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They did what?! 12 outrageous sexual moments in dance history.

Article Excerpt
Dance has always had the ability to be suggestive, controversial, and downright sexy. After all, it is about the human body. From the early modern radicalism of Vaslav Nijinsky to the experimental nudity of the '60s to the ways ballet can take on sexuality in works like Balanchine's Bugaku, there have been performances that cause audiences to squirm in their seats. Dance Magazine looks back at some of the most outrageously sexual moments in dance history. Talk about shock value!

1912, PARIS L'Apres-Midi d'un Faune (Afternoon of a Faun) premieres with Vaslav Nijinsky performing the lead role in the sexually explicit piece he choreographed for Diaghilev's Ballets Russes. The 12-minute ballet, set to Debussy, was like an Egyptian frieze come to life. The minimalist, angular, two-dimensional dancing of the seven maidens and Nijinsky's faun dramatically defined the choreography's opposition to classical ballet. The sexuality of the piece reaches its climax when the faun simulates masturbation with the scarf of his favorite maiden. Gaston Calmette, editor of Le Figaro, wrote, "We have...