La Bayadère

La Bayadère is a three-act ballet by the French choreographer Marius Petipa. Set in 19th-century India, La Bayadère tells the sad love story of the noble warrior Solor and his Nikiya, a temple dancer or 'bayadère', who is poisoned by her rival, Gamzatti. This production of the ballet features the revised choreography by Vladimir Ponomarev and Vakhtang Chabukiani (1941), and includes dances by Konstantin Sergeyev and Nikolai Zubkovsky. The ballet’s music, composed by Ludwig Minkus, is performed by the Mariinsky Orchestra under the direction of Boris Gruzin. Among the performers are Viktoria Tereshkina, Anastasia Matvienko, Vladimir Shklyarov, and Vladimir Ponomarev. This performance was recorded at the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg, Russia, in July 2014.

Directed by Valery Gergiev, La Bayadère leans on a strong ensemble — Viktoria Tereshkina, Anastasia Matvienko, Vladimir Shklyarov — to carry a story that balances spectacle with character.

The film landed with audiences for its craft and performances, and remains one of the most talked-about music titles of 2014.