Principals Draw Attention to Human Element of ‘Bayadere’

Choreography, it has been said, is something Nureyev needed just to move the costumes around in the Paris Opera Ballet’s “La Bayadere,” which enjoyed a healthy run at the Orange County Performing Arts Center last week. On Saturday night, two new female principal dancers did their best to enliven the roles of Nikiya, the temple dancer, and Gamzatti, her royal rival. Partnered by the always elegant Manuel Legris as Solor, they each acquitted themselves well alongside the real rivals for audience attention--the voluptuous scenery and jeweled attire.

Seen previously in one of the third-act variations, Delphine Moussin was a majestic Gamzatti, stretching out into beautiful arabesques and accomplishing the requisite whipping turns with clarity. But the effort used to power jumps and high leg extensions occasionally showed in facial tension and stalky landings.

An uninspired Gamzatti on opening night, Aurelie Dupont blossomed as Nikiya, taking the character on an emotional journey that made her death and afterlife poignant, despite the ballet’s generally kitschy atmosphere. In her first-act devotional solo, Dupont moved with measured calm, which turned to liquid longing when she met up with Solor after work. Later, forced to dance at his engagement party, she was pliant and dolorous--like a dutiful child who sighs while going through the motions.

In the afterlife of the third act, Dupont became crystalline, using a sense of stillness at effective moments--when coming out of a turn or passing through a technically impressive position. She and Legris danced with such eloquence, they occasionally accomplished the near impossible--made you forget their lush surroundings.