Vaslav Nijinsky was born in Kiev, Ukraine in 1989 and was one of the most gifted male dancers in history and he became celebrated for his virtuosity and for the depth and intensity of his characterisations.

Nijinsky had a nervous breakdown in 1919 and his career effectively ended. He was diagnosed with schizophrenia and taken by his wife Romola (a Hungarian countess) to Switzerland where he was treated by psychiatrist Eugene Bleuler. He spent the rest of his life in and out of psychiatric hospitals and asylums. Romola devoted her life entirely to his care and her devotion to him was complete.

Nijinsky died in a London clinic on 8 April 1950 and interred in London until 1953 when his body was reburied in Cimetière de Montmartre, Paris, France.