brooded about his suffering
as war prisoner.
| In 1919 he was pronounced in,
sane and confined to a sanitariun
in Switzerland.
After that his 1.-the body thick
ened, his face became pale ant
blank. In 1887. after insulil
shock treatments. he was per
mitted to go to Hungary with hi
wife, and some said he SCENE.
better. But when war came again
his condition worsened. After tn
war his wife took him to Surrey
England. He remained ther
until two days ago, when h
entered the London clinic.
The first known performanc
after his mind failed him was a
Sopron, Austria. so miles from
Vienna, in 1945, after Russial
troops released him from Hun
I'garian internment. He broke hi
long silence. laughed. danced an,
capered like a youth before
Red Army camp fire. His wifi
said the Russian soldiers got hin
drunk, which was naughty o
them"
While in England following tn
war. Nijinsky appeared to improv
and danced occasionally for hi
wife when he heard music h
loved. For a time she hoped h
would be able to make q come
back. But he never did.
Burial in London.
Besides his widow he is sur
vived by a daughter, Kyra, livin
in Rome. and a sister, Bronislav
Niiinska. living in Los Angelo!
Funeral services tentatively hav
been set for Friday. with buris
in London.
During his dancing career Nj
jinsky often appeared with tn
immortal Pavlova. His tour of tn
United States after World War
was credited with doing much t.
popularize the ballet in America.
Yet, at the very peak of hi
dancing ability and popularity, hi
mind failed him. This, in turn
almost led to a violent death
. During the war the Nazis issue,
orders that all incurables in tn
Hungarian sanitarium where Nj
jinsky was a patient were to b.
put to death. His faithful wifi
concealed him, however, and h,
escaped. 4