try his hand at choreography. Diaghilev, Nijinsky, and Bakst developed the original idea for The Afternoon of a Faun. The artwork on ancient Greek vases and Egyptian and Assyrian frescoes, which they viewed in the Louvre museum, was their source of inspiration. Bakst had previously worked with Vsevolod Meyerhold who was an innovative theatre producer and director that had introduced concepts like two-dimensionality, stylized postures, a narrow stage, and pauses and pacing to emphasise significant moments into his productions. Bakst, Nijinsky, and Diaghilev transferred these concepts to a ballet format in Faun. Nijinsky's aim was to reproduce the stylised look of the ancient artworks on the stage. In his portrayal of the faun, Nijinsky managed to reproduce exactly the figure of a satyr shown on Greek vases in the Louvre. Development Jean Cocteau, a French poet, explained the Mallarmé poem to Nijinsky who spoke little French, and helped develop an outline for the ballet's acts. Claude Debussy's symphonic poem, Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune, was used for the orchestral music. After the summer season in Paris, Nijinsky returned to St Petersburg for the new Russian season. There, he began work on the choreography with the help of his sister, Bronislava Nijinska, who was herself a senior dancer. Bronislava would later choreograph her own ballets for the Ballets Russes. Léon Bakst designed the stage setting which was more impressionist than representational. The splashes of muted greys, browns, and greens on the backcloth mirrored the fluid music, suggesting the scene rather than defining it precisely. It was hung at the line of the second wings rather than the back of the stage to deliberately narrow the performance space. The stage floorcloth was black as far back as the mound which the Faun lies upon. From there, it was green to the back of the stage. Baskt organized the lighting to emphasise the flattened look of the dance. The dancers' costumes were designed to stand out against the muted background. Nijinsky wore a cream body suit with brown piebald patches to represent the coat of an animal. His faun costume was completed with the addition of a short tail, a belt of vine leaves, and a cap of woven golden hair surrounding two golden horns which gave the impression of a circlet. Nijinsky's ears were extended with wax to look more pronounced and pointed while his makeup was designed to make his face