Nijinsky - Hardcover

Brighton, Catherine

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0385249268 ISBN 13: 9780385249263

Publisher: Doubleday Books for Young Readers, 1989

Synopsis

Describes how the renowned Russian ballet dancer found an outlet for his childhood unhappiness through dance and was eventually called to perform for the Tsar.

About this title

From Publishers Weekly:

Marking the centenary of the Russian dancer's birth, Brighton (Five Secrets in a Box) did her homework impeccably, traveling to Leningrad to study the setting of Nijinsky's life and art, and inspecting first-hand the great Leon Bakst's original designs for costumes worn in the dancer's signature roles. Her paintings re-create a world of imperial grandeur and everyday deprivation with a rich, dignified palette: ornate interiors are crossed by the gray light of a Russian winter; the stage blooms with topsy-turvy magic; during summer's "white nights," children frolic and fall asleep under the serene enormity of birches. From this dark opulence emerges the childhood of Vaslav, the son of itinerant Polish dancers who, with his sister Bronislava, revolutionized ballet in the 20th century before he became insane. Simply told, the story follows the fortunes of a family whose children learned dance early from their parents, were abandoned by their father, struggled against reduced circumstances but found an artistic home at the Imperial Ballet School. Closing with the child Vaslav's performance for the czar, Brighton arranges the book in scenes, as from a ballet, framed by a luxuriant "proscenium" of ornaments and borders. Though written without the poetic minimalism of Brighton's Five Secrets in a Box , the book raises an unforgettably vivid curtain on a life of heroic proportions. Ages 4-8.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal:

Grade 1-4-- Nijinsky, the legendary Russian dancer, is introduced in this picture-book biography. Because his parents were dancers, he, his sister, and his brother crisscrossed Russia traveling from performance to performance. The children often appeared on stage with their parents, and the young Vaslav Nijinsky was a stunning dancer from the beginning. At graduation from the Imperial Ballet School, he triumphed in his solo performance before the Czar and Czarina as he began his own dance into the realm of legend. Brighton's illustrations are heavy, yet this heaviness serves to hint at the more unfortunate side of Nijinsky's life story--his chaotic childhood and later descent into madness. The richly detailed, full-color illustrations are intriguing, as are the sometimes unusual perspectives, points of view, and angles of some of the pages. However, because of the picture-book format and dark subject matter, the book may have a difficult time finding an audience. --Frances E. Millhouser, Reston Regional Lib . , VA
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Doubleday Books for Young Readers
• Publication date: 1989
• ISBN 10: 0385249268
• ISBN 13: 9780385249263
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 32