Nijinsky (40 page)

14
‘Before leaving … to go'
: Nijinska,
Early Memoirs
, p. 77.

15
‘praised me very'
: ibid., p. 78.

17
‘The little devil'
: T. Karsavina,
Theatre Street
(London, 1948), p. 151.

17
‘Are you a'
: Nijinska,
Early Memoirs
, p. 85.

17
‘made to feel'
: A. Bourman,
The Tragedy of Nijinsky
(London, 1937), p. 6. Though he is wildly unreliable about later parts of Nijinsky's life, to the point of inserting himself into scenes where he is known not to have been present, Bourman was one of six boys in Nijinsky's year at the Imperial Theatre School and therefore his account of their school-life must be worth something.

18
‘anger and jealousy'
: ibid., p. 20. Bourman accuses Georgy Rozai in particular of this jealousy (and this crime), but Nijinska's account of the accident has Bourman and another boy, Grigory Babich, equally culpable.

18
‘I played a'
: V. Nijinsky,
Nijinsky's Diary
(New York, 1999), p. 116.

18
‘unneccessary torment'
: M. Fokine,
Memoirs of a Ballet Master
(London, 1961), p. 16.

19
‘That to me'
: J. Kavanagh,
Rudolf Nureyev: The Life
(London, 2008), p. 21.

20
‘The theatre in'
: Karsavina,
Theatre Street
, p. 190.

21
‘felt a great'
: Nijinsky,
Nijinsky's Diary
, p. 115.

21
‘You have … your brother'
: Nijinska,
Early Memoirs
, p. 127. Later in his career Fokine saw Nijinsky as a rival, and as a consequence his memoirs offer Nijinsky only the barest minimum of praise through evidently gritted teeth; it is interesting therefore to read Bronia's account of his early response to her brother, whom Fokine's choreography made a star and who in turn took Fokine's ballets to new heights.

22
‘exalted, vibrant, free'
: Karsavina,
Theatre Street
, p. 378, quoting Nadine (Nadia) Legat, Nikolay's wife.

22
‘to a plane'
: ibid., p. 378, quoting Nikolay Legat.

22
‘above all … and earth'
: J. Homans,
Apollo's Angels: A History of Ballet
(London, 2010), p. xxii.

22
‘convent-like'
: Karsavina,
Theatre Street
, p. 58.

29
‘torture chamber'
: Duncan,
My Life
, p. 121.

23
‘tunic of cobweb'
: ibid., p. 119.

23
‘Like eager … and vividness'
: Duchesse de Gramont,
Years of Plenty
(London, 1932), p. 339. She continues, ‘After that, she became Isadora Duncan.'

23
‘reminded us …
art form
'
: Fokine,
Memoirs of a Ballet Master
, p. 256.

23
‘soul wept with'
: Duncan,
My Life
, p. 119.

24
‘by talent'.
S. Scheijen,
Diaghilev
(London, 2009), p. 143.

26
This ethnographic
: L. Garafola,
Diaghilev's Ballets Russes
(New York, 1989), p. 6 et seq.

26
‘complete unity of'
: Homans,
Apollo's Angels: A History of Ballet
, p. 293.

26
‘to participate'
: M. Rambert,
Quicksilver: The Autobiography of Marie
Rambert
(London, 1991), p. 61.

27
‘for the audience's … the dance'
: Fokine,
Memoirs of a Ballet Master
, p. 132.

27
‘an articulate … slightest detail'
: ibid., p. 132.

28
‘As he extends'
: Nijinska,
Early Memoirs
, p. 517.

28
‘like a bashful'
: Bourman,
The Tragedy of Nijinsky
, p. 77. Bourman doesn't refer specifically to this performance, but more generally to Nijinsky's early performances.

29
‘not merely to be'
: Nijinska,
Early Memoirs
, p. 157.

29
‘Bronia, tell …
doushka
'
: ibid., p. 159.

30
Ibid., pp. 190–2: I have disregarded the secondary account of Romola Nijinsky, who described this last meeting between Vaslav and Foma as a sentimental reunion.

31
‘amongst the chosen'
: Karsavina,
Theatre Street
, p. 123.

31
‘a charming boy'
: M. Kshesinskaya,
Dancing in St. Petersburg
(Alton, Hants, 2005), p. 110. 31 ‘what secrets Nijinsky': Nijinska,
Early Memoirs
, p. 248.

31
‘like some exotic'
: A. Oliveroff,
Flight of the Swan: A Memory of Anna
Pavlova
(New York, 1935), p. 23.

32
‘unworthy of her genius'
: S. Lifar,
Serge Diaghilev: His Life, His Work, His
Legend
(London, 1940), p. 139.

32
‘sought more success'
: A. L. Haskell,
Balletomania: The story of an
Obsession
(London, 1977), p. 56.

32
‘If a dancer'
: A. Pavlova,
Pages of My Life
(New York, 1947), p. 10.

32
‘the quiet joys'
: Oliveroff,
Flight of the Swan: A Memory of Anna Pavlova
, p. 61.

32
‘shows onstage. You watch'
: Kavanagh,
Rudolf Nureyev: The Life
, p. 645.

33
‘I had my arms'
: Nijinska,
Early Memoirs
, p. 196.

33
‘I started to dance … about me'
: Nijinsky,
Nijinsky's Diary
, p. 118.

33
Nijinska says Vaslav was recovering in the spring of 1908, nursed by Prince Lvov's (see below) valet. She speculates that Bourman's taunts about his relationship with Lvov prompted Vaslav to go with him to the prostitute where he could prove that he was a man.

34
Prince Nikolay Yusupov
: Homans,
Apollo's Angels: A History of Ballet
, p. 53.

34
‘Ballet is'
: Fokine,
Memoirs of a Ballet Master
, p. 52.

34
1,000 roubles
: Romola Nijinsky,
Nijinsky; and, The last years of Nijinsky
, p. 426. She says this sum was given at his introduction to Diaghilev, but since Lvov wouldn't have wanted money and Diaghilev wouldn't have paid it, I think it more likely that she got her facts slightly wrong (not uncommon) and it was paid by Lvov for his initial introduction to Nijinsky. See also Bourman,
The Tragedy of Nijinsky
, p. 122. R. Buckle names the pander as Boris Alexandrov.

34
‘He loved me'
: Nijinsky,
Nijinsky's Diary
, p. 163.

35
‘marvellously … stupefied'
: Nijinska,
Early Memoirs
, p. 217.

36
‘it was a bad sign'
: M. Keynes (ed.),
Lydia Lopokova
(London, 1983), p. 46.

36
‘perfection in the'
: Nijinska,
Early Memoirs
, p. 248.

37
I have paraphrased Nijinska,
Early Memoirs
, p. 231.

37
‘for the rest of my life'
: ibid., p. 218.

38
‘Before, he had only known school … innocence'
: Romola Nijinsky,
Nijinsky; and, The last years of Nijinsky
, p. 60. To be taken with the usual pinch of salt required for Romola's stories.

38
‘that very rare feeling … hero'
: A. S. Benois,
Reminiscences of the Russian
Ballet in London
(London, 1941), p. 251 (phrases cited in different order from original source).

39
‘dying of curiosity'
: ibid., p. 256.

39
‘a magnificent bear'
: Serge Lifar in J. Drummond (ed.),
Speaking of
Diaghilev
(London, 1997), p. 292.

39
‘one tooth on the edge'
: J. Cocteau,
Journals
(London, 1957), p. 55.

39
‘looked one through'
: A. Dolin,
Autobiography
(London, 1960), p. 28.

39
I know he smoked, but I am only guessing that he smoked Sobranie; it is such a peculiarly Russian smelling cigarette. The company was founded in 1879.

40
‘his bluelit nights'
: quoted in Lifar,
Serge Diaghilev
, p. 19.

40
‘peculiar lazy grace'
: Karsavina,
Theatre Street
, p. 352.

40
‘looked up to him'
: C. W. Beaumont,
The Diaghilev Ballet in London
(London, 1940), p. 8.

40
‘It is the Seryozhas'
: quoted in Scheijen,
Diaghilev
, p. 82.

40
‘the only one'
: quoted in Scheijen, ibid., p. 78.

41
‘The dream and'
: to Leo Tolstoy, quoted in J. Pritchard (ed.),
Diaghilev and the Golden Age of the Ballets Russes, 1909–1929
(London, 2009), p. 40.

41
‘Everything is here'
: quoted in Scheijen,
Diaghilev
, p. 58.

41
‘part of history'
: Nijinsky,
Nijinsky's Diary
, p. 109.

41
‘We are a generation'
: quoted in L. Garafola and N. V. N Baer (eds),
The Ballets Russes and its World
(New Haven, CT, 1999), p. 92.

41
‘sly dandified primness'
: Karsavina,
Theatre Street
, p. 201.

41
‘one think of champagne'
: J. Melville,
Diaghilev and Friends
(London, 2009), p. 11, quoting (I assume) Diaghilev.

42
‘an individual gift'
: quoted in Scheijen,
Diaghilev
, p. 101.

42
‘there could be'
: ibid., p. 6.

42
‘for all his'
: Mstislav Dobuzhinsky quoted in Scheijen,
Diaghilev
, p. 132.

42
‘The end … the Resurrection!'
: quoted in Scheijen,
Diaghilev
, p. 134.

43
‘my greatest'
: P. Stoneley,
A Queer History of the Ballet
(London, 2007), p. 58.

43
‘elegant but unremarkable'
: L. Massine,
My Life in Ballet
(London, 1928), p. 47.

43
‘wicked'
: Stoneley,
A Queer History of the Ballet
, pp. 68–9.

44
‘made me see'
: Karsavina,
Theatre Street
, p. 283.

44
‘the clamorous demands … sensual demands'
: quoted in Scheijen,
Diaghilev
, pp. 114–15 (phrases cited in different order from original source).

46
‘uninteresting'
: Benois,
Reminiscences of the Russian Ballet in London
, p. 289.

46
‘to lose its human'
: Nijinska,
Early Memoirs
, p. 210.

46
‘greatly impressed'
: ibid., p. 253.

46
‘to their conversations'
: ibid., p. 258.

47
‘to please Diaghilev'
: quoted in Scheijen,
Diaghilev
, p. 162.

47
‘help cultivate'
: quoted in Scheijen, ibid., p. 162.

47
‘his most fervent'
: quoted in Scheijen, ibid., p. 169.

47
It was first on the list he and Astruc wrote in June 1908 of what they hoped would form their 1909 season. See R. Buckle,
Nijinsky
(London, 1971), p. 63.

48
‘a child who'
: Karsavina,
Theatre Street
, p. 170.

48
‘barefoot childish hoppings'
: Nijinska,
Early Memoirs
, p. 224.

48
‘the green box trees'
: quoted in R. Burt,
The Male Dancer: Bodies,
Spectacle, Sexualities
(London, 1995), p. 13. Burt adds that at this time the male nude as a subject for painting and sculpture also disappeared, and plain, dark suits became a bland and sexless uniform for men of all classes.

49
five times
: N. Macdonald,
Diaghilev Observed by Critics in England and the
United States, 1911–1929
(London, 1975), p. 6.

49
‘I hated him'
: Nijinsky,
Nijinsky' Diary
, p. 103.

50
‘many beautiful women'
: ibid., p. 205.

50
‘I knew perfectly'
: Dolin,
Autobiography
, p. 44.

51
‘I came … long time'
: Nijinska,
Early Memoirs
, p. 262. Some observers speculated that Lvov's motive in trying to set him up with Diaghilev was to get rid of a lover of whom he had become bored, but I think Bronia and Nouvel's accounts tally together better in this interpretation of events.

52
‘the lovely sight'
: Karsavina,
Theatre Street
, p. 219.

52
‘the tangled mass'
: D. Milhaud,
Notes without Music
(London, 1952), p. 19.

53
‘little ladies … canary-bird'
: de Gramont,
Years of Plenty
, pp. 24–5.

54
‘a fairy godmother'
: Valentine Gross quoted in F. Steegmuller,
Cocteau:
A Biography
(London, 1970), p. 69.