Afternoon of a Faun

About the show

Afternoon of a Faun is a neoclassical ballet choreographed by Jerome Robbins to Claude Debussy's Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune. The ballet features two young dancers meeting at a rehearsal studio. Robbins was influenced by Stéphane Mallarmé's poem L'après-midi d'un faune, the inspiration for Debussy's score, as well as Vaslav Nijinsky's 1912 ballet to the same score, and his own observation of dancers. The ballet was made for the New York City Ballet, and premiered on May 14, 1953, at the City Center of Music and Drama, with the two roles of the ballet originated by Tanaquil Le Clercq and Francisco Moncion. Afternoon of a Faun has since been performed by various other ballet companies.