Dance in Film · 1980
Nijinsky (1980)
Herbert Ross’s biopic embeds Ballets Russes history in performed reconstruction: George de la Peña dances Nijinsky’s roles while L’Après-midi d’un faune and Scheherazade are restaged and Kenneth MacMillan supplies original screen choreography for Jeux and Le Sacre du printemps.
Nijinsky is a 1980 dance feature film centred on ballroom and social dance. For dancers, it's a chance to see the style performed on screen — the phrasing, partnering, and musicality that the same dances carry onto a real floor.
Jump to the 4 indexed dance sequences ↓
Where to watch: Fandango at Home listed U.S. rental/purchase access on 2026-08-09; Paramount Movies and Apple TV maintained official catalog pages. Availability may change.
The dance sequences in Nijinsky
4 sequences — what is danced, by whom, and where to find it.
Cecchetti rehearsal-arm extension
Cecchetti MethodDanced by Anton Dolin (Maestro Cecchetti); Ballets Russes dancers and corps
The quiet unison of differently ranked dancers and Dolin's authoritative demonstration stand out against the film's more fragmented performance editing.
The deliberate rehearsal phrase shows Cecchetti leading stars and corps together through a controlled extension of the left arm and hand, preserving training lineage and ensemble discipline in one of the film's few sustained ballet passages.
Open the film at this point · Stream or rental only — the timestamp is for when you have it playing. No edition-specific timestamp entered. The exact taxonomy key cecchetti-method is supported by the identified Cecchetti rehearsal. Current U.S. rental availability was rechecked on 2026-08-14 via https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/nijinsky. Apple/Paramount lists 125 minutes, while JustWatch lists 129 minutes; the edition difference is unresolved.
Jeux reconstruction excerpts
Modernist ballet (Jeux)Danced by George de la Peña (Vaslav Nijinsky) · Choreography Kenneth MacMillan (film reconstruction after Vaslav Nijinsky)
The tennis-world modernism, recreated poses, and rare uninterrupted solo material offer the closest sustained glimpse of the film's attempt to make lost choreography live again.
MacMillan rebuilt short Jeux passages from photographs, drawings, descriptions, and his choreographic judgment, while de la Peña receives a few uninterrupted minutes that let the film briefly prioritize movement over biography.
Open the film at this point · Stream or rental only — the timestamp is for when you have it playing. No edition-specific timestamp entered. The taxonomy has no exact key for Nijinsky-era modernist ballet, so style_dance_id is blank and the plain-language Jeux label is explicitly flagged outside taxonomy. Current U.S. rental availability was rechecked on 2026-08-14 via https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/nijinsky. Apple/Paramount lists 125 minutes, while JustWatch lists 129 minutes.
Le Spectre de la Rose window leap
Ballets Russes expressive ballet (Le Spectre de la Rose)Danced by George de la Peña (Vaslav Nijinsky) · Choreography Michel Fokine
The petalled costume, curved expressiveness, and climactic leap through the bedroom window reproduce the iconic image most closely associated with Nijinsky's weightlessness.
The film reconstructs Fokine's rose-spirit solo in fragments and culminates in the famous window exit, using slow motion to foreground the illusion of suspension even as the contemporary review criticizes the editing choice.
Open the film at this point · Stream or rental only — the timestamp is for when you have it playing. No edition-specific timestamp entered. The taxonomy contains Romantic and classical ballet keys but neither exactly describes Fokine's 1911 Ballets Russes work; an approximate key was therefore not used. Current U.S. rental availability was rechecked on 2026-08-14 via https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/nijinsky. Apple/Paramount lists 125 minutes, while JustWatch lists 129 minutes.
The Rite of Spring reconstruction and premiere
Modernist ballet (The Rite of Spring)Danced by Monica Mason (Maria Piltz / the Chosen Maiden); Royal and Festival Ballet dancers · Choreography Kenneth MacMillan (film reconstruction after Vaslav Nijinsky)
Viewers remember Mason's sacrificial figure, the stamping and angular massed movement, Stravinsky's shouted counts in rehearsal, and the boos and flying flowers at the premiere.
MacMillan's evidence-led fragments rebuild Nijinsky's lost 1913 vocabulary for the film, centering the Chosen Maiden and the work's weighted, rhythmically difficult ensemble language before the hostile premiere response.
Open the film at this point · Stream or rental only — the timestamp is for when you have it playing. No edition-specific timestamp entered. The taxonomy has no exact key for Nijinsky-era modernist ballet, so style_dance_id is blank and the work-specific style is explicitly flagged outside taxonomy. MacMillan's estate distinguishes this film reconstruction from his own 1962 Rite. Current U.S. rental availability was rechecked on 2026-08-14 via https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/nijinsky. Apple/Paramount lists 125 minutes, while JustWatch lists 129 minutes.
Poster artwork and title data from TMDB. This site uses TMDB and the TMDB APIs but is not endorsed, certified, or otherwise approved by TMDB.