Editing Vaslav Nijinsky (section)

===Ballets choreographed by Nijinsky===
[[File:Vaslav Nijinsky in Le spectre de la rose 1911 Royal Opera House.jpg|thumb|Nijinsky in ''[[Le Spectre de la Rose]]'' (1911)]]

Nijinsky took the creative reins and choreographed ballets which pushed boundaries and stirred controversy. His ballets were ''[[Afternoon of a Faun (Nijinsky)|L'après-midi d'un faune]]'' (''The Afternoon of a Faun'', based on [[Claude Debussy]]'s ''[[Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune]]'') (1912); ''[[Jeux]]'' (1913); and ''[[Till Eulenspiegel's Merry Pranks#Ballet|Till Eulenspiegel]]'' (1916). These introduced his audiences to the new direction of modern dance. As the title character in ''L'après-midi d'un faune'', in the final tableau, he mimed masturbation with the scarf of a nymph, causing a scandal; he was defended by such artists as [[Auguste Rodin]], [[Odilon Redon]] and [[Marcel Proust]]. Nijinsky's new trends in dance caused a riotous reaction at the Théâtre de Champs-Élysées when they premiered in Paris.

In ''[[The Rite of Spring]]'' (''Le Sacre du Printemps''), with music by [[Igor Stravinsky]] (1913), Nijinsky created choreography that exceeded the limits of traditional ballet and propriety. The radically angular movements expressed the heart of Stravinsky's radically modern score. Violence broke out in the audience as ''The Rite of Spring'' premiered. The theme of the ballet, based on pagan myths, was a young maiden who sacrificed herself by dancing until she died. The theme, the difficult and challenging music of Stravinsky, and Nijinsky's choreography, led to a violent uproar; Diaghilev was pleased with the notoriety.<ref>Igor Stravinsky and Robert Craft, Conversations with Igor Stravinsky (London: Faber, 1979), pp.&nbsp;46–7.</ref>