The ballet dancer Vaslav Nijinsky (1890-1950) electrified his audiences with a virtuosity directly related to the characterizations he forged by the genius of his imagination. Although his dancing and choreographic career was short, he remains a symbol of human artistic achievement.

Vaslav Nijinsky was born in Kiev, Ukraine, on March 12, 1890 (some sources say 1888, others 1899). The Nijinsky children accompanied their Polishborn, academy-trained mother and father, Eleonora and Thomas, on the tours that featured their parents' character dances in Russian opera houses, concert halls, summer theaters, and circuses.

Vaslav's sister, Bronislava, younger by three years, had kept notes almost from the time she could write. She worked closely with Vaslav during the years he was the dazzling star of Diaghilev's Ballets Russes and she a member of the company (she was later to choreograph numerous distinguished ballets, among them Les Noces--1923--and Les Biches--1924). A brother, Stanislas, two...