La Bayadere Intensive Day 2: Idols and Disembodied Shades

There is a mirror at the front of the studio where we train. I glanced at it yesterday as I entered our notional stage from the top of its imaginary ramp. Try as I could to incline towards the audience with my arms in fifth and my right leg extended there was just no way that I could pass as a disembodied shade.  I did my best to be ethereal and dainty but I am big boned and my frame is now upholstered with more than a generous accumulation of middle age spread despite my attempts to mitigate it through exercise and diet.

On the other hand I might just pass as an angular statue though I lack the strength and virtuosity of Ivan Vasilev in the YouTube clip. Because everyone else in the class is young and nimble Jane had prepared the workshop around the shades. That was sensible because my classmates can dance those roles so much more convincingly than I can. At the start of the programme I asked Jane whether we could do the golden idol which had been danced so impressively by Andrei Federkov in St Petersburg Ballet Theatre's production at the Coliseum last year (see Blown Away - St Petersburg Ballet Theatre's La Bayadere 24 Aug 2015). There is something very dramatic and chilling about a statue that comes to life. It is the statute that leads Dom Juan to hell at the end of Moliere's play.  She replied that she would see what she could do but I knew it would be a big ask because she would have to adapt the choreography considerably for us.

To my great delight and surprise she did just that and we learned it yesterday as well as another piece for the corps. Learning the idol was great fun for we had to move in a quite non-balletic way which is what I do anyway.  We did some assemblés and chaînés  though not the tours en l'air or multiple turns shown in the video clip in substitution of some of the tours en l'air that only a powerful dancer trained in the Russian style can do well.

Today is our last day and I can barely crawl to the bathroom let alone dance this morning but I will try. This has been a great experience and I am grateful to Jane Tucker for teaching us and KNT for giving us the opportunity to learn the choreography of this beautiful but relatively little known work.

Background to La Byadere

Between the 15 and 20 Aug 2016 Jane Tucker of Northern Ballet Academy will run two intensive workshops on La Bayadère for KNT Danceworks in Manchester.

The first one, which is suitable for beginners, will run from the 15 to the 17 Aug 2016. The second for more advanced students will run from the 18 to 20 Aug. Each course costs £200 though if you are fit and keen enough you can do the two for £350.

I did Jane Tucker's Swan Lake Intensive last year (see KNT's Beginners' Adult Ballet Intensive - Swan Lake: Day 1, Day 2 and Day 3) and her Romeo and Juliet Intensive in April and although those experiences nearly killed me I would not have missed them for the world.

Although La Bayadère is one of the most beautiful romantic ballets it is not performed very often in this country.  I have only seen it once and that was a performance by The St Petersburg Ballet Theatre at the Coliseum last year with  Irina Kolesnikova and Denis Rodkin in the leading roles (see Blown Away - St Petersburg Ballet Theatre's La Bayadere 24 Aug 2015). As it is not so well known I shall be publishing a number of articles on as many aspects of the ballet as I can.

I will start with a treat which is a trailer for the Dutch National Ballet's production in 2009.

Standard YouTube Licence

The National Ballet will perform the ballet again in Amsterdam between the 8 Oct and 12 Nov 2016 which will be the first opportunity for most of us to see it.  Amsterdam's Stopera is actually cheaper and easier to visit than Covent Garden for many of us outside London despite the pound's fish dive. There's lots of information about the current production on the company's website (see La Bayadere Natalia Makarova after Marius Petipa).

Here are some other articles about the ballet and its background.

Reviews

Jane Lambert   Blown Away - St Petersburg Ballet Theatre's La Bayadere 24 Aug 2015

Jane Lambert   La Bayadère - The Ninth Life 29 March 2015

General

Jane Lambert   La Bayadere  31 March 2015

Gita Mistry   A British Asian’s Perspective on La Bayadère 29 Aug 2015

Wikipedia   La Bayadere

Companies' Repertoire

Bolshoi Ballet

Dutch National Ballet

Royal Ballet

Blown Away - St Petersburg Ballet Theatre's La Bayadere

Ekaterina Vazem, the first Bayadere

St Petersburg Ballet Theatre, The Coliseum, 23 Aug 2015

This afternoon I saw La Bayadère for the first time. Until then I had seen only the descent of the shades.  La Bayadère is not performed nearly as often as Swan Lake, The Nutcracker or The Sleeping Beauty in this country and I had assumed that there was a reason for that. But I was blown away by this ballet as I was when I saw my first Swan Lake. This ballet has drama, colourful divertissements and spectacular choreography in the last act. I would confidently argue that this is Petipa's best ballet and I long to see it again.

The ballet was performed by St Petersburg Ballet Theatre at the Coliseum. Nikiya was danced by Irina Kolesnikova, Solor by Denis Rodkin, Gamzatti by Natalia Matsak, the rajah by Dimitry Akillinin and the brahmin by Dimchik Saikeev. I had expected much from Rodkin having seen him  in several of the Bolshoi's HDTV transmissions from Moscow. He is even more impressive in real life. When he jumps he seems to hover. I expected less from the other dancers as I knew nothing about them but they were good too. Two other dancers also impressed me: Andrei Federkov who danced the bronze idol and Miho Naotsuko who danced one of the lead shades.

Act 2 of the ballet consists largely of divertissements.  I have already mentioned the idol's dance. I enjoyed them all particularly the drum dance.

There were glitches. The snake dropped out of Nikiya's bouquet several seconds before it was due to bight her. One of the shades faltered in the last act. The sacred fire in act 1 was less than convincing. But none of those slips spoiled my enjoyment of the show. The orchestra played well and the sets and costumes were sumptuous.

The audience loved the show.  I saw my first flower throw in decades. A chap a few rows in front of me in the stalls threw three or four bouquets of carnations at Kolesnikova and Rodkin several minutes before they received their official bouquets from the management.  Rodkin threw one of the bouquets deep into the auditorium. I don't know what the man who had bought the flowers must have thought of that gesture but I think it was an acknowledgement of the applause and as such a charming gesture.

I saw the ballet with Gita. She will post her impressions of this performance shortly. As she is of Indian as well as British heritage I shall be very interested in what she has to say.