Vaslav Nijinsky was a celebrated Russian ballet dancer and choreographer of Polish descent. Hailed as the greatest male dancer of the early 20th century, he was known for his gravity-defying leaps and the intensity of his characterizations. His revolutionary choreography for works like 'The Rite of Spring' caused riots and forever changed the course of modern dance. Tragically, his career was cut short by a severe mental illness that led to his institutionalization for the last decades of his life.