Thrilling ‘La Bayadere’ opens Ballet Manila’s 11th season

The thrill of going to the ballet lies in seeing memorable scenes of graceful ballerinas twirling like tops and leaping in the air. Beauties dressed in pristine white tutus send many ballet goers into rapture. For many of them, just the sight of the corps de ballet is reason to be in the theater. Think of the lake of swans in Swan Lake, the forest of Willis in Giselle, the snowflakes in The Nutcracker, and the kingdom of shades in La Bayadere. Ballet goers in Manila have been fortunate to regularly witness productions of these ballets.

A few weeks ago, Ballet Manila mounted again its production of La Bayadere, the opening production in its 11th season. The production is also part of yearlong celebration of the 20th anniversary of BM artistic director Lisa Macuja-Elizalde’s return to Manila from Russia. The production is in character with the ballet company’s lineup of ballets: The Nutcracker in December, and Romeo and Juliet in February 2007. All three are essentially Russian ballets, with their music composed by Russian masters. The company’s next production, "Halo-Halo: Lisa@20," this late September and early October, will be a showcase of dances associated with her and her ballet company.

Ballet Manila’s production of La Bayadere telescopes much of its plot in the first act, thus presenting the ballet’s different characters in less time than usual. Within the first hour, we are introduced to Nikiya, the temple dancer, and her beloved Solor, a warrior. Credit must be given to guest choreographer Sergey Vikulov, a People’s Artist of Russia, and guest teacher Tatiana Udalenkova, who returned to Manila to restage this ballet. Their careful reduction of the plot simplifies the story for BM’s audience.

Nikiya is desired by the Brahmin, who she refuses, while Solor has been matched with the Princess Gamzatti, the Rajah’s daughter. Gamzatti tries to convince Nikiya to give up Solor, but she refuses. When Nikiya threatens her with a knife out of desperation, Gamzatti vows to take her revenge on Nikiya. Thus, when Nikiya dances at Solor and Gamzatti’s wedding, she is bitten by a snake hidden in a basket given to her. Solor seeks refuge in smoking opium to be reunited with Nikiya in his fantasies.

Solor’s opium-induced dream might be a welcome escape for him, but seeing 22 Nikiyas on stage should send chills down your spine. To be reunited with Nikiya’s memory, Solor has to drug himself, and eventually cause his own death. Love stories often end in tragedy; Solor and Nikiya’s story is no different.

For this production of La Bayadere, BM has assembled two casts to execute the ballet’s demanding choreography. The first cast has Macuja-Elizalde as Nikiya, Russian danseur Maxim Chashchegorov as Solor, and Gerardo Francisco as the golden idol; the second cast has Mylene Aggabao (Nikiya), Niño Guevarra (Solor), and Roduardo Ma (golden idol). Common to both casts are Marian Faustino (Gamzatti), Marcus Tolentino (Brahmin), Jerome Espejo (fakir), Gabriella Galvez, Zaira Cosico, and Yanti Marduli (lead shades), Marvin Medina (rajah), and Sofia Sangco (servant).

Macuja-Elizalde is the consummate dancing actress, bringing out in her Nikiya all the drama to be expected from any production of La Bayadere. It was in Nikiya’s death scene that she brought out her talent as an actress. Every movement was timed to the music, up to the moment she dropped the bottle of anti-venin that would save her life. You could hear the bottle fall on the floor with great effect, echoing her decision to die for losing her lover.

The acting didn’t detract from her dancing. She brings so much pain into her dance at the wedding, every move deliberate in stressing her emotion. In the kingdom of shades, her dancing was dazzling and ideal. This Nikiya has surely attained perfection in the afterlife, unflinching in her ultimate dance with Solor.

Chashchegorov is the perfect foil for Macuja-Elizalde’s Nikiya. His height is a plus, making his dancing so much more thrilling. Yes, he could fly in the air with exactness, never losing his balance in the effort. Manila ballet goers should be given more chances to see him dance on its stages.

Aggabao and Guevarra took on the roles of Nikiya and Solor for the first time. While their acting may be a little tentative, their dancing was not. Aggabao’s Nikiya was shyer, much more withdrawn, than Macuja-Elizalde’s, but it was just as exuberant. In Nikiya’s dance at wedding, her dancing was more aloof, but just as bravura. In Act 3, in the kingdom of shades, she delivered the hair-raising demands in Nikiya and Solor’s dances, relishing each and every turn, unfazed by the technical demands.

Guevarra’s Solor was just as accomplished, matching his Russian counterpart in his ability to dazzle. He leapt into the air gracefully and fearlessly.

Faustino virtually owns the role of Gamzatti. Not only is she a foil to the Nikiya character, but she also provides much of the hair-raising dances in this ballet. In the Act 2 pas d’action, she was brilliant in her leaps and spins, executing her solos just as securely as the Nikiyas.

As the golden idol, Francisco and Ma are skillful in making a singular role look so easy. They are a match, adding their athletic dancing to the evening’s spectacle of unforgettable dancing.

As the fakir, Jerome Espejo added much diversion to the narrative in Act 1. With his energetic dancing, what was boring stuff surely kept everyone awake and up in their seats.

In assembling two accomplished casts for this production of La Bayadere, Ballet Manila proved that it has a big enough pool of dancers to mine for the different roles the ballet requires. And to come up with 22 Nikiyas is no small feat for any company. The sight of all those ballerinas dancing in unison on one stage was enough to warrant the restaging of this production. Ballet goers who are thrilled by such a sight surely got their money’s worth.