Ballet master Natalia Makarova is a legendary figure in the history of modern world ballet. She is known as "the most outstanding female ballet star in the past 50 years" and has left her brilliant artistic footprints from the former Soviet Union to Europe and the United States.
Makarova's version of "La Bayadère" is her pioneering work in the choreography and the most precious thing is that it faithfully restores the scene of the collapse of the temple in the third act of the original version, restoring the original conception of Master Petipa for this work. This plot has long been omitted in most versions of "La Bayadère" due to various realistic conditions and historical evolution factors. It is a great regret in the inheritance of the play in terms of both the viewing experience and the integrity of the story. As one of the few versions of "La Bayadère" that restored this plot, Makarova's version is extremely precious and is rarely seen in various versions of "La Bayadère" in recent years. This magnificent scene not only creates a breathtaking stage spectacle visually, but also pushes the inner emotions of the story to a shocking climax! In
2016, the National Ballet of China and Makarova once again joined hands to rehearse her lifelong love work - "Giselle". This is the first time in the history of the National Ballet of China to rehearse this most difficult and historically significant classical drama.
In order to present "Giselle" to the audience in its best condition, "Grandma Ma", who was 76 years old at the time, came to China again from afar and gave careful guidance to the National Ballet of China for half a month. The master, who was over 70 years old, was energetic and not only gave precise guidance with a sharp eye, but also often demonstrated in person. Her strict and persistent spirit for art made all the cast and crew of the National Ballet of China admire her. The National Ballet of China also made an all-round improvement through the process of rehearsing "Giselle". Whether it was dancers, teaching choreographers, symphony orchestras or stage design teams, they all improved their professionalism and made great progress through this high-intensity "actual combat".
La Bayadère, one of the most splendid ballets of the 19th century, glorified the exotic Orient at a time when foreign travel was only available to the privileged few. The world renowned ballerina and choreographer Natalia Makarova’s production, which honours the original choreography, is the first version of La Bayadère to be seen in the Western world. Pier Luigi Samaritani’s magnificent sets and Anna Kontek’s opulent costumes carry the audience into a world of fairy tales – just like at the Imperial Ballet of St. Petersburg back in 1877.
“Elegantly simple and purely geometrical, the Kingdom of the Shades reveals the wonderful mastery of the young Petipa. This scene is especially difficult for the corps de ballet, because every move must be executed in precise unison.”
– Natalia Makarova, choreographer
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