He did to dance what Picasso did for painting: opened the doors to contemporary art, breaking all the aesthetic rules in a rush of creative genius and, through this deliberate act, provoking irreversible change. Dominique Osuch recounts the life of the star dancer and choreographer, a Russian of Polish origin and "proto punk" who, in the 1910s, attracted the most prominent artistic personalities and inspired the likes of Charlie Chaplin before going insane.