Analysis Of The Afternoon Of A Faun - 1728 Words

Vaslav Nijinskys The Afternoon of a Faun The Afternoon of a Faun is a modern ballet choreographed by Vaslav Nijinsky to a short symphonic work by Claude Debussy called Prà ©lude à   laprà ¨s-midi dun faune. It was Nijinskys first choreographed work and was first performed by Diaghilevs Ballets Russes in Paris at the Thà ©Ãƒ ¢tre du Chà ¢telet on May 29, 1912. The costumes and sets were designed by Là ©on Bakst. Both the music and the ballet were inspired by the poem Laprà ¨s-midi dun faune by Stà ©phane Mallarmà ©. The Afternoon of a Faun is a poem that describes a dreamy eroticism combined with a sense of whimsy, which is translated into the ballet. The poem represents the running thoughts of a faun who wakes up from a nap on a warm summer afternoon†¦show more content†¦The faun, who is neither human nor non-human, neither masculine nor feminine, forces atypical ideas of gender onto audiences. This was something audiences had never seen before, and to not only display this type of character, but to show h im engaging in such a private act, was revolutionary. This was meant to make the audience uncomfortable, to make them see sexuality in another way. In the final scene, the faun lies down on top of the scarf and, with obvious erotic desire, starts thrusting his pelvis until the end of the ballet. The faun engages sexually with the object for what is purely self-pleasure, showing the animalistic desires of man. It was a display of sexuality purely for the faun’s sake, rather than as traditional display of love. This was not love between a man and a woman, not even between two humans, this was pleasure for gender neutral figure. These ideas of alternative sexual and gender identities were new for the century. The ballet’s final scene caused a scandal with its sexual frankness. In the newspaper Le Figaro, one of the leading French morning daily newspapers, the editor Gaston Calmette wrote, We have had a faun, incontinent, with vile movements of erotic bestiality and gestures of heavy shamelessness. To him, Nijinskys dance was the too-expressive pantomime of the body of an ill-made beast, hideous, from the front, and even more hideousShow MoreRelatedEssay about Listening Report1776 Words   |  8 Pages Concert Analysis: Songs Around the Word I Offer Thee by Allen Ridout 1.nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Gregorian chant consists of a single-lined melody and is monophonic in texture. This piece also consists of these basic structures as well as not having any harmory or counterpoint. This piece performed by U of I faculty member Steven Rickards, is sung a cappella. 2.nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;This piece differs from the traditional Gregorian chant of the Middle ages because of the jumps and leaps