Adelina Gizatullina

This year marks the 130th anniversary of Vaslav Nijinsky’s birth. In honor of this, the Eugene Vakhtangov Theatre has prepared a play based on Nika Simonova’s text “Nijinsky: The Brilliant Idiot”, directed by Leila Abu-al-Kishk. Critics have called Nijinsky “the god of ballet or the eighth wonder of the world.” Isadora Duncan even wished to have a child by him. His partners claimed that when he hovered in a jump over the stage, it seemed as if he could become weightless. “He defied all the laws of balance and turned them upside down…” wrote Jean Cocteau.

Vaslav Nijinsky was born in Kyiv on March 12, 1889. His parents were Polish ballet dancers, and he followed in their footsteps. He appeared on stage for the first time at the age of five. After his parents’ divorce, he moved with his mother, brother, and sister to St. Petersburg, where he easily enrolled in the ballet school. In 1905, at a showcase performance, the 15-year-old Nijinsky appeared at the Mariinsky Theatre. Newspapers reported that the young artist astonished everyone. However, six years later, he was scandalously dismissed from the theatre, accused of excessive eroticism—tight tights instead of pantaloons and movements considered by conservative audiences as resembling masturbation.

Almost immediately after graduating, Sergei Diaghilev invited Nijinsky to work with him. Beginning in 1909, he toured Europe with the acclaimed Russian Seasons programs, earning the nickname “the bird-man” for his ability to perform incredibly high leaps. This period of his life—and his later tragic years—is the focus of the play “Nijinsky: The Brilliant Idiot.”

For director Leila Abu-al-Kishk, this is her second production on the Simonov Stage. Her previous project was “Frida: Life in Color” (Nika Simonova). Both productions also feature actress Adelina Gizatullina, who plays the lead roles—Frida Kahlo and Vaslav Nijinsky. The idea for the Nijinsky production came from Gizatullina herself; according to Abu-al-Kishk, without her, the play would not have existed. “I dreamed of being a ballerina. Alas, it did not happen,” the actress admitted. “I trained tirelessly for months, day after day. I was fascinated by his phenomenon. Sarah Bernhardt was terrified to watch him, he was such a remarkable actor. I had seen the great Smoktunovsky as Prince Myshkin in the film-adaptation of The Idiot (BDT, 1957). It is known that Georgy Tovstonogov wanted to remove him from the role, but ultimately he saw in him both the idiot and the pure man. That is how I found my prototype for Vaslav Nijinsky.”

Sergei Diaghilev encouraged Nijinsky to choreograph his own works. Adelina Gizatullina, through expressive movement and mime, conveys her character’s inner turmoil and fears. At first, Nijinsky categorically refused, but soon became so absorbed in creation that he could not stop, subordinating everything to his innovative vision. The first ballet he rehearsed in secret from choreographer Mikhail Fokin was Afternoon of a Faun to Debussy’s music. Then came Stravinsky’s Petrushka, and later The Rite of Spring, where Nijinsky based the choreography on classical poses borrowed from ancient Greek vase paintings, bringing pagan ritual to life through dance.

Nijinsky’s life is divided into two halves. The first—rapid rise to fame, breathtaking success, and recognition; the second—darkness engulfing the mind. After marrying Hungarian aristocrat Romola de Pulsky in South America, Diaghilev severed ties with him. (The marriage had been secret; Diaghilev learned about it from a servant.) If Diaghilev involved him in projects, he paid nothing, claiming he had already provided Nijinsky a luxurious life for years. God was Nijinsky’s only companion during this tragic period. “When God speaks to you—it is madness. When you speak—it is prayer,” he would say. On stage, several meters of paper filled with Nijinsky’s writings appear.

The final glimpses of consciousness… He wrote tirelessly, considering his notes as a book he wanted to call Feeling. On April 8, 1950, in London, Vaslav Nijinsky passed away. Playwright Nika Simonova summarized in an interview: “For me, Nijinsky’s story is the story of a sunlit soul, for whom losing the ability to dance was akin to going mad or ceasing to exist. It is the story of the tragic mismatch between the power of talent and the strength of personality. His ballets shocked and enthralled society. His meteoric rise and equally rapid fall remain legendary to this day.”

All the actors in the production deserve praise: Adelina Gizatullina, Denis Samoylov, Sergey Bataev, Oleg Lopukhov, Pavel Teheda Cardenas, Yan Gaharmanov, Asya Domskaya, Nikolay Romanovsky, and Denis Bondarenko.