Holiday Ballet Watchlist: La Bayadère

More love, betrayal and death, but this time set in a mystical ancient Indian land.  Here is the Bolshoi Ballet's production of La Bayadère.  This ballet premiered in 1877 at the Mariinsky Theatre, choreographed by Marius Petipa with music by Ludwig Minkus. Set in an imagined ancient India, the ballet reflects 19th-century fascination with exoticism and spectacle.

The ballet is especially famous for the “Kingdom of the Shades” scene, a hauntingly beautiful procession that remains one of the most iconic moments in classical ballet.

The temple dancer Nikiya and the warrior Solor are secretly in love, but Solor is promised to another woman. Betrayal and jealousy lead to Nikiya’s death. In a vision, Solor encounters her spirit in the Kingdom of the Shades. Depending on the production, the ballet ends either in tragedy or divine justice, with the gods destroying the temple and reuniting the lovers beyond life.