Dance: Verdi Would Be Cheering

A.B.T. stages an exotic, full-length La Bayadére

La Bayadére, a much beloved work in the Soviet Union, is virtually unknown here, except for a section called "Kingdom of the Shades," which is a distillation of Marius Petipa's pure classicism. The film The Turning Point made beautiful use of its opening sequence, in which the corps de ballet slowly descends a ramp, all the dancers doing the same graceful movement, based on an arabesque, so that the audience sees it from every angle and at the same time as a single image. The stage becomes a vision of harmony, symmetry and peace.

Who would...