The crown jewel of Russian ballet, “La Bayadère,” will be staged in Seoul next week to the delight of ballet fans.

The Korean National Ballet company will present “La Bayadère,” a story of betrayal, revenge, forgiveness and love that unfolds in an ancient Hindu temple, at the Seoul Arts Center’s Opera House from March 13 to March 16.

“La Bayadère,” which means “Temple Dancer” in French, begins with a passionate romance between temple dancer Nikiya and the young warrior Solor. It eventually turns into a tragedy as the High Brahmin, who has fallen for Nikiya, and Gamzatthi, the ruler’s daughter who is desperate to marry Solor, make plans to tear them apart. It is a rare spectacle that features 120 dancers wearing 200 ethnic costumes and performing in front of a beautiful setting.


“La Bayadere” is the first performance the troupe is presenting this year, after welcoming its new artistic director last year, the famed ballerina Kang Sue-jin. This ballet is notable because it is a perfect example of ballet-blanc, the pure classical form of ballet. In particular, the scene in the third act, “The Kingdom of the Shades,” in which 32 dancers, or shades, dance on stage and perform arabesques in plié, is spectacular.

“La Bayadere” was originally choreographed by Frenchman Marius Petipa and was first staged in 1877 by the Imperial Ballet at the Imperial Bolshoi Kamenny Theatre, which later became the Mariinsky Theatre, in St. Petersburg, Russia. The piece was later reinterpreted by renowned choreographers and ballerinas, including Konstantin Sergeev, Natalia Makarova and Rudolf Nureyev.

The version presented by the Korean National Ballet was created by Yury Nikolayevich Grigorovich, a legendary choreographer who led the Bolshoi Ballet for 33 years. The piece was modified by Grigorovich himself for the Korean National Ballet.




One of the more tempting aspects of this production is that Italian designer Luisa Spinatelli designed the exotic costumes. Spinatelli is the creative mind who was responsible for the costumes in “Gisele,” staged by the Korean National Ballet in 2011. All the costumes and stage settings were fabricated in Italy.

Judith Yan, artistic director of the Guelph Symphony Orchestra in Canada, will conduct the Korea Symphony Orchestra, which will perform the music for the ballet. Yan is the first female conductor for any performance by the ballet company.

“I try to give meaning to each movement made by the dancers. I want to show the audience that the movements are alive,” said artistic director Kang. “’La Bayadère’ is also known for its beautiful music and the third act, in which the three shades appear, is considered to be one of the best scenes in all of ballet.”


”La Bayadère” will be staged at 7:30 p.m. on March 13 and 14, at 2 p.m. and again at 7 p.m. on March 15, and at 3 p.m. on March 16. For more information, call the Seoul Arts Center at (02)580-1300 or visit its homepage (www.sac.or.kr/index.jsp).

By Limb Jae-un
Korea.net Staff Writer
jun2@korea.kr