Greatest Dancer

VASLAV NIKINSKY

Vaslav Nijinsky was one of the most talented male ballet dancers in history: perhaps even the greatest.  Unfortunately,  there is not any clear footage of his incredible talent in motion, which is the main reason he ranks so low in this list.

Nijinsky was well - known for his amazing ability to defy gravity with his magnificent leaps,  and also for his ability of intense characterization.  He is also remembered for dancing en pointe,  a skill not commonly seen by male dancers.  Nijinsky was paired in leading roles with legendary ballerina Anna Pavlova.  He was then partnered with Tamara Karsavina, a founder of London’s Royal Academy of Dancing.  He and Karsavina have been referred to as the “most exemplary artists of the time.”

Nijinsky retired from the stage in 1919,  at the relatively young age of twenty nine.  His retirement was believed to be brought on by a nervous breakdown, and he was also diagnosed with schizophrenia.  Nijinsky spent the last years of his life in psychiatric hospitals and asylums.  He danced in public for the very last time during the final days of World War two, impressing a group of Russian soldiers with his complex dancing abilities. Nijinsky died in London on 8^th April, 1950.