Photo by Gene Schiavone

A strong season at American Ballet Theater continued magnificently on the evening of Tuesday, May 30th, the delightful first of a week’s performances of the still underrated La Bayadère, with choreography by the renowned Natalia Makarova (after that of the great Marius Petipa) in a production conceived and directed by her, with a tuneful, Romantic score by the unsung Ludwig Minkus, who along with Cesare Pugni and Riccardo Drigo was one of the remarkable resident composers of the Imperial Ballet of St. Petersburg. The memorable scenery was designed by Pierluigi Samaritani with attractive costumes by Theoni V. Aldredge and effective lighting by Toshiro Ogawa.

 

Once again, the event’s splendor was equally attributable to the extraordinary cast on display, headed brilliantly by the lovely Hee Seo in the title role of the beautiful temple dancer, Nikiya—she shone too in the previous weeks as the lead in Giselle as well as in a smaller part in Wayne McGregor’s arresting new ballet, AFTERITE. Her partner, as the warrior Solor, was the astonishing (and handsome) Kimin Kim, a principal dancer with the glorious Mariinsky Ballet who is appearing here as a guest artist—he stole the show with his two thrilling solos in the first and second acts and given the enthusiasm he aroused in the audience, he seems likely to quickly become one of the most celebrated dancers of the current moment. Also outstanding was another of the finest ballerinas in the company, the exquisite Gillian Murphy, as Gamzatti, the Radjah’s daughter.

 

The secondary cast was also wonderful, featuring: the engaging Arron Scott as Magdaveya, the head fakir; Stephanie Williams and Courtney Shealy, both terrific as the D’Jampe Dancers; the fabulous Skylar Brandt, April Giangeruso and Katherine Williams, the leads in the unforgettable Dance of the Shades in the second act; and the dynamic Joseph Gorak, sensational as the Bronze Idol in the final act. Alexandre Hammoudi as the Radjah Dugumanta and Roman Zhurbin as the High Brahmin appeared in less dancerly roles. I only wish I could name all the exhilarating dancers in thecorps de ballet who in no small measure were indispensable contributors to the evening’s success. I eagerly look forward to the coming weeks.