Vaslav Nijinsky

1 8.8

A Russian ballet dancer and choreographer from the early 20th century

proper noun

: Vaslav Nijinsky

The legendary ballet dancer Vaslav Nijinsky revolutionized dance in the early 20th century.

Examples

Many historians regard Vaslav Nijinsky as the greatest male ballet dancer of his era.
Did you know that Vaslav Nijinsky was also a choreographer?
Vaslav Nijinsky revolutionized ballet with his innovative choreography and expressive dancing.
My sister admires Vaslav Nijinsky for his legendary performances in the Ballets Russes.
Vaslav Nijinsky revolutionized ballet with his innovative choreography and expressive dancing.
Many historians regard Vaslav Nijinsky as the greatest male ballet dancer of his era.
My sister admires Vaslav Nijinsky for his legendary performances in the Ballets Russes.

Synonyms

Nijinsky

vsVaslav Nijinsky

2 9.0

A famous Russian ballet dancer from the early 1900s known for high jumps and often called one of the greatest

adds that he also created ballets as a choreographer

Waslaw Nijinsky

vsVaslav Nijinsky

9.9

A Russian ballet dancer who changed male roles in classical ballet

also notes his creative role as a choreographer alongside his dancing career

Surface Forms

Vaslav Nijinsky main

Morphology

Vaslav + Nijinsky

This is a personal name (a proper noun) whose referential meaning—identity and biographical facts like being a Russian ballet dancer—cannot be derived from its constituent parts. Proper names are lexicalized identifiers rather than compositional phrases, so a B1 learner who merely knows the surface forms would not be able to infer the person’s profession or significance.

Etymology

Vaslav Nijinsky is the name of a real Russian dancer who amazed people with huge leaps and strange, dream-like dances. Because his daring moves and new ideas changed ballet, people still remember him as one of the greatest 'dancers' of the 20th century.