Australian Ballet's latest work is not 'The Nutcracker', but rather a cracking new work about going nuts.
Iconic early 19th century ballet superstar Vaslav Nijinsky and subject of acclaimed new work 'Nijinsky' dangled en pointe on the fine line separating artistic genius and clinical insanity. According to Australian Ballet's Artistic Director David McAllister, it is a tightrope that all performers must tread.
“All artists walk a very fragile emotional line. There’s that great duality of most performers of incredible discipline and strength of character but equally you have to be pretty mad to put yourself out there on stage and expose yourself emotionally in that way in any of the arts. You have to have this sort of great compulsion to want to share that, but all performers have that spark of madness in them.”
“Nijinsky was one of those incredible artists; he had incredible talent but at one level the madness really overtook him. He was a very vulnerable person and I think sometimes that great vulnerability makes for a great performance and performer, but it can also lead to a great struggle in keeping that mental balance.
Image © Jeff Busby
“Ballet dancers must overcome the psychological challenges inherent in any creative endeavour whilst simultaneously attaining the physical prowess of an elite athlete. Australian Ballet is now very mindful of the stresses upon their dancers.
“These days we have such a great understanding of the condition of our dancers, whether it be physical or emotional, that we are much more in touch with that sort of side of the art form. We have professionals who look after the dancers and can tell if they are getting to that place of emotional distress and get them help and guidance if they need it. I guess we are 100 years on [from Nijinsky’s era].”
An emphasis on wellness was before Nijinsky's time, but his incorporation of overt sexuality in performance was decades ahead of Elvis, Madonna and Miley.
“He was ground breaking; that’s why his legacy has remained so vivid I think for all these years. He was such a provocateur at the time, in good and bad ways. There was an outrage when he did ‘Afternoon of the Fawn’ when people thought he was masturbating on stage; it was incredibly lewd. But then his choreographic works like ‘The Right of Spring’ caused a riot at the premiere in 1913; he was a huge artistic intellect for the time. We wouldn’t have the great virile dancers of today if it wasn’t for Nijinsky.”
Casting dancers to embody a legend can be challenging. Renowned choreographer John Neumeier based his casting not on appearance, but rather something more ineffable.
“They were looking for someone who stood out from the group; someone who drew your eye and had a physical presence that would take your eye away from the whole company. So he chose three of our guys to do the lead role and then set about to train them up.”
Image © Jeff Busby
'Nijinsky' strikes a careful balance between the modern and the traditional; it is also a much more deliberate hybrid of ballet and theatre than usual and tackles contemporary themes in a way that all great art should.
“We have this motto: Care for tradition but dare to be different and this ballet does both of those. Nijinsky is a very important historical figure of the world of ballet but he also had this sort of life that a lot of people in the community deal with; lots of people are dealing with depression, schizophrenia and mental illness. “
“I feel like this is going to be one of those ballets that people talk about for many years to come.”
Nijinsky Tour Dates
14-19 October – Adelaide Festival Theatre11-28 November – Sydney Opera House
