Revoir Nijinsky danser

Hervé Nisic mixes archive documents, fiction and interviews with researchers in order to evoke, through the history of notation, the modernity of Nijinsky’s dance.

Based on real facts, such as Diaghilev’s ban on filming ballets or the enigmatic score invented by Nijinsky to transcribe his compositions, Hervé Nisic mixes archive documents, fiction and interviews with researchers to evoke, through the history of notation, the modernity of the famous choreographer’s dance through to the revival of his ballets in the year 2000. 

Nijinsky’s destiny has been the subject of much writing and of several films. The director’s proposal falls into the scope of dance research. Dance notation has its own history, and systems varied according to the period. The film looks back on the major ones, including the notation developed by Rudof Laban in the early 20th century and, today, the Life Forms software. The research work to which Revoir Nijinsky danser bears witness, while evoking the unique life of the Russian dancer, particularly focuses on the modernity of his choreographies, including the famous Après-midi d’un faune (Afternoon of a Faun). Extracts of rehearsals at the Opéra de Bordeaux and interviews with notators trace how it has been revived today, thanks to the new technologies and lengthy work conducted by Anne Hutchinson, who has patiently deciphered the system thought up by Nijinsky, without however passing on the keys to read it.