Powerful. Overwhelming. Breathtaking. Even these are not adequate enough to describe Nijinsky, a touring ballet production by the National Ballet of Canada (NBC), which premiered in Ottawa on Jan. 25. Choreographed by John Neumeier for the Hamburg Ballet in 2000, the NBC premiered it in Toronto in 2013, and it has received glowing reviews since.
The ballet follows the life of Vaslav Nijinsky (1890-1950), who was arguably the first male ballet dancer to achieve international success, and is one of the most renowned dancers of the early 20th century. He was an eccentric and innovative dancer who changed the face of ballet. Like too many artistic geniuses, he suffered from mental health issues, and at the beginning of the First World War his mental health quickly deteriorated. After being diagnosed with schizophrenia, he gave his last performance in 1919, and spent the rest of his life in medical institutions. It is at his last performance where the ballet Nijinsky begins. The narrative then explores Nijinsky’s memories and experiences through a chaotic yet thought-provoking combination of classical and modern ballet. Audiences are exposed to Nijinsky’s thoughts as he reflects on his past chorographical masterpieces and the two epic loves of his life, his wife Romola and his lover and mentor Serge Diaghilev.
Throughout the performance, Nijinsky’s descent into madness is evident through the increasing intensity emitted by all dancers on stage. This is clear through the increasingly confusing amalgamation of all his memories. Although the clashing of all his memories and emotions seemed messy and confusing, the artists of the NBC rendered the audience in complete awe as their execution of the narrative was done with artistic mastery and genius. In a flawless execution of Neumeier’s choreography, the dancers threw themselves entirely into their difficult roles. Artistically, technically, and emotionally straining, they didn’t hold anything back. The true definition of a dancer is how well they can immerse themselves into the role, and the NBC dancers went above and beyond in the call of duty and delivered an incredible performance.
Guillaume Côté played Nijinsky, and did a phenomenal job portraying the tortured artist. Côté made Nijinsky’s emotions tangible, and danced as flawlessly as Nijinsky himself. The technical aspects of this ballet were difficult and straining, yet Côté made it look effortless. Heather Ogden danced the role of Romola de Pulszky, Nijinsky’s wife, and her performance was the dance of a lifetime. The audience could see the pain of watching her husband’s descent into madness through her movements and face. Her emotions and grace left the audience breathless, and between her and Côté, and the rest of the NBC dancers, Nijinsky’s story was again brought to life years later on the NAC stage.
Photo provided
