The Diary of Vaslav Nijinsky

This diary, which Nijinsky kept in four notebooks over six weeks, is Nijinsky's confession and his prophecy, the only sustained, on-the-spot, account we have by a major artist of the experience entering psychosis.

Library Journal

This is a thought-provoking look at the life of a man who has been called the "god of the dance." The famous Russian ballet dancer went insane in 1917, and this diary, written in six and a half weeks, records his ever more erratic thoughts, thoughts that at times become almost poetic: "I am an artist whose voice is dance," in conjunction with the more aberrant: "I am God, I am a man, I am man in God." Nijinsky documents his daily routine and carefully notes random thoughts, feelings, suspicions, and occasionally an accurate view of his true reality: "people will think I am insane because I speak of things I do not understand." Actor John Rubinstein's powerful presentation turns this audio into a one-man show, with an amazing job affecting a slight Russian/Polish accent. Nijinsky gave his last public performance when he was 29; he lived to be 61. Highly recommended for all public libraries.--Theresa Connors, Arkansas Tech Univ., Russellville Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.

Joan Acocella is the dance critic for The New Yorker. She is the author of Mark Morris and Creating Hysteria: Women and Multiple Personality Disorder.