Last Friday night, I had the opportunity to attend Boston Ballet’s “La Bayadère” at the Boston Opera House. I grew up dancing at the Boston Ballet School and I currently dance at BC; therefore, whenever a ballet is performed, especially by Boston Ballet, I always have the urge to see it. However, I have a complicated relationship with such shows: I love to marvel at the beauty of the dancers, yet I am also quick to judge and critique what I see. That being said, I was in complete awe throughout the entirety of La Bayadère, and would definitely recommend everyone to go see it.
As for some background, “La Bayadère” is a classical ballet originally choreographed by Marius Petipa to the music of Ludwig Minkus. It was first performed by the Imperial Ballet in St. Petersburg, Russia in 1877, and has since been revived, adapted, and performed by numerous ballet companies around the world. Set in India, it is a classic story of love and betrayal. It revolves around Nikiya, a bayadère or temple dancer, Solor, a warrior, the High Brahmin, and Gamzatti, the Rajah’s daughter. Boston Ballet’s adaptation, choreographed by Florence Clerc after Petipa’s version, is currently running at the Opera House through November 3.
After watching the show, I came up with a list of five reasons why “La Bayadère” is the must see ballet of fall 2013:
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1.” La Bayadère” is a brilliant Bollywood ballet
“La Bayadère” most definitely exhibits characteristics of a classical ballet. It has rigorous ballet technique, a corpse de ballet, an act devoted to a wedding, lovers and heartbreakers, and mystical elements. However, the beauty of “La Bayadère” is that its culture adds a whole new level to the performance.
“La Bayadère” is set in India, which turns the classical ballet into an exquisite Bollywood ballet. First, the choreography is spiced up with unique gestures and shapes that resemble Bollywood dancing, yet is still classical ballet.
Second, Boston Ballet’s costumes were absolutely gorgeous. In order to highlight the Indian culture, many costumes included silk or satin and ranged in bright colors from rich blues to vivid orange. For example, during the wedding act, there were dancers in turquoise tutus, dancers in robes that resembled traditional Indian clothing, and dancers with (fake) parrots on their arms. Costumes went far beyond tutus – some women wore pants, some had knee length thin skirts, the slave characters only had rags around their waste and on their heads, and the Golden Idol was completely covered in gold paint. In addition to this, sparkles were absolutely everywhere!
Third, the set was phenomenal. By watching the performance, you actually felt like you were in the middle of a jungle, then inside the Rajah’s glorious palace, and then in Solor’s opium induced hallucinations. And, once again, sparkles were absolutely everywhere!
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2. “La Bayadère” has a very entertaining and emotional story line
The plot of “La Bayadère” closely resembles an episode of “Jerry Springer.” Nikiya and Gamzatti both love Solor, who loves them both back. Thus, they literally have a cat fight, with hair pulling and rolling on the ground, during which Nikiya almost kills Gamzatti. The High Brahmin is in love with Nikiya, and Gamzatti ends up marrying Solor. The ballet includes poisonous snakes, death, opium, and mystic shades.
Now imagine this love and revenge in ballet form. What pleasantly surprised me was how well the Boston Ballet dancers were able to convey the emotions of this convoluted ballet. Nikiya transformed from a happy, joyous bayadère to a vengeful woman, and lastly to a heartbroken, lifeless shade. Imagine having to dance at your lover’s, and the woman you almost killed, wedding – that is exactly what Nikiya has to do. The complexity of her feelings at this point was expressed beautifully and made me sympathize with her and hate Solor. Gamzatti, on the other hand, is so malicious, yet such a beautiful woman and dancer, that it is difficult to take your eyes off of her.
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3. The Kingdom of Shades
After Solor smokes opium, he has a dream in which over thirty shades (spirits) appear in a nirvana. This act looks somewhat like the corpse de ballet from “Swan Lake”; there are 32 corpse members, three soloists, and Nikiya, and they are all wearing beautiful white tutus with silk scarves around their arms.
However, unlike the swans from “Swan Lake,” the shades are mesmerizing. A lot of their choreography is simple, yet that is what makes it physically demanding and breathtaking. One by one, they enter the stage down two ramps, and then criss-cross each other on the stage, until they eventually reach a six by four grid, while doing the same ballet sequence. Their movements are slow and fluid as they mostly dance an adagio. When they are in sync, their dancing becomes hypnotic. Their presence is so powerful that their mystique can be felt throughout the entire act. In my opinion, the shades are the perfect example of what the corpse de ballet should look like.
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4. The elephant
Yes, there is a giant elephant in the ballet. Sadly, he is not real, but he is huge, cute, and decorated heavily with Indian silk and colors. Solor is the lucky man who gets to arrive on this elephant to the wedding. Now that is quite the way to make an entrance! Besides this elephant, Boston Ballet did an excellent job with the curtain that the audience sees when they first take their seats. This curtain has a beautiful elephant painted on it as well, and automatically hypes you up for the ballet. If you can’t get enough elephants, the gift shop also sold cute souvenir elephants.
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5. It is always fun to attend a fancy theater
I think some of us often forget the beauty of a true theater. It is definitely an unforgettable experience watching a ballet live. Besides beautiful dancing, Boston Ballet has a fabulous live orchestra that accompanies all of their ballets. Plus, The Boston Opera House is a very well decorated theater, and you get to dress up and maybe drink some champagne while attending the ballet.
While tickets are undoubtedly expensive, student rush tickets are available for college students. Grab a friend, get dinner in the city, and watch the ballet for only $20! It will surely be a fun night.
Overall, I think Boston Ballet did a great job with their adaptation of “La Bayadère.” I still can’t forget how beautiful the costumes, dancing, and sets were! Of course there were parts of the show I didn’t love, like the long wait during a scene change with just the orchestra playing and people in the theater starting to talk, and how some of the corpse de ballet dancers weren’t in unison. Yet overall, I definitely give “La Bayadère” an A+! Regardless of whether or not you are a dancer, “La Bayadère” is the show you don’t want to miss.
For more information about the show, student tickets, and show dates (Sunday, November 3 is the last show!) check out Boston Ballet’s website.
Photo sources:
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