#la bayadere

[dozydawn]

“Darcey Bussell, aged 20 years old, prepares for her leading role in La Bayadère at the Hippodrome Theatre, Birmingham, 26th February 1990. Darcey is the youngest principal dancer with the Royal Ballet.”

[leahthedreamer]

Deniss Vasiljevs (LAT) Free Skate - La Bayadère || Skate America 2024

[miss-mollys-ballet-blog]

Eleonora Sevenard in La Bayadere.

[denissvasiljevs1999]

Deniss Vasiljevs – 2024 Shanghai Trophy 🥈

La Bayadere by Ludwig Minkus

(choreographed by Stephane Lambiel and Vadim Muntagirov)

[lovelyballetandmore]

Domenico Di Cristo | The Czech National Ballet | Photo by Youn Sik Kim | @yoon6photo

[datura21]

On dirait le matin, on dirait un réveil, on dirait Ola.

[blackswaneuroparedux]

Ballet is not just movement, it is a language.

- Carla Fracci

[patricedumonde]

Deep Dive: Maria Koshkaryova’s Debut as Gamzatti

21 October 2023 — Masha's debut as Gamzatti in La Bayadere was a shock to many, and for good reason. This role requires not just technical proficiency but also maturity, and heavy acting. To make things more interesting, she was side by side Ekaterina Krysanova who became principal in 2011 and Vladislav Lantratov who became principal in 2013. For a dancer who just graduated 4 months ago, this wasn't just a challenging task, it was also impossible.

That said, let's go through some scenes that could have easily been corrected prior to the debut.

On the left, Maria Koshkaryova and on the right, Eleonora Sevenard.

This might be a hot take, but despite male dancers not being the center of attention in a pas de deux, I actually fully expect them to lead (Like in ballroom dancing.) In the movement above, I expected Vladislav to at least initiate eye-contact with Masha; this way, Masha would feel more comfortable to look at him as well. You'll notice the difference with the partnering of Elya. Instead of the movements looking hurried, you can see that there is a slight pause when they look at each other.

Here, there is clearly a lack of blocking. Masha should have turned instead of shuffling back. This way she can 1. See where she should go and 2. Look confident in doing so. This was likely from a hasty preparation for the role. There's simply too many moving parts for her to learn.

On the bright side, I thought her Italian fouettés were good. Excruciatingly slow, just how I like them! The fouettés, she played it safe by going with all single turns and honestly, I thought that was a smart decision. Incoming explanation on why.

Falling off balance here wasn't an accident, it was a blunder. She went for the 2.5 turns instead of a clean 1.5 you see on the right side. The clip on the right is perfect. Good preparation, clear spot, and solid landing.

One of the things I love about Gamzatti is that you can add a lot of embelishment to every movement. Maybe it comes with time and experience, but instead of just switching profiles here, Masha could have really emphasized more with her hands. Literally, a swish and flick could have added a lot.

JUMPS. The height is there. The look to the audience on the second jump could have been held much longer. Most importantly, the arms should be more controlled. When Masha braces herself before each jump, it isn't clear if she's passing through first position or even at a bras bas. When there's too much change and lack of clarity with the arm movements, the jumps don't seem effortless.

Here's a clip of Elya in the same part of the variation and she chose to be more consistent. (This is the part where the author realizes that she is a big fan of cleanliness and clarity which extends to her preference of risk-averse dancers)

Let's move on to arguably the hardest part, which is why I won't dwell on it too long. I will stand by my earlier statement, I cannot believe they would let her go against Ekaterina Krysanova, who is 20 years her senior. Especially in a confrontation scene like this, the disparity is palpable. Masha needed more confidence here and instead, it looked a bit apprehensive.

On the left, she should have been more "in your face" and she should have invaded Ekaterina Krysanova's space a lot more. After the first arabesque, that must have been 2-3 feet, she should have approached much closer than that.

Throughout this scene, I felt that Masha's facial expression remained unchanged. At the beginning, Gamzatti should be more accusatory and by the end, she should be full on, taunting. In all fairness, I can somewhat see it in the movement.

I saved this for last as it really stood out to me. The fall did not make sense. However, it would have made a lot more sense if she already came from a kneeling position! I would have preferred if she decided to beg on her knees, AND THEN fall in the manner that she did. It just seemed physically weird because of the way Ekaterina pushed her.

Honestly, this is all I am willing to go over. The first person to blame here would be whoever casted this. The second, maybe, would be her coach who agreed with that decision.

I see that the consensus here is that this debut is premature, and it is. Masha is a talented dancer. If you have seen her other debuts and felt that she was unprepared, surely it makes sense now, right? Imagine learning all those new roles on top of learning the entirety of Gamzatti's in La Bayadere.

C'est impossible.

[gatabella]

Princess Grace dances in Dior 'La Bayadere' gown, 1968

Maria Felix, Paris, 1968

[waterlilychaser]

marauders era as ballets

james potter - la bayadère

the story of eternal love and devotion.

[dozydawn]

[rachelbethhines]

Princess Tutu and Corresponding Ballets Revisited - Episode 7

Raven Princess - La Bayadere 

Reasons for inclusion 

Both stories feature a love triangle between two women and a prince 

One woman uses treachery to get what she wants and is there for cursed

“The Temple Dancer” is one of the world’s most famous ballets. Often considered the first romantic ballet, it revolutionized the way ballets were made. To not include it would be remiss

[miss-mollys-ballet-blog]

Renata Shakirova's classical roles repertoire.

Giselle

Odette/Odile (Swan Lake)

Kitri (Don Quixote)

Masha (The Nutcracker)

Nikiya (La Bayadere)

Medora (Le Corsaire)

Aurora (Sleeping Beauty)

Paquita

[denissvasiljevs1999]

Vadim Muntagirov and Deniss Vasiljevs as Solor from the latest edition of Dance Magazine

(You can order your own copy here)

[lovelyballetandmore]

Jorge Barani

[tikitania]

This is the most gorgeous La Bayadere...

POB has the most beautiful staging of La Bayadere. The costumes. the set design. The entire staging is gorgeous and makes other versions look fairly cheap in comparison.