In 1912 Nijinsky premiered his interpretation of Debussy’s L’Apres-midi d’un Faun in Paris for Ballet Russe. It produced scattered applause and some booing. Marketing turned it into a great success. Debussy was unenthusiastic about Nijinsky’s choreography.
“This ballet is about a half-animal and half-human creature, the young Faun, who is aroused by seven nubile women, Nymphs taking a bath. One of them shows an interest in him, and they dance together briefly. She drops her scarf and runs away. The Faun picks up the scarf, fondles it, takes it to his lair, and uses it as a fetish for autoerotic excitement.”
A Leap Into Madness, p.57
Apparently Nijinsky's autoerotic excitement was a little bit too explicit for some tastes in the initial performance, and had to be toned down. Debussy’s music is very beautiful but it must be hard to dance to as there are no strong rhythms; the music is more of a wash of sound with a distant pulse.
Aside from the autoerotic excitement scene, Nijinsky's choreography was unusual with the dancers very much in relief. Diaghilev had taken Nijinsky to the Louvre to see Greek vases and Egyptian and Assyrian frescoes. Our friendly biographer of the penis - Ostwald - has another theory about influences on the choreography:
"Nijinsky and his sister occasionally visited the hospital where their brother Stanislav had to be confined. In 1911 he was transferred to a vey large city asylum... these visits were moving as well as troubling.... It was customary in those days to house patients with nuerological diseases together with psychiatric patients.... Pathological movements associated with these conditions can be very striking, and Nijinsky, who felt considerable empathy with his brother and had a great interest in movement, probably remembered them well." (p.58)
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