Lavish Exoticism and Mystic Romanticism –  HK Ballet’s La Bayadère

On Sunday, 4/6/23, Mrs Rowley’s elegantly attired SIA premiere literature students experienced a night of passion, opium, deadly snakes, ghosts and gods!

La Bayadère, an iconic 19th-century Russian ballet set in ancient India’s jungles, recounts the ill-fated love of a temple dancer Nikiya and her noble warrior Solor, who is betrothed to another woman. Set to music by Ludwig Minkus, this enduring tale of palace intrigue, vengeance and redemption is considered one of the best-loved classical ballets. La Bayadère’s thrilling highlights include Ukrainian Principal Ballerina Iana Selenko’s delicate portrayal of the heartbroken Nikiya, the Golden Idol’s spectacular virtuoso solo and the renowned Kingdom of the Shades scene— the first perfect ballet blanc with the mesmerising corps de ballet moving in perfect synchronicity under a moonlit sky. For some students, it was their first-ever classical ballet. We were privileged to meet Australian ballerina Ashleigh Bennett backstage, who showed us all her swollen feet and bruises reminding us of the pain behind the perfection of life as a professional ballerina. As a bonus, we fortuitously shared a ferry home with HK Ballet Artistic Director Septime Weber, who more than happily chatted about adapting literature to create new ballets. Hector scored an autograph, and Jenna recommended one of our core texts, Lynn Nottage’s Intimate Apparel, to Mr Weber as a possible future ballet. A gorgeous soirée to be remembered forever!