Bolshoi Ballet : La Bayadere Ely Cinema : Tickets available on the door
Tickets now on sale
La Bayadère (“The Temple Dancer”), from the Bolshoi Ballet, tells the story of impossible love between the dancer Nikiya and the warrior Solor, set against the backdrop of lush, exotic India. Marius Petipa’s choreography, here in a new scenic version by Yuri Grigorovich, is exquisite; especially noteworthy is the scene known as The Kingdom of the Shades, one of the most celebrated excerpts in ballet, and one of the first examples of “abstract ballet.”
The night before entering the forest, the hunter Solor meets the bayadère Nikiya (a “Temple Dancer”). They swear eternal fidelity to each other, unaware that the High Brahmin -- who is also in love with Nikiya -- overhears them them decides to take revenge. He rushes to reveal this secret to the Rajah who has selected Solor to be the fiancé of Gamzatti, his beloved daughter. Nikiya, unaware of the arrangement, agrees to dance at the couple's betrothal celebrations. The jealous High Brahmin in – an effort to have Solor killed and have Nikiya for himself – tells the Rajah that the warrior has already vowed love to the bayadère over. But the Rajah, rather than becoming angry with Solor, vows that Nikiya must die.
Running time: 3 hours 30 mins.