Bronislava Nijinska (; Polish: Bronisława Niżyńska [brɔɲiˈswava ɲiˈʐɨj̃ska]; Russian: Бронисла́ва Фоми́нична Нижи́нская, romanized: Bronisláva Fomínična Nižínskaja; Belarusian: Браніслава Ніжынская, romanized: Branislava Nižynskaja; January 8, 1891 [O.S. December 27, 1890] – February 21, 1972) was a Russian ballet dancer of Polish origin, and an innovative choreographer. She came of age in a family of traveling, professional dancers.
Her own career began in Saint Petersburg. She soon joined Ballets Russes which ventured to Paris and triumph. She then met war-time difficulties in Petrograd and revolutionary turbulence in Kiev. Back in France with Ballets Russes, public acclaim for her works came quickly, cresting in the 1920s. She later enjoyed continuing successes in Europe and the Americas. Nijinska played a pioneering role in the broad movement that diverged from 19th-century classical ballet. Her introduction of modern forms, steps, and motion, and a minimalist narrative, prepared the way of future works.
Following serious home training, at the age of nine she entered the state ballet school in the Russian capital. In 1908 she graduated as an 'Artist of the Imperial Theatres'. An early breakthrough came in Paris in 1910 when she became a member of Diaghilev's ballet company, Ballets Russes. Nijinska for her dance solo created the role of Papillon in Carnaval, a ballet written and designed by Michel Fokine.
She assisted her famous brother Vaslav Nijinsky as he worked up his controversial choreography for L'Après-midi d'un faune, which Ballets Russes premiered in Paris in 1912. Similarly, she aided him in his creation of the 1913 ballet The Rite of Spring.
Surviving in Petrograd and Kiev during the First World War, the Revolution and Civil War, she worked in dance and struggled to independently develop her own artistic vision. Performing in dance halls, then in theaters, Nijinska soon designed and staged her first choreographies. She started a ballet school on progressive lines also in Kiev. Her writings on the art of movement were published. In 1921 she fled Soviet authorities who had closed her school.
Rejoining Ballets Russes which had continued in France, Diaghilev appointed Nijinska the choreographer of his company. She thrived, creating several popular, cutting-edge ballets to contemporary music. In 1923, with a score by Igor Stravinsky she choreographed her iconic work Les noces [The Wedding].
Starting in 1925, with a variety of companies and venues she designed and mounted ballets in Europe and the Americas. Among them were Teatro Colón, Ida Rubinstein, Vienna Staatsoper, Opéra Russe à Paris, Wassily de Basil, Max Reinhardt, Markova-Dolin, Ballet Polonaise, Ballet Theatre, the Hollywood Bowl, Jacob's Pillow, Serge Denham, Marquis de Cuevas, as well as her own companies.
Due to war in 1939 she relocated from Paris to Los Angeles. Nijinska continued working in choreography and as an artistic director. She also taught at her studio. In the 1960s for The Royal Ballet in London, she staged revivals of her Ballets Russes-era creations. Her Early Memoirs, translated into English, was published posthumously.
Bronislava Nijinska was the third child of the Polish dancers Tomasz [Foma] Niżyński and Eleonora née Bereda, who were then traveling performers in provincial Russia. The father came from a landed gentry family. The mother came from a Warsaw family of carpenters. Bronislava was born in Minsk. All three children were baptized in the Holy Cross Church in Warsaw, she on 30 April 1891. Nijinska was the younger sister of Vaslav Nijinsky (Wacław Niżyński), a dancer of world renown.
Each of their parents had begun dancing careers in Warsaw at the Grand Theatre (Teatr Wielki). When they later met, each was already a ballet professional with the Setov troupe based in Kiev. With the troupe they performed in provincial capitals of the then Russian Empire. They were married in Baku. Tomasz Niżyński, five years younger, had risen to be premier danseur and ballet master. His wife Eleonora Bareda, orphaned at seven, had followed her elder sister into ballet, and was then dancing as a first soloist.
By his skills as a ballet master, the father Tomasz Niżyński managed to form and direct his own small troupe of a dozen dancers, plus students. He created a ballet pantomime, and performed in 'circus-theaters', using Polish and Russian music. In 1896 he staged The Fountain of Bakhchisarai, from an 1823 poem by Pushkin. The mother Eleonora danced the role of the captured princess; her children Vatsa and Broni watched her performances on stage. Tomasz choreographed "two very successful ballets", the other being Zaporozbeskaya Tcharovnitza. Nijinska implies that their small troupe prospered, but that has been questioned. In addition to renting theaters for his shows, Tomasz contracted with 'café chantants', popular nightspots where patrons dined while being entertained with music and dance. Family life was surrounded by artists at work and at home. Her father "loved to be with painters, writers, actors, and musicians." Two touring African-American tap dancers, Jackson and Johnson, visited their home, and gave Nijinska her first lessons.
In the past Tomasz had forgone opportunities, turning down dance offers because of his family obligations. In 1897 near Saint Petersburg, Eleonora and Thomasz danced on stage together for the last time. He then continued on the road alone as a dancer. On a prior trip to Finland, he had become involved with another ballet dancer. Eventually this led to a permanent separation from his wife. Accordingly his relationships with his children suffered; he saw them infrequently.
Eleonora on her own established the family's permanent residence in Saint Petersburg. For years she had struggled with being on the road continuously while caring for her three children. A large flat she rented and opened a pension. Bronislava (Broni) records that her brother Vaslav (or Vatsa) became bitter and years later turned against his father because of the suffering endured by his mother.
"By nature Vaslav [Vatsa] was a very lively and adventurous boy." In her book Early Memoirs Nijinska writes about the adventures of young Vatsa, older than her by 22 months. Living with a mother and father who danced on stage and were regularly traveling on tour, the children acquired an intrepid attitude and a physical prowess in everyday life. The two parents encouraged their children's athletic development and, while scolding misbehavior, were not punitive. Curiosity drove Vatsa to explore his frequently-new neighborhoods, sometimes crossing parental lines. His bravery and daring on rooftops impressed Broni.
How Vatsa loved to climb! Whenever he was at the top of a tree, on a high post, on the swing, or on the roof of our house, I noticed a rapturous delight on his face, a delight to feel his body high above the ground, suspended in midair.
Vatsa investigated the strange streets of different towns and cities where the family's theatrical life took them. Along the way he was training his body. It became an instrument of strength and balance. Seemingly without fear he relished his freedom. His mind took innovative turns, which his body followed, or vice versa. Often Broni was invited along. From Vatsa's adventures she, too, acquired a body unusually trained for dance.
Her parents not only were dancing on stage; they also taught ballroom dancing to adults and had special dance classes for children. Early on they instructed their daughter in folk dances: Polish, Hungarian, Italian, and Russian. She learned ballet, together with all kinds of different dance steps. She picked up some acrobatic techniques from her father, who would 'talk shop' and trade skills with circus performers. Later she was able to draw on this rich experience in her choreographic works.
Broni Nijinska was not quite four when she made her theatrical debut in a Christmas pageant with her brothers in Nizhny Novgorod. She always seemed familiar with being on stage, in children's skits or to make brief appearances on the adult stage. Her aunt Stepha, her mother's elder sister, had retired from performance but was teaching dance in Vilno; she helped Broni. Dancers with her parents would give her lessons or tips. After their parents' separation, her brother Vaslav Nijinsky entered the Imperial Theatrical School. When she was about nine years old, Broni began ballet lessons with the famous Enrico Cecchetti. He quickly recognized her skills.