La Bayadere

Mariinsky Theatre, St. Petersburg. February 4, 1877.

We walk through the stalls, where one of the greatest spectacles of all time is about to begin. A story of eternal love set in a legendary India with all-powerful rajahs and brahmins, fakirs, princesses, and warriors. The title: La Bayadère. The protagonists: Nikiya, a Temple dancer in love with Solor, the prince who must marry Gamzatti, the evil daughter... of the even more evil Maharaja.

And between the eruption of the main bayadere until her disappearance in the Kingdom of the Shades and the apotheosis finale, a succession of intrigues and revenges, of jealousies and betrayals, that will lead us to the most intricate depths of the human heart and leave the spectator breathless.

Directed by Marius Petipa to Ludwig Minkus' score, this ballet will feature prodigious numbers: from multitudinous processions and endless flights, to magical arabesques, sparkling corkscrews and an endless array of hypnotic movements, in a display of resources never before seen on stage.

Whether in the opulent palace chambers, among bejeweled elephants and royal tigers, under a starry sky or in a solitary forest, the scenes will unfold with astounding choreographies, each more striking than the last. Not to mention the costumes that Theoni Aldredge has created for the occasion, with its dancing bronze idols and delicate bayaderes enveloped in a permanent halo of mystery. Pure fantasy!

Based on poems by the Indian Kalidasa, La Bayadère is divided into 3 acts. Like the installments of our new collection. In the first, sinuous and undulating forms prevail with wine tones, soft creams and dark coal blacks, in an interpretation of the Sacred Flame that will be its guiding thread.

In the second, we succumb to the spell of the 24 bayaderes descending like specters down a helical ramp. For which we incorporate - for the first time in Papiroga, and who knows if in the whole world! - mirrors in our Maxi earrings and necklaces. Because, what better than this material as a symbol of this dual love story where every face has its reverse?

And for the last installment, the most playful of all, we dress in our finest attire to attend a multicolor party of greens and pinks where the star color, gold, is not missing, ready to give it all and who knows if for a happy destiny or a tragic end…