the ballet The Sleeping Princess in 1907: how he changed the restrictive costume and energized the movements. When Nijinsky created L'Après-midi d'un Faune [Afternoon of the Faun] in 1912 he used Nijinska to rehearse it in secret, to follow with her body his description of the steps one by one. She similarly assisted him in creating The Rite of Spring. Yet due to her pregnancy, Nijinska withdrew from the role of the Chosen Maiden. Prof. Garafola, however, characterizes it as her brother 'evicting' her from the maiden role in Rite. Nonetheless, Baer writes: Although Bronislave Nijinska is often identified as the sister of the celebrated Vaslav Nijinsky, she was a major artist in her own right and a key figure in the development of twentieth-century ballet. ... As one of twentieth-century's ballet's great innovators, she transformed the art. Her 1913 break with Diaghilev When her brother suddenly married, Diaghilev terminated his position at Ballets Russes. Bronislava Nijinska left the company in solidarity with him. During a 1913 Ballets Russes tour in South American, Vaslav Nijinsky married Romola de Pulszky. It created controversy in the company and in ballet stories from the tour. As Nijinska explains in her memoirs, Vaslav was very reserved and, other than herself, had few confidants or even close colleagues in the dance world. He was a young man alone on the tour when he wed. He was alone because her pregnancy had kept her in Europe. Nijinska speculated that, behind the scenes, business decisions had motivated events. By getting rid of Nijinsky, Diaghilev managed to secure financing and the return of the choreographer Fokine to the company. The break left emotional scars, and a sense of betrayal. Diaghilev dismissed Vaslav for reasons other than his September marriage: artistic quarrels over ballet design, his military draft status, and his demand for payments in arrears. 'Saison Nijinsky' 1914, and later In early 1914 Vaslav Nijinsky on his own started a new ballet company in London: Saison Nijinsky. Bronislava offered her assistance, yet learned there was only a short time to prepare for its premiere performance. Vaslav had signed a contract to open at a dance hall, the London Palace Theatre, in four and a half weeks (March 2). Nijinska quickly decided to return to Russia to recruit the cast, but Warsaw was where the experienced dancers were found. She with others explained her brother's innovative choreographies. She directed