Afternoon of a Faun

[Dansuer85]

I was curious if anyone had any knowledge of this ballet. Is there a story? Is it ballet, or more modernish, what dance vocabulary does it draw from and about how many dancers are usually in it! Thanks!

[Mel Johnson]

Which production? Nijinsky's original? Robbins' "classroom" version?

[Dansuer85]

I'm not sure!! :shrug: Could you tell me about both?

[Mel Johnson]

Nijinsky's original was based on Greek decoration on ceramics and wall paintings. All flat profiles and no turnout. The arms were highly angular and stylized. A faun is sunning himself on a large rock when some nymphs happen by and he falls for one of them. There is much pursuit and putting off, all in profile done straight across the stage, and relatively far upstage. It was Nijinsky's first ballet, and caused a bit of a scandal when the faun appeared to masturbate with the nymph's scarf, just before final curtain.

Robbins' version is much different, done on a stylized ballet studio set with barres. The boy is lying on the floor when the curtain rises, and stretches and flexes, watching himself "in the mirror" - right at the audience. A girl enters, and begins to do a bit of barre. She also is constantly checking her reflection. The boy and the girl work in parallel for awhile, and watch themselves in the mirror. Even when they start to dance together, they're constantly checking themselves. But at one interlude in the music, the boy looks away from the mirror and gently kisses the girl. She simply stands up, looks at the boy, looks at herself in the mirror and exits. The boy is left as he began.

[Dansuer85]

Thanks so much! They both sound very insteresting!