La Bayadere (Altynai Asylmuratova-Irek Mukhamedov-Darcey Bussell-Anthony Dowell, Royal Ballet 1991)

This Royal Ballet La Bayadere features Natalia Makarova's reconstruction of Petipa's ballet. The great Mariinsky Ballerina Natalia Makarova shares with the West her Russian heritage with this staging of "La Bayadere". Here we have a magnificent 1990 film of her version staged for the Royal Ballet a year earlier in 1989 (this version was originally staged for American Ballet Theatre in 1980, and the production shown here includes the same decor). Makarova's version is very stream-lined. The biggest change is Makarova's version of the long lost last act (mind you - this is NOT reconstruction, merely a completion of the original libretto.

The Prima Ballerina of the Kirov/Mariinsky Altynai Assylmoratova guest stars in this film as Nikiya, perhaps the greatest late 20th century interpretor of the role (today Assylmoratova is director of the renowned Vaganova Academy of Russian Ballet). Irek Mukhamedov dances Solor, a Bolshoi trained power-house with obvious English style coaching since his arrival at the Royal Ballet in 1989 - making him a true Danseur Noble and exquisite performer. A young Darcey Bussel dances the role of Gamzatti. She is a lovely ballerina, with long legs, high extensions, and expressive arms. Her style, physique, and approach to ballet are not typical of Royal Ballet Danseuses, but she is very British in her dancing. She is a great actress as well (watch her and Assylmoratova in the 'cat-fight' scene in Act I, scene 2 where the heroines feud - called the 'scene dramatique' in the original). Tetsuya Kumakawa dances the variation of the Bronze Idol, and his performance makes the ever so polite English audience get the loudest it ever got during this performance (this solo was added by Nikolai Zubkovsky to the Kirov's "La Bayadere" in 1948 to Minkus's "Marche persane" from Petipa's 1874 revival of Offenbach's "Le Papillon").