Afternoon of a Faun (Nijinsky)
The ballet The Afternoon of a Faun (French: L'Après-midi d'un faune) was choreographed by Vaslav Nijinsky for the Ballets Russes and first performed in the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris on 29 May 1912. Nijinsky danced the main part himself. As its score it used the Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune by Claude Debussy. Both the music and the ballet were inspired by the poem L'Après-midi d'un faune by Stéphane Mallarmé. The costumes and sets were designed by the painter Léon Bakst.
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.
Afternoon of a Faun
L'après-midi d'un faune (or The Afternoon of a Faun) may refer to the following:
- Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune (Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun), composition by Claude Debussy, inspired by Mallarmé's poem
- Afternoon of a Faun (Nijinsky), ballet by Vaslav Nijinsky, which uses Debussy's music and was also inspired by Mallarmé
- Afternoon of a Faun (Robbins), ballet by Jerome Robbins to Debussy's music
- Afternoon of a Faun (Rushton), ballet by Tim Rushton to Debussy's music made on Johan Kobborg
Afternoon of a Faun (Rushton)
Afternoon of a Faun is a ballet made by Danish Dance Theatre balletmaster Tim Rushton on Johan Kobborg; principal dancer at the Royal Ballet, London; to Debussy's Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune.
The premiere took place in February 2006 at New York City Center as part of the Kings of the Dance gala and subsequently at Orange County Performing Arts Center, Costa Mesa, Calif. Kobborg performed it again in October 2007 as part of City Center's Fall for Dance festival. Both Rushton and Kobburg danced for the Royal Danish Ballet earlier in their careers, Kobburg a principal there as well as in London.
Rushton's setting differs materially from Nijinsky's original in its use of three pools of light produced by beam projectors which appear successively stage center, left and right (center, right and left from the audience's perspective), in which the faun / dancer capers and bathes; it resembles what is known of the original mostly in its costuming.
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Afternoon of a Faun (Robbins)
Afternoon of a Faun is a ballet made by Jerome Robbins, subsequently ballet master of New York City Ballet, to Debussy's Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune. The premiere took place on 14 May 1953 at City Center of Music and Drama, New York, with scenery and lighting by Jean Rosenthal and costumes by Irene Sharaff. Note: Tanaquil LeClercq's costume was not by Irene Sharaff. It was made for her by her mother, Edith Le Clercq.
Robbin's setting differs from the original version by Vaslav Nijinsky by placing the danseur in a ballet studio (a three wall set), lounging on the floor. A ballerina enters and they dance facing the audience as though looking into the mirrored wall of the studio. He kisses his partner on the cheek and she bourrées out of the studio and off-stage. He returns to his initial supine position.
