dansedanse

Helene, you are right. I apologize. I was simply shocked to see this level of production from a top training program whose graduates will go on to dance, choreograph, and possibly direct ballet companies in their future. My overall impression of this "Bayadere" was that a woke enough ideology excuses one from having to execute the choreography – not a great message for this country's future dancers. In order to title your ballet "La Bayadere" (reimagined or not), in my opinion, the first shade must travel the last diagonal of arabesque releves from one corner to the other after already completing 3 difficult sections of the variation. The difficulty of the drum dance lies in the fact that the dancers need to bend low to the ground while still keeping up with the incredible tempo. The soloist women in the grand pas have choreography that is distinct for its head and arm coordination (the girls here have only one idea of epaulement and that is en face). And these examples only scratch the surface of everything that is wrong in this video. If I were paying 50 grand a year for my training, I personally would want to master the choreography rather than have it watered down for me in the name of some PR stunt. These students are talented enough to learn the difference.

I have seen ( and danced in) many poor productions but this is by far the worst thing I have ever seen. If I were a student at IU, I would be asking for a tuition refund.