Choreography: Ryszard Kalinowski
Dancers: Wojciech Kaproń, Ryszard Kalinowski
Music: Piotr Kurek
Light: James Clotfelter, Grzegorz Polak
Visualisation: Aleksander Janas
Duration: 50 minutes
Production: Culture Centre in Lublin
Premiere: 19 April, 2008, Culture Centre in Lublin

The choreographer speaks about the performance:
I think that every artist carries in her/him a need to deal with ageless topics or persons. One cannot indifferently pass such persons or problems, no matter if they are manifested in music, visual arts, literature or any other field of art. It also happens that one gives in to a temptation to get in a personal contact with the Precursor or the Great Artist.
There is no denying, that concerns „the topic of Nijinsky”, who has been enormously mysterious and intriguing both for dancers and choreographer, and particularly for dancers or choreographers who are at a similar age as Nijinsky at the peak of his career.
However, abstracting from the age analogy somehow overused here, I can easily say that the mystery of the legendary genius of Nijinsky is for me first of all an opportunity to give my attention to the fate of a human, an artist, and a man. When taking the decision to make a performance inspired by the life and art of Nijinsky, I focused on the most essential, in my opinion, aspects of his life, and perceived that they made couples of oppositions: the peak of career - illness, a relationship with a man (Diaghilev)- a relationship with a woman (wife), being able to make almost perfect pieces of art – being completely unable to cope with life, admiration of the audiences for the dancer - rejection of the choreographer, the interpretation of the classical repertoire - breaking through classical dance codes/barriers to create a new vision of dance and choreography and, last but not least, being a man - being a god.
All that seems to me a ceaseless struggling with the environment, people and oneself. It is a continuous falling and rising, falling asleep and waking up, dying and waking up to life, in spite of failures and rejection.
Although Nijinsky seems to be such a well known figure („...he is the greatest dancer ever..."), he remains a inscrutable, unfathomable and indefinable person. If someone says that they know Nijinsky who they have on their mind? A human-being or an artist? A dancer or a choreographer? A homosexual lover or a husband and father? A genius or a lunatic?
Nijinsky is an NN...

Ryszard Kalinowski

"Poland's Lublin Dance Theater impressed with a duet. Both figures were male and much of their world was the color white. They also wore white, one man a white nightshirt and the other tight white trousers. Often they engaged one another in movement but each also seemed to engage with himself. Both the separate and joint action gave the impression that declarations were being made. Muscular effort and contortions of limbs, neck and torso such as those made by Michelangelo's models lent  the proceedings an epic dimension yet there was, too, an undertone of anxiety. Both men were fine physical specimens, which became fully apparent when they stripped to white diaper briefs. As they did diverse things with and to each other one wondered whether they were patient and nurse, lovers, roommates, all of the foregoing or none of the above. What mattered? That movement themes grew, modulated and developed. That there was both consistency and invention. That a dynamic logic became established. And that there was counterpoint between the men's personal feelings and a sense of saga. The duration of this duet - "NN. Waclawowi Nizynskiemu" by Ryszard Kalinowski - was 50 minutes but it did not seem long. The choreographer and Wojciech Kapron  performed."

 „Dance theatre is sometimes a tool of cognition, it helps to enter the areas beyond rationality for a safe while. It is enough (a trifle really!) to have dancers perfectly prepared to do what we want them to do, and who absolutely trust each other. Besides that, a choreography matching intellectual concepts with the stage poetry must be made, and all that should be seasoned with music (Piotr Kurek) and visual effects (Aleksander Janas, James Clotfelter, Grzegorz Polak) bringing in a gloomy atmosphere.”

"Beyond rationality", Grzegorz Kondrasiuk, Gazeta Wyborcza - Lublin No. 94 22.04.2008

„The performance leaves an enormous area for interpretation to the viewer. However, it does not loose the main idea even for a moment, which is exploring the shattered personality of the main hero Nijinsky[...] Live electronic music generated by Piotr Kurek is fantastic in every minute of the performance and reaches the vocal climax. A clear voice imitating the violin is the bright creative side of the hero's mind, while the throbbing noise of the bassing instrument, strengthened by the rhythm of the percussion is its dark, and lost and confused side[...]”

„A tribute to Niżyński” Andrzej Molik, Kurier Lubelski, 22.04.2008

„Movement alone is not what we are used to see when watching performances of Lubelski Dance Theatre. Movements in "NN" are full of tension, uncertainty and unclear expectation from the beginning to the end of the performance. The world disintegrates to two contradictory halves, which cannot cope with each other neither when they are together nor when they are apart. Wojciech Kaproń remains inert for most of the time; with his sight absent the dancer is manipulated as a puppet by Ryszard Kalinowski, say the repeated movements of his arms, as if he wanted to wash his face, or the attempts to wake him up, unsuccessfully. When there is no rationality in the self-driving movement, what remains is only short ecstatic standing ups, expression and the nervous rhythm which ends up in a fall.”

Marta Zgierska, Nowa Siła Krytyczna, 22.04.2008

"NN" of Lublin Dance Theatre is a good and intriguing performance. No doubt, every admirer of contemporary dance should see it. It can also be an interesting offer for those who have never seen that theatre form or dance.”

„The rise and fall of an extraordinary dancer", Michał Miłosz Zieliński, Gazeta Wyborcza – Lublin No. 94, 22.04.2008