Replete with movements and images inspired by the “East”, “Story ballets” were particularly popular in the 19th and early 20th centuries.

The impact on the Parisian public of “Eastern”-inspired ballets created waves of Orientalist-inspired creations throughout the fashion and art worlds.

Europe’s elite flocked to a dazzling new Cairo to enjoy the sumptuous palaces, Parisian gardens and the newly built Cairo Opera House on the banks of the Nile, where Verdi’s Aïda premiered.

Scheherazade, based on the central character from the Arabian Nights, was an exotic, timeless, evocative fantasy brimming with awe, sensuality and wonder.

The inspiration for the ballet Scheherazade was the female storyteller of the Arabian Nights. Fokine’s “Eastern”-inspired ballet conveys the sensual aspects of the Orientalist fantasy in expressive movement.

As Romanticism emerged and brought exotic settings into vogue the “East” became a popular theme for many artists and musicians.