Australian
Screen

an NFSA website

Diaries of Vaslav Nijinsky (2001)

A video which normally appears on this page did not load because the Flash plug-in was not found on your computer. You can download and install the free Flash plug-in then view the video. Or you can view the same video as a downloadable MP4 file without installing the Flash plug-in.

Email a link to this page
To:
CC:
Subject:
Body:
clip Ballet outdoors education content clip 2

This clip chosen to be PG

Clip description

A Nijinsky ballet is performed in the forest.

Teacher’s notes

provided by The Le@rning FederationEducation Services Australia

This clip shows part of a re-enactment of L’Après-midi d’un Faune (The Afternoon of a Faun), a dance performance originally choreographed by Vaslav Nijinsky. The young faun meets six nymphs in the forest, who are at once attracted to and frightened by him. One drops a scarf, which the Faun finds and makes love to in place of the nymph who has fled.

Educational value points

  • This is an extract from a documentary film based on the diaries of Russian ballet dancer and choreographer Vaslav Nijinsky, the premier dancer of Sergei Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes and generally considered to be the most talented male dancer of the 20th century. Nijinsky (1890–1950) was noted for his superb technique, particularly for his 'elevation’ (ability to leap high) and his ability to perform 'en pointe’.
  • Nijinsky choreographed four ballets, L’Après-midi d’un Faune (1912), Jeux (Games) (1913), Le Sacre du Printemps (The Rite of Spring) (1913) and Till Eulenspiegel (1916). His choreography was a radical departure from classical ballet and his use of angular movements and sexual overtones was controversial at the time. Le Sacre du Printemps, which premiered at the Théâtre de Champs-Élysées in Paris (1913), became notorious after the performance caused a riot among the audience.
  • The clip presents a re-enactment of Nijinsky’s performance of L’Après-midi d’un Faune and reveals the style of dance that characterised Nijinsky’s modernist choreography. The ballet, the first that Nijinsky choreographed for the Ballets Russes, was presented in bare feet and rejected classical formalism. Nijinsky gave an erotic performance in the lead as the virile faun and the ensuing scandal led to the premature ending of the performance season.
  • Nijinsky used a unique system of dance notation to record L’Après-midi d’un Faune and other choreographed works in his notebooks. There is no existing film of Nijinsky and when the notebooks were deciphered in 1987, it was an important breakthrough. Since 1987, Nijinsky’s ballets have been reconstructed and performed by ballet companies around the world. They have influenced many modern choreographers, including Australian Graeme Murphy.
  • Various filmmaking techniques convey immediacy to the audience. Fixed-length focus and a single take demonstrate the flow of movement in real time and present a viewing experience similar to that of watching a theatrical performance. Natural lighting and shadow are used effectively to create a fantastical forest setting and, due to the locked-off camera, the dancers move out of view as they might on stage.
  • Diaries of Vaslav Nijinsky is a documentary by director Paul Cox, one of Australia’s best known and most prolific film directors, who has made more than 35 feature, documentary and short films. Some of his best known and widely acclaimed films include Lonely Hearts (1982), Man of Flowers (1983), My First Wife (1984), A Woman’s Tale (1991), Innocence (2000) and Human Touch (2005).

This clip starts approximately 1 hour 57 minutes into the documentary.

This clip shows part of a re-enactment of L’Après-midi d’un Faune (The Afternoon of a Faun), a dance performance originally choreographed by Vaslav Nijinsky. The young faun meets six nymphs in the forest, who are at once attracted to and frightened by him. One drops a scarf, which the Faun finds and makes love to in place of the nymph who has fled.

Thanks to the generosity of the rights holders, we are able to offer Ballet outdoors from the documentary Diaries of Vaslav Nijinsky as a high quality video download.

To play the downloadable video, you need QuickTime 7.0, VLC, or similar.

You must read and agree to the following terms and conditions before downloading the clip:

australianscreen is produced by the National Film and Sound Archive. By using the website you agree to comply with the terms and conditions described elsewhere on this site. The NFSA may amend the 'Conditions of Use’ from time to time without notice.

All materials on the site, including but not limited to text, video clips, audio clips, designs, logos, illustrations and still images, are protected by the Copyright Laws of Australia and international conventions.

When you access australianscreen you agree that:

  • You may retrieve materials for information only.
  • You may download materials for your personal use or for non-commercial educational purposes, but you must not publish them elsewhere or redistribute clips in any way.
  • You may embed the clip for non-commercial educational purposes including for use on a school intranet site or a school resource catalogue.
  • The National Film and Sound Archive’s permission must be sought to amend any information in the materials, unless otherwise stated in notices throughout the Site.

All other rights reserved.

ANY UNAUTHORISED USE OF MATERIAL ON THIS SITE MAY RESULT IN CIVIL AND CRIMINAL LIABILITY.

This clip is available in the following configurations:

File nameSizeQualitySuitability
diariesv2_pr.mp4 Large: 20.9MB High Optimised for full-screen display on a fast computer.
diariesv2_bb.mp4 Medium: 9.9MB Medium Can be displayed full screen. Also suitable for video iPods.

Right-click on the links above to download video files to your computer.

Thanks to the generosity of the rights holders, we are able to offer this clip in an embeddable format for personal or non-commercial educational use in full form on your own website or your own blog.

You must read and agree to the following terms and conditions before embedding the clip:

australianscreen is produced by the National Film and Sound Archive. By using the website you agree to comply with the terms and conditions described elsewhere on this site. The NFSA may amend the 'Conditions of Use’ from time to time without notice.

All materials on the site, including but not limited to text, video clips, audio clips, designs, logos, illustrations and still images, are protected by the Copyright Laws of Australia and international conventions.

When you access australianscreen you agree that:

  • You may retrieve materials for information only.
  • You may download materials for your personal use or for non-commercial educational purposes, but you must not publish them elsewhere or redistribute clips in any way.
  • You may embed the clip for non-commercial educational purposes including for use on a school intranet site or a school resource catalogue.
  • The National Film and Sound Archive’s permission must be sought to amend any information in the materials, unless otherwise stated in notices throughout the Site.

All other rights reserved.

ANY UNAUTHORISED USE OF MATERIAL ON THIS SITE MAY RESULT IN CIVIL AND CRIMINAL LIABILITY.

Copy and paste the following code into your own web page to embed this clip: