for me, this ballet has everything I look for in a good ballet. The music, the choreography and the dancers' performance come together to hit one with so much emotions

the story isn't one of fairytales, but of mental breakdown and unfortunate circumstances. it's much more human than the typical ballet story

I liked how Diaghilev is portrayed- powerful to the point of intimidating. it isn't physical power, although that's evident in his moves too, but the relationship power he had over Nijinsky

that his signature move with Nijinsky is him stationary with his hand held out and nijinsky reaching for it but not quite touching shows who needs who more

the choreography of this ballet really showcase dance as a storytelling medium.

I see a parallel between it and a well written fan work. ballets often require prior understanding of the general storyline to be fully appreciated, and its beauty lies in its execution

similar to fan works which assumes prior understanding of the story setting

and where Nijinsky really stood out is its breaking and splicing of events to tell the narrative from Nijinsky's mind

it's a retelling of the story with multiple layers: with the arrangement of the characters showing crossover between present and past, hallucination and reality

as well as with the symbolism laden with each move

the dancers executing moves with such emotion that one can feel the message the choreographer is trying to convey, the dance as a wordless medium communicating with the audience

that's the beauty of this ballet

also wow the pas de deux with Nijinsky and Diaghilev.

I don't know how to give praise to it without breaking down to a babbling fangirl but boy was it hot /ω\