Minkus - La Bayadere / Asylmuratova, Bussell, Dowell, Mukhamedov; Lanchbery, Royal Ballet

Rating:
Summary: What a Gamzatti!
Review: Darcey Bussell is beyond gorgeous. Her variations in Act One (right before she poisons poor Nikita) are eye-popping -- what beautiful feet she has! I have watched Act One over and over and over. The music is just awful, but the dancing is amazing.

Rating:
Summary: its a great ballet but missing a lot of pantamime parts....
Review: This ballet is quite grand in that La Bayadere is a story of a Bayadere which is a temple dancer who is named Nikiya not Nikita(hense not La Femme), this ballet is quite beautiful with the wonderful Darcey Bussell, a grand prima ballerina. Despite the length of the ballet, its only like about 3/4 of the original of the actual story, the Choreography by Natalia Makarova is quite beautiful but none compared to the Original Marius Petipa movements and the music is fairly glitzy. thats just my opinion.

Rating:
Summary: Classical ballet at its best
Review: this Royal Ballet La Bayadere features Natalia Makarova's reconstruction of Petipa's ballet. Much of the choreography has been lost, including the entire final act. Makarova has thus chosen to streamline the extant choreography, and through some recreation and reshuffling, reconstruct a final act. Other versions (such as the Paris version by Nureyev) choose to work with the extant choreography and end the ballet with the last known Petipa choreography (the Shades act). There are plusses and minusses to both approaches. Makarova's version gives the ballet some closure (ending with the Shades act denies Solor and Nikya and reunion in death, which is so much a part of romantic ballet). However many character dances and such have to be scrapped in order to tighten the action. Recently the Kirov Ballet has attempted to add ALL of Petipa's choreography AND recreate the lost act, but that version is not out on videotape. Until then, both Makarova and Nureyev's compromises seem reasonable.
Minkus's score for La Bayadere is a mixed bag. It has some lovely moments (like the entire Shades act) but also can sound treacly and formulaic. Nureyev's production includes more numbers but I think both Nureyev and Makarova have respect for La Bayadere as a ballet, they simply resolve the problems differently.
The Nikya, Altynai Asylmuratova, is obviously from such a different school of ballet than the corps or other dancers (such as Darcey Bussell). AA was prima ballerina of the Kirov ballet, and her Russian style of dancing is obvious: extremely arched back, long flexible extensions, an emphasis on hand gestures. In contrast, Darcey Bussell is stiff-backed, regal, and elegant, and she can certainly kick her legs high! This is not a "bad" thing but balletomanes will note the differences in training between the Nikya and Gamzatti (Bussell).
However, Asylmuratova is a revelation: in the Shades act she really does seem otherworldly. Her fluid upper body and beauty make this Nikya inherently sympathetic. She's one of those very rare ballerinas who naturally project vulnerability. Like many Russians she is very dramatic but never over-the-top -- when she enters in white during the Shade scene, I actually ached and sighed at how beautiful she was.
Bussell is also great as Gamzatti -- athletic, haughty, and sexy. Mukhamedov is less impressive as Solor -- theres nothing really wrong with him, but he lacks charisma and chemistry with the two leading ladies. I've seen him in other films where he's been very impressive (a demented Mayerling, some excerpts from Spartacus and Romeo and Juliet). So maybe Solor wasnt his role.
The Paris video's dancing is also fine, but Isabelle Guerin (Nikya) and Elisabeth Platel (Gamzatti) are not nearly as memorable and touching as Asylmuratova and Bussell.