La Bayadere (The Water Bearer or The Temple Dancer) was brought to the stage by Ballet Manila in all its intrigue-filled glory in September 2004 at Aliw Theater. In essence a love story, it is one fraught with forbidden ties, conspiracies, even murder and an unlikely reunion in a drug-induced state.

Headlining La Bayadere was principal dancer Lisa Macuja-Elizalde who had actually performed the role in the Philippine premier of the full-length ballet back in 1987. This time, she was sharing the role with ballerina-on-the-rise Christine Rocas.

A ballet set in India, La Bayadere tells the story of Nikiya, a lovely Indian woman of lowly birth who is committed to a lifetime of service in the temple of the High Brahmin. She falls in love with the warrior Solor, who—though engaged to Princess Gamzatti, daughter of the Maharajah—falls for her, too.

Solor swears eternal love to Nikiya in a vow over the sacred fire at the temple—which makes his marriage to Gamzatti a big mistake in the eyes of the gods.

The Maharajah, the High Brahmin who desires Nikiya, and Gamzatti plot to kill the water bearer at Gamzatti and Solor’s wedding. At the big event, Nikiya unknowingly dances with a basket of flowers containing a venomous snake that bites her. Although she is offered an antidote, she refuses it rather than face life without Solor by her side.

Solor, in despair, finds solace in an opium-induced dream where he gets to reunite with Nikiya  in what is regarded as one of most demanding acts in Russian ballet, dubbed the Kingdom of the Shades.

Macuja-Elizalde’s Russian teacher, Tatiana Udalenkova, and her husband, People’s Artist or Russia Sergey Vikulov restaged La Bayadere, ensuring that Ballet Manila’s production stayed faithful to the exacting Russian classic.