Take a Dance through Hotel de Russie's Nijinsky Suite

In the moments before a performance, a quiet kind of magic takes hold. Anticipation hums beneath the surface. Music becomes a form of preparation — emotion rehearsed before movement begins. 

And so it can be too in the days leading up to a trip, where preparation often starts at home. Perhaps it’s Stravinsky playing while you pack, music composed for bodies in motion, setting the rhythm before departure – the scene is set. The stage is Rome.

Once here, the city reveals itself in fragments on the journey to Hotel de Russie — façades, colonnades, light shifting across stone — expectation builds. Parade by Erik Satie is next on your playlist, the groundbreaking work choreographed by Jean Cocteau, who once stayed at the hotel and dubbed its Secret Garden ‘an earthly paradise’.

On arrival, that imagined stage becomes real. Beyond the lobby, the Secret Garden unfolds, animated by illuminated dancers by Italian artist Giuseppe Gabellone; his Ballerina Sequence brings choreographed beauty to the landscape, suspended between stillness and release.

It is from this enchanting world of music and dance — long inhabited by artists and muses — that the Nijinsky Suite, the setting for your stay, takes its cue…

Named after Vaslav Nijinsky, a true luminary in the art of ballet and frequent guest of the hotel, the suite draws on the qualities that defined his performances. On stage, he seemed to hover, suspended between strength and fragility. Here, that same duality is translated across the space, through bold hues juxtaposed with a quieter palette and a mood that shifts effortlessly from introspective calm to evening energy.

The Life of Vaslav Nijinsky

Born in 1889, Nijinsky’s life was defined by his all-consuming dedication to ballet, a commitment that would see him celebrated as the greatest male dancer of the 20th century. His training at the pre-eminent Imperial Ballet School in St Petersburg led him to graduate straight into the rank of coryphée, meaning he took starring roles from the very beginning of his career, a rare distinction in the ballet world.

Audiences across the globe were enthralled by his spectacular leaps, where he would rise through the air as if defying gravity, his dramatic acting and sensitive interpretations, and his ability to dance en pointe, a skill few male dancers had conquered at the time. 

He danced his way across the Atlantic from Moscow and Paris to the Americas, showcasing daringly original choreographies. His work saw him devising routines for composers such as Igor Stravinsky and Claude Debussy, with his revolutionary choreography for The Rite of Spring still performed today, more than a century after its première at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in Paris.

An Ode to Nijinsky in Rome

There is something intoxicating about Nijinsky’s world: the heat of red velvet, the precision of movement, the moment before applause breaks the spell. The Nijinsky Suite holds onto that feeling, turning it into atmosphere, texture and light.

It encapsulates his grace and poise in an elegant cohesion of classic Italian antiques with bespoke modern pieces, each carefully selected by Lady Olga Polizzi. 

Entering stage left, you might begin by letting sound set the tone once again — a score from Nijinsky’s era perhaps, or music inspired by his ballets. As you move through the suite, pause to admire his hypnotic black and white portrait or to take in statues and artworks whose sculptural forms subtly echo his poise.

A crimson accent wall lined with books brings depth and drama to the space, recalling the expressive palettes of the Ballets Russes and the vivid costume designs of Léon Bakst, where colour heightened emotion and physicality.

Step outside onto the terrace, and breathe in the captivating landscape of Roman rooftops and the hotel’s Secret Garden below. As the dusk falls, the Ballerina Sequence comes into prominence once again. Remaining in place until spring, it creates a sense of motion, a fleeting moment that feels both deliberate and dreamlike.

From the garden, the evening carries on effortlessly into Stravinskij Bar, named after Nijinsky’s longtime collaborator, a verdant oasis that has long drawn Rome’s creative set. Amidst citrus-scented trees your Garden Symphony cocktail arrives accompanied by the soft hum of conversation across the tables. You settle in for the night – a natural curtain call. 

Follow Nijinsky’s footsteps through Rome, where a stay in our Nijinsky Suite becomes the opening movement of a wider journey. Through Suites & Beyond, the city reveals its hidden rhythms, best discovered through moving to your own tempo.