The History of La Bayadère

La Bayadère is considered one of the great classical ballets. It doesn’t necessarily have the wider name recognition of The Nutcracker, Sleeping Beauty, or Swan Lake– you probably won’t see your local company perform it regularly. However, for most ballet fans, it is a ballet to be seen. The story line, the costumes, the sets, it is all stunning. I am quite fortunate that I will be seeing the Royal Winnipeg Ballet perform La Bayadère in just a few weeks. (And if you happen to be elsewhere, the Royal Ballet has a spectacular version on DVD.) I’m going to be exploring the history of La Bayadère and why it is such an impressive ballet.

So, why should you care about La Bayadère? Well, only a sheerly practical level, I’ve seen it on Jeopardy at least twice. On a cultural level, it is one of the most entertaining and breathtaking classical ballets created. There is a more than interesting story, gorgeous costumes, sumptuous sets, and iconic choreography known throughout the dance and arts world. It allows dancers to showcase both their technical abilities, as well as their acting. And just as importantly, it is a piece of ballet history.

The Plot of La Bayadère

La Bayadère is a true story ballet, with a fully developed plot. Some ballets focus on the movements rather than plot, but the story drives this ballet.

At the heart of it Nikiya, a bayadère (a temple girl) and Solor, a warrior, have fallen in love and promised themselves to each other in India in 1855. The High Brahim of the temple is in love with Nikiya himself though, and Solor is chosen to marry Gamzatti, the daughter of the Rajah. However, Solor forgets his promise to Nikiya and falls in love with Gamzatti.  The High Brahim attempts to have Solor killed by telling the Rajah that he has promised himself to Nikiya, but the Rajah instead decides that Nikiya must die instead. Gamzatti overhears the plan and invites Nikiya to the palace to bribe her to give up Solor. Nikiya and Gamzatti violently fight, and Nikiya almost stabs Gamzatti. She flees and Gamzatti also swears she must die.

Nikiya unknowingly agreed to dance at their betrothal ceremony, and  is overjoyed to receive a beautiful basket of flowers. She believes they are from Solor, but are actually from Gamzatti with a poisonous snake concealed in the basket. She holds the basket too close, and is bitten by the snake. The High Brahim offers her an antidote, but she refuses. Instead, she chooses death than life with Solor.

Solor is incredibly depressed, and takes to smoking opium. In his visions, he sees Nikiya’s shade (spirit) in the Kingdom of the Shades. He reunited with Nikiya amongst the other bayadères. (This is an important scene in ballet history!)

The last act begins with the wedding scene, with Nikiya’s shade haunting Solor as he marries Gamzatti. The High Brahim joins their hands in marriage and the gods destroy the temple and everyone in it in retribution. Solor and Nikiya are joined once more in death.

The History of La Bayadère

So, the question we all want to know: where did La Bayadère come from? Well, to put it succinctly, it is a French art form being used to tell a Russian interpretation of British India. Created by the infamous Russian choreographer Marius Petipa, it was first performed by the Imperial Ballet in 1877. It was created to showcase the Imperial Ballet’s star, Ekaterina Vazem, and took over 6 months of staging. Petipa was concerned that the theatre would be empty as ticket prices had just been raised. However, it was an incredible success, and was revived several times under Petipa.

Agrippina Vaganova, teacher of the Soviet Ballet (and founder of the Vaganova method), revived La Bayadère n 1932. Although her version was not revived, many of the changes she made to the role of Nikiya have lasted. The Kirov Ballet revived it again in 1941, with more changes to the female roles. However, the Kingdom of the Shades scene remains largely unchanged.

It was a Russian favourite, but took quite some time to be noticed in the west. The Kirov Ballet staged La Bayadère at the Palais Garnier in 1961, and grabbed the ballet world’s attention. The Royal Ballet then staged it in 1962 at the Royal Opera House with Rudolf Nuryev and Margot Fonteyn in the leading roles. Coupled with the Royal Opera House’s re-orchestration of the score, it is one of the most important performances in ballet history.

There continues to be new productions and interpretations of La Bayadère, but it endures because there are certain elements that always remain. This ballet has some of the most impressive female roles in ballet, and productions always strive elevate them further. The production that I will be seeing is a new one, a co-production between the Royal Winnipeg Ballet, the Queensland Ballet, and the Western Australia Ballet from choreographer Greg Horsman!

La Bayadère- The Kingdom of the Shades 

As I alluded to earlier in the post, the Kingdom of the Shades is what nearly everyone is waiting for. You may have even seen images or video of it but not known what it was. (Although as soon as you see it, you will now know what it is…) It is not the most technically demanding piece that you will ever see, but it is impressive and iconic for its uniformity and size. Row on row on row of corps ballet dancers, slowing progressing through arabesques. (The countless platter tutus don’t hurt, either.) I personally enjoy watching it because it is nice to see substantial work given to the corps. And, it is simply beautiful to watch. This video below is a Royal Ballet rehearsal for La Bayadère that they shared for World Ballet Day in 2018.

What interests you the most about the history of La Bayadère? And have you ever seen a production of it, live or recorded? And if you are interested in the history of ballet, this post will interest you!

Cheers,
The Historian
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