A ballet dedicated to Russian dancer to be on in Madrid Royal Theatre

A ballet performance dedicated to the prominent Russian dancer of the 20th century Vazlav Nizhinsky will open the new season of Madrid's Royal Opera and Ballet Theatre on Monday.

This play has been brought to Spain by the touring Hamburg Ballet Theatre. This is a new production by John Neumeier, the theatre's art director and outstanding American choreographer.

In an interview with the Spanish newspaper El Pais he said that he had always deeply admired the legendary Russian dancer, who had started his career performing in Dyagilev's troupe to become the "creator of modern ballet" afterwards.

The play, entitled Nizhinsky, is based on the dancer's diaries, which were published in 1960, 10 years after Nizhinsky had died, by his wife countess Pulskaya and which revealed the tragedy of his life.

When he was 29 years old, the dancer suffered a nervous breakdown while on the stage. He was diagnosed with acute schizophrenia to spend the rest of his life in clinics of France, England and Switzerland forlorn.

According to Neumeier, "Providence dealt Nizhinsky 10 years to grow up, 10 years to study dancing, 10 years to perform and make a revolution in ballet and 30 years to linger out his life". This has become the skeleton of the play, which portrays the life, work and tragedy of the remarkable Russian ballet dancer.