DANCE REVIEW : New Principals Dance Kirov ‘La Bayadere’ in San Diego

Yulia Makhalina, who assumed the title role in the Kirov Ballet production of “La Bayadere” at the Civic Theater on Sunday afternoon, is so alluring that the High Brahman’s explosion of pent-up sexual desire really makes dramatic sense.

As Nikiya, the luscious would-be temple votary, the young ballerina flexed her midriff, arched back her spine and entwined her arms with such sensual rapture that of course the poor man didn’t have a chance.

That she didn’t seem to be all that aware of her impact added to the confrontation between the two.

But virtues that ensured her triumph in the first act did not guarantee success in the two acts that followed. In the wedding solo, she could muster pain but not a sense of tragedy, and seemed more at home in the loving warmth and deluded optimism of the coda.

In the austere classicism demanded in the Shades scene, she also failed to persuade, whether because of those sinuous, rippling arms or her tendency to speed through the choreography, revving up the tempo in the scarf dance with Solor, for instance.

Opposite her was Alexander Kurkov, a Solor of noble bearing and princely proportion, but one not entirely secure in partnering, nor in virtuosic flights, and apparently not much interested in aspects of the character beyond the rote.

This Solor turned caddish rather easily and quickly, suffering obligatory twinges of guilt but attending his new betrothed (Olga Chenchikova) with characterless enthusiasm. Technically, however, he appeared to have an off-day. An early circuit of turns lacked momentum and he almost let his Nikiya go off balance in some assisted turns. Only in his last variation did he seem fully on top of the demands.

For ardor, projection of inner struggle and a detailed characterization of the role, he did not come close to Maximillian Guerra, the guest from the Berlin Ballet, who danced his first Solor on Saturday. A firebrand from Venezuela, Guerra may not have ideal princely stature, and he may not try to suggest nobility beyond his age. But his degree of involvement in the drama was exemplary, and he brought bounding youthful vitality to his virtuoso duties. His final flourish of a double turn at the end of a circuit of barrel turns justifiably caused an uproar.

All three dancers appeared in performances for which they were not originally announced. Often the reasons for Kirov cast changes are impenetrable mysteries. This time the changes reportedly occurred because Igor Zelensky had to pull out of the tour temporarily.