La Bayadere Ballet is a huge spectacle of a production in four acts and seven scenes.
The choreography was done by Marius Petipa and the music by Ludwig Minkus.
The La Bayadere Ballet (meaning The Temple Dancer or The Temple Maiden) was first performed at the Bolshoy Theater, St Petersburg on the 4th of February 1877.
Here is the full-length ballet for you to watch if interested, complete with explanations of what is happening in the complicated storyline.
The Story In A Nutshell
This Indian extravaganze is in the Romantic Style and tells the story of Solor, a warrior, who falls in love with a temple dancer (a Bayadere), Nikiya. They have sworn eternal fidelity to one another.
A Brahmin priest loves her too but she rejects his attention. He, in turn, learns of her relationship with Solor.
Moreover, the Rajah Dugmanta of Golconda has selected Solor to wed his daughter Gamzatti (or Hamsatti, as she is known in the original production). Solor is offered the hand of Gamsatti, daughter of a Rajah, and he is unable to refuse.
Nikiya, unaware of this arrangement, agrees to dance at the couple’s betrothal celebrations.
In his effort to have Solor killed and have Nikiya for himself, the jealous High Brahmin informs the Rajah that the warrior has already vowed eternal love to Nikiya over a sacred fire.
But the High Brahmin’s plan backfires when, rather than becoming angry with Solor, the Rajah decides that it is Nikiya who must die.
Gamzatti, who has eavesdropped on this exchange, summons Nikiya to the palace in an attempt to bribe the bayadère into giving up her beloved. As their rivalry intensifies, Nikiya picks up a dagger in a fit of rage and attempts to kill Gamzatti, only to be stopped in the nick of time by Gamzatti’s aya.
Nikiya flees in horror at what she has almost done. As did her father, Gamzatti vows that the bayadère must die.
At the betrothal celebrations, Nikiya performs a somber dance while playing her veena.
She is then given a basket of flowers which she believes are from Solor, and begins a frenzied and joyous dance. Little does she know that the basket is from Gamzatti, who has concealed beneath the flowers a venomous snake. Nikiya then holds the basket too close and the serpent bites her on the neck. The High Brahmin offers Nikiya an antidote to the poison, but she chooses death rather than have a life without her beloved Solor.
In the next scene, Solor is feeling depressed and smokes opium.
He then has a vision of Nikiya’s Spirit in a nirvana among the star-lit mountain peaks of the Himalayas. This is called the Kindom of Shades.
Here the lovers reconcile among the spirits of the other bayaderes.
When Solor awakens, preparations are underway for his marriage to Gamzatti.
In the temple where the wedding is to take place the spirit of Nikiya haunts Solor as he dances with Gamzatti.
When the High Brahmin joins the couple’s hands in marriage, the gods take revenge for Nikiya’s murder by destroying the temple and all of its occupants. The temple is struck by lightning and it crashes to the ground killing everyone beneath its ruins.
The spirits of Nikiya and Solor are reunited in death and eternal love.
La Bayadere Ballet History
When the Kirov Ballet made their first London appearance in July 1961, they brought the beautiful and exciting Kingdom of Shades scene from the La Bayadere Ballet.
As the first of the thirty-two spirit Bayaderes appeared on the stage and began that slow unfolding of arabesque penche after arabesque penche, the audience became aware of something both novel and beautiful.
To realize that this choreography was about a hundred years old was to be reminded once again of what a genius Petipa’s was.
The Kindom of Shades is a masterpiece of choreography and it relies entirely upon its dancing as the drama is only minimally present. One Soviet critic called it ‘symphonic’ in structure and this is certainly true in the way the corps de ballet echoes or enhances the work of the principals.
Although there is a reminder of the second act of Gizelle, the choreography is far superior in the La Bayadere Ballet.
The most extraordinary thing about the ballet is that it looks quite modern and far less dated and old-fashioned than many other ballets half its age.
The entire ballet has been restaged and revised by Natalya Makarova for the American Ballet Theatre.
Below you can see a stunning preview of the highlights of the La Bayadere Ballet done by the Royal Ballet in Markarova’s style.
This is very interesting.
I have to share this La Bayadare ballet story with my friends. It was a nice judgment given by the gods to destroy the whole temple with lightning and killing everyone underneath it as a revenge for Nikiya’s death.
I guess there are lot of interesting stories like this on your site. I will start following you to get more interesting stories.
The stories are interesting, but unfortunately, with the Romantic Ballet Era, there were a lot of tragic stories with tragic endings.
Wow! Such an intriguing story! I felt like I was watching the show while I read.
I am a huge sucker for romance and seeing it played in the beautiful way ballets are performed, will do alot to add to its magic.
This story has so many love entanglements, that I call it a love rectangle, it has gone beyond a love triangle because four lovers are involved in the story. It’s a story sizzling with passion, reminds me of Romeo and Juliet.
Yes, all the ballet stories from this time period have a tragic undertone with many love stories intertwined. Thanks for commenting.
Thanks for this informative post, La Bayadere takes place in the Royal India of long ago. As the ballet begins, the audience learns that Nikiya, a beautiful temple dancer, is in love with a young warrior named Solor, but what I didn’t like is the sad reunion of Nikiya and Solor in the kingdom of shades, it’s a bitter ending, great story.
Yes it is sad, but during the romantic era, most ballets were tragic tales of woe.
I have been given an assignment where I must research about several men and among them is Alphonse Victor Marius Petipa. In my research I have been impressed with his long career.
I have taken quite a few interesting points from your post. And I must thank you very much for them. I’d also like to ask if you have intention of writing about Don Quixote which was also choreographed by Marius Petipa and the music composed by the Jewish-Austrian Ludwig Minkus? Thanks in advance.
Don Quixote was one of my favorite ballets. I did, in fact, write a post on that ballet and you can find it by clicking here.
Hi, to be honest, I only watch dancing on TV and I have never watched it happen live.
I have seen choreographic dance but this one is unique, I’ve read books, articles and listened to the news, I have never heard of La Bayadere and Solor, such a sad end of killing everybody at the temple, indeed the spirit of Solor and Nikiya are united in death and eternal love.
I’ve learned something unique outta this. Actually, I use to wonder how this dance is being done, can you recommend a coach? Thanks, I will pass by to check up.
Ballet takes many years of training and it is better if you start when you are young, like under ten. However many teachers offer Adult Ballet Classes so that adults too can enjoy this art form.
Try Google, as there are normally many teachers available if you live in a city, just make sure that they are properly qualified.