La Bayadère
![](/Images/godic/202501/29/Marius_Petipa_-18981522.JPG")
![Ekaterina Vazem costumed as Nikiya for Act II of La Bayadère. St. Peterbsurg, 1877.](/Images/godic/202501/29/Bayadere_-Nikiya_-Ekaterina_Vazem_-18771522.jpg")
![Lev Ivanov costumed as Solor for Act I of La Bayadère. St. Petersburg, 1877.](/Images/godic/202501/29/Bayadere_-Warrior_Solor_-Lev_Ivanov_-18771523.JPG")
![Marius Petipa's final revival of La Bayadère, with the stage of the Mariinsky Theatre shown in the scene The Kingdom of the Shades. In the center is Mathilde Kschessinskaya as Nikiya, Pavel Gerdt as Solor and the Corps de ballet. The three soloist shades are seen kneeling to the left: Varvara Rhykhliakova, Agrippina Vaganova and Anna Pavlova performed the shade's variations. St. Petersburg, 1900.](/Images/godic/202501/29/La_Bayadere._The_Kingdom_of_the_Shades,_19001523.JPG")
La Bayadère (en. The Temple Dancer) (ru. «Баядерка», Bayaderka) is a ballet, originally staged in four acts and seven tableaux by French choreographer Marius Petipa to the music of Ludwig Minkus. The ballet was staged especially for the benefit performance of the Prima ballerina Ekaterina Vazem, who created the principal role of Nikiya. La Bayadère was first presented by the Imperial Ballet at the Imperial Bolshoi Kamenny Theatre in St. Petersburg, Russia, on 4 February [O.S. 23 January] 1877. A scene from the ballet, known as The Kingdom of the Shades, is one of the most celebrated excerpts in all of classical ballet.