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Bronislava Nijinska Collection [collection]

Title

Bronislava Nijinska Collection [collection]

Dates Created

Span: 1891-1972

Bulk: 1900-1972

Language

Polish, Russian, French, English

Form

collection

Abstract

Bronislava Nijinska (Bronislava Fominichna Nizhinskaia; born 8 January 1891 [27 December 1890] in Minsk, Russia; died 21 February 1972 in Pacific Palisades, California) was a dancer, teacher, and a significant artist in the development of twentieth-century ballet choreography. Nijinska studied ballet at the school of the Maryinsky Theater of Saint Petersburg, along with her celebrity brother, Vaslav Nijinsky. She was a dancer in the Ballets Russes de Serge Diaghilev where she created a number of roles in ballets by Michel Fokine and Nijinsky. Many of Nijinska's most significant works were commissioned by
Serge Diaghilev for his Ballets Russes, and include Le Renard (1922); Le Mariage d'Aurore (1922); Les Noces (1923); Le Train Blue (1924); and Les Biches (1924). In 1925, Nijinska began her own company, Théâtre Chorégraphique. Other commissions included works for Teatro Colón, Buenos Aires; Ida Rubinstein's Company, Paris; Anna Pavlova's Company; Ballet de l'Opéra Russe à Paris; Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo; Polish Ballet; Colonel W. de Basil's Ballets Russes; Ballet Theatre (New York), among others. She was the author of Bronislava Nijinska: Early Memoirs (translated by her daughter, Irina Nijinska, and published in 1981).

Contents Note

Manuscripts; books; diaries; choreographic notebooks; correspondence; moving image materials; music scores; photographs; posters; programs; set and costume designs; scrapbooks

Preferred Citation

Bronislava Nijinska Collection, Music Division, Library of Congress

Access Permissions

Researchers wishing to work with special collections are advised to inquire in advance about availability of material since many special collections are stored off-site.

Subjects

Dance
Ballet
Women in the Performing Arts
Ashton, Sir Frederick
Auric, Georges
Benois, Alexandre
Cocteau, Jean
De Basil, Colonel W.
De Cuevas, Marquis
Denham, Serge
Diaghilev, Serge
Dolin, Anton
Dubrovska, Felia
Exter, Alexandra
Fokine, Michel
Lichine, David
Lifar, Serge
Markova, Alicia
Mavel, Maurice
Milhaud, Darius
Nijinsky, Vaslav
Pavlova, Anna
Poulenc, Francis
Rubinstein, Ida
Schollar, Ludmilla
Spessivtseva, Olga
Stravinsky, Igor
Tchernicheva, Lubov
Wilzak, Anatole
Woizikowski, Léon
Zambelli, Carlotta
Nijinska, Bronislava
Ballets Russes de Serge Diaghilev

Repository

Music Division, Library of Congress

Last Updated: 06-04-2009