Nijinska

“Nijinska, secreto de la vanguardia” is a biopic on the life of Bronislava Nijinska, the great choreographer of the 20th century. The full lenght ballet was originally choreographed for the Ballet de Santiago National Theater of Chile, with a musical selection played by the Philarmonic Orchestra of Santiago at Municipal de Santigo – Opera of Chile. The production received the National Critic Circle Award of Chile for best Ballet of the Year in 2023.

Nijinska evokes the name of one of the greatest dancers of the 20th century whose early dementia cut short his career: Vaslav Nijinski. However, the Russian choreographer lived on and went down – in the shadow of her brother – in a conscious decision and deepened by the winds of anonymity of that time for women. The years would show Bronislava Nijinska’s genius in the development of dance. On the one hand, she left behind such landmark works as Les Noces, Les Biches and Le Train Bleu; magnificent collaborations with the likes of Cocó Chanel and composers such as Igor Stravinsky; on the other she is now relatively unknown, despite being the inspiration to the choreographers who would take over the creative baton in the 20th century, such as George Balanchine and Frederic Ashton.

For this work Avatâra researched her life, the historical context and her body language by interviewing dancers who worked with her in the 60s in the UK and the US. The ballet has new costume and set designs, and a musical score which takes us through the artistic musical choices of Nijinska.