Afternoon of A Faun (Nijinsky) - The Choreography

The Choreography

The style of the ballet, in which a young faun meets several nymphs, flirts with them and chases them, was deliberately archaic. In the original scenography designed by Léon Bakst, the dancers were presented as part of a large tableau, a staging reminiscent of an ancient Greek vase painting. They often moved across the stage in profile as if on a bas relief. The ballet was presented in bare feet and rejected classical formalism. The work had an overtly erotic subtext beneath its façade of Greek antiquity, ending with a scene of graphic sexual desire.

Lydia Sokolova, the first English dancer in the Ballets Russes, gave the following description of Nijinsky's performance:

Nijinsky as the faun was thrilling. Although his movements were absolutely restrained, they were virile and powerful and the manner in which he caressed and carried the nymph's veil was so animal that one expected to see him run up the side of the hill with it in his mouth. There was an unforgettable moment just before his final amorous descent upon the scarf when he knelt on one leg on top of the hill; with his other leg stretched out behind him. Suddenly he threw back his head, opened his mouth and silently laughed. It was superb acting.

In the final scene, the faun takes a scarf stolen from a nymph to a rock, caresses it longingly, and carefully lays it down flat. Then, with erotic desire, the faun lies down prone on top of the scarf, and thrusts his pelvis into it once, ending the ballet.

L'Après-midi d'un Faune is considered one of the first modern ballets and proved to be as controversial as Nijinsky's Jeux (1913) and Le sacre du printemps (1913).