Vaslav Nijinsky


Photograph

Valslav Nijinsky in the ballet Petrouchka. Photographs by Mishkin, New York City, 1916. Stravinsky-Diaghilev Foundation Collection. b MS Thr 495 (216). Gift of Parmenia Migel Ekstrom, 1990.

Petrouchka

The ballet Petrouchka, with its masterful score by Stravinsky, is a story of the love affair of a puppet. Its staging amid the excitement of the fair in St. Petersburg, its charming and pathetic choreography by Michel Fokine, and the portrayal of the principal characters by Nijinsky and Karsavina, all contributed to its enormous popularity. By the time of the Ballets Russes tour of America in 1916, it had become one of the pieces that was most eagerly awaited; it was not until later in the tour, however, that Nijinsky would rejoin the company and perform the ballet in this country.