In October 2025, Beth Woronoff brought a unique and sublime dance to the World Figure Sport Figure & Fancy Skating Championship in Lake Placid, NY. She danced to Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun, she added to a long and rich tradition going back more than a century.
Inspired by the poem L’après-midi d’un faune by Stéphane Mallarmé, the music was composed in 1894 and first performed the same year in Paris. “It is one of Debussy’s most famous works and is considered a turning point in the history of Western art music, as well as a masterpiece of Impressionist composition.” [Wikipedia]. Mallarmé was skeptical when he learned his poem was used as a basis for music; but he changed his opinion after attending the premier performance, stating:
Not long after, Vaslav Nijinsky of the Ballets Russes used this groundbreaking music as the basis of the ballet Afternoon of a Faun, with Nijinsky himself in the lead role. It was first performed in the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris on 29 May 1912. The ballet, considered one of the first modern ballets, was almost as groundbreaking as the music, and was controversial at the time with its erotic subtext and final scene of graphic sexual desire. Click here to see it performed by Rudolph Nureyev in 1979. Since the time of Nijinsky, the music has inspired other choreographers in different dance traditions, including Jerome Robbins in 1953, Janet Lynn in 1971, John Curry in 1978 and many others.
With this legacy in mind, Woronoff creates and sustains a world that unfolds at a slow but steady tempo, inviting the viewer in over time. She writes:
Woronoff, a Martha Graham-trained dancer, begins with Graham style upper body movement. She is concerned with something inside herself; and that finishes in a smooth but definite push-off where she is now gliding and looking up into the world beyond her. The interplay between her inner feeling and external world continues throughout, as she alternates between the two. In both cases, the audience is looking in from the outside, privy to but not part of Woronoff’s mystical world. This is in contrast to styles of dance in which performers present TO the audience: we are aware of Woronoff, but we are not sure if she is aware of us.
The dance continues to unfold at a measured pace, taking up increasing space and drawing the viewer further in with its smooth, continuous movements, even the spins, as Woronoff displays impressive upper body control through large upper body movements. Throughout the dance, we come alongside Woronoff exploring her world. What’s happening over here? Oh I see something over there! She uses her hands expressively throughout, at one point going into a spread eagle with her fingers sticking up behind her head.
Overall a gental but enthralling performance. We are surprised, and a little bit sad, when the dance ends after just over 4 minutes and we are sent back to the “real world.” See below for an interview with the performer, providing further in-depth insight on what we just saw.