Kyra Nijinsky interviewed by Margot Fonteyn

[MrFalconford]

thankyou for sharing this film of kyra and margot but i will never believe nijinsky was schitzophrenic it seems at the time it was common practice to discredit any male dancer during the war years for their courage to express themselves in dance that is a fact and the documentation is everywhere its in their perspective weather we want to believe it or not

[nickwallacesmith]

hi MrFalconford - really pleased you liked it - a very great loss that Nijinsky left the stage at such a relatively young age - what else he might have achieved - what extraordinary new ballet forms. cheers

[oelte]

To clear things up: Nijinsky's wife was having an affair and she lied to him about this. Vaslav had been sexually abused in his youth, wasn't interested in being exploited sexually. When he was disturbed by her insensitivity, she had him put on medications with the man who she was having an affair with which, along with the emotional neglect, made him disturbed and even violent as you hear...To call that "schizophrenia" excuses such abuse and insensitivity

[charlieperson86]

"and I knew he had come to fetch my father" - such a sudden, powerful expression of sadness. Perhaps it's a glimpse of the what power of expression she inherited from her father.

[nickwallacesmith]

@charlieperson86 - i see her father in her - there're photos of her as the rose in 'spectre de la rose' - the ressemblance is uncanny, cheers

[RozRuss]

@charlieperson86 I know. That part always makes me feel so deeply.

[toeknee1965]

i love how her accents keep changing.  a gal of the world

[nickwallacesmith]

hi toeknee1965 - yes, i've known quite a few people like that - like the badge of the truly international person - she seems to want to be larger than life like her father

[zamyrabyrd]

@nickwallacesmith At :036 she suddenly slips out with a "gran-JETAI" completely out of character with her rolled r's, etc. K seems to have been a very conflicted, even sad person - but dancer, hardly any evidence. Talent may be transmitted through genes but not achievement and the hard work that makes it possible. Actually, she reminds me of Florence Foster-Jenkins, the self-styled screechy opera singer that few people had the nerve to tell here to her face that she didn't come up to standard.

[nickwallacesmith]

@zamyrabyrd - yep, your Florence Foster-Jenkins comparison is apt - a sad life on a number of levels, but with the intellectual and physical material she was born with maybe she achieved the best she could

[zamyrabyrd]

@nickwallacesmith OK, but in the competitive world of music and dance, doing one's best is surely not enough. One gets an E for effort, not an A. Having discovered your channel recently, I must say I like it very much. I was trying to backtrack on some Giselle clips and sort of remembered the Chopin Ballade in G minor in one of them, or was it something else? It was very good and I am sorry I didn't favorite it. Is a dance film with this Chopin piece one of yours? Thanks.

[nickwallacesmith]

yes, from the point of view of the dance world, kyra nijinsky doesn't reach any acceptable standard - but i was thinking from her perspective and accept that she couldn't have done otherwise - i guess i'm saying she was not insincere in her efforts though the results were sad. a lot of videos got inadvertently removed from my channel - i'm trying to re-upload what was lost. i'd be happy to do this for the chopin ballets you mention. was it a 'les sylphides' with ulanova? or the baby ballerinas?

[nickwallacesmith]

@zamyrabyrd 

[ludepei]

Nick, I posted this interview on artsmeme dot com. thank you for allowing me to share it, Debra Levine, Los Angeles

[nickwallacesmith]

hi Debra - happy you can use the footage and it can be shared further a field - i think this kind of film should be accessible to everyone. best, nick

[LeakyMustang]

Does anyone know the name of Kyra's son (Vaslav Nijinsky's grandson)?

Is the other daughter, Tamara, still alive? Did she have any children?

Thanks!

[nickwallacesmith]

hi LeakyMustang

from this 'The Gazette' article of 10 march 2006, Tamara was still alive at least a couple of years back accompanying her daughter Kinga Nijinsky Gaspers to a performance of her father's choreography in 'Faune':

'Thursday night, Colorado College presented the first of three performances of Nijinsky's ground-breaking "Afternoon of a Faun" at Armstrong Hall. Attending the performance were Nijinsky's daughter and granddaughter, Tamara Nijinsky and Kinga Nijinsky Gaspers.'

[nickwallacesmith]

hi LeakyMustang

a N Y Times article of November 15, 1998 gives Kyra's son's name as Vaslav Nijinsky Markevitch:

'Miss Nijinsky's stage career began fading after she married the conductor Igor Markevitch in 1936; the marriage ended in divorce and Markevitch, who died in 1983, raised their son, Vaslav Nijinsky Markevitch.'

[nickwallacesmith]

hi WatzlawNijinsky

very glad to be able to share things round!

best nick

[scuttermax852]

I wondered what had become of her.

Was she a ballerina?

[nickwallacesmith]

hi scuttermax852

yes she was - not sure how good she was

wonder if anyone else knows?

i'll google and get back to you

best nick

[hnbballerina]

@nickwallacesmith I thought she was quite good, not as ood as her father of course, but still...

Does anyone know if Tamara Nijinsky (Kyra's sister) is still alive? Thanks!

[nickwallacesmith]

@hnbballerina 0 yes, it would be hard to follow a dancer who had passed into legend

i had no idea she had a sister - thanks very much for mentioning it

[hnbballerina]

@nickwallacesmith Not many people are aware of the fact that Nijinsky and Romola had another daugther. Romola gave birth to Tamara when Nijinsky was far away in his insanity. They both never mentioned her, maybe because it was a dream for Vaslav and Romushka to have a son one day, and it turned out to be Tamara. Some people say it wasn't Nijinsky's child but the one of Romola and Dr. Frankel, as they had an afaire.

[nickwallacesmith]

@hnbballerina - yes, i had no idea - but went googling thanks to your kind pointer and found a lovely photo of romola, kyra and tamara. i wonder if the name is from tamara karsavina or it's a not uncommon russian name? that she was never mentioned may as you say be that the little girl was not nijinsky's

[nickwallacesmith]

@hnbballerina - PS - i also found a photo of tamara in budapest in midlle age - i imagine you've seen these photos?

[nickwallacesmith]

hi Politeama,

i'm not sure if it's available - you could download it from youtube page using the browser Firefox's add-on 'download helper' which lets you download and video you see online

or i could send you the video i have - which came from came from a documentary

take care

nick

[Politeama]

I would have loved to meet this lady and interview her myself. So many wonderful memories about her father and the world of ballet, and she expresses herself so well. Is this video available? I would love to have it. Thank you for sharing I have enjoyed it very much!

[nickwallacesmith]

hey markhh

oh, i imagined it had been released - on no evidence! just imagined - most of it has been posted on YouTube - 18 parts i think - they can be downloaded and put back together of course

[markhh]

Fonteyn's "The Magic of Dance" was a great series. I wish it would be released on video.

[nickwallacesmith]

hi Leonnidik

there is a video around in which Kyra poses in the

'rose' costume - when she was a young woman - she looks so like her father that at times you wonder if it's not him!

[Leonnidik]

Only a genius like Nijinsky could convey the spirit of a rose even in pictures.Those poses have never been equaled.