Dancing Around the Truth:

Orientalism in La Bayadere

La Bayadere, translating to The Temple Dancer, is one of many classical ballets routinely performed by dance companies across the world. However, La Bayadere is inherently rooted in Orientalism and its associated tropes.

HISTORICAL CONTEXT:

La Bayadere is a ballet based on the short story Le Dieu et la Bayadère by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, a German literary figure from the late 18th century. Even though Goethe never left the continent, he was obsessed with the idea of Indian culture. Like his contemporaries, Goethe indulged in the idea of a “mystical” East, incorporating (perhaps even creating) some of the most pervasive tropes in media today.

Goethe’s story is as follows: A temple dancer and a warrior are in love while the warrior’s jealous princess-fiancee, the princess’ father the Rajah, and the temple’s High Brahmin watch from the sidelines. Conflicts from miscommunication and eavesdropping result in the female protagonist’s death by snakebite, the cast getting crushed to death by temple ruins, and finally the warrior and female protagonist reuniting in death.

In the 1870s, Le Dieu et la Bayadère inspired choreographer Marius Pepita and composer Ludwig Minkus to develop Goethe’s story into a ballet for the Imperial Theatre in Saint Petersburg, Russia. The ballet debuted in January 1877 and was a smashing success; European audiences adored its exotic plot and characters. But why is this ballet, with an antiquated and inaccurate portrayal of India, still performed today with little to no changes to the choreography or characterization? Why are viewers in the 21st century still consuming the same Orientalist stereotypes from the 18th and 19th century?

BUT IT’S JUST A STORY:

To answer this we must venture back in time to the ballet’s setting which is, according to Royal Ballet Director Kevin O’Hare, “a fantastical version of India” (Royal Opera House). O’Hare’s use of the word “fantastical” is an excellent way to gloss over the ballet’s lack of a concrete time period and setting. DK’s Encyclopedia Ballet states La Bayadere is, “...set in the royal India of the past” (Durante 100).

Post-colonial Studies scholar Edward Said explores how ambiguous time periods perpetuate stereotypes of Asia and the Middle East by falsely suggesting to the viewer that advancement and growth is not possible nor wanted in these regions (Said 1). Instead of attempting to rectify La Bayadere’s ambiguities, O’Hare asserts, “We’re in a world where [the ballet’s setting]...doesn’t exist, you just need to be swept away with the beauty of the dance” (Royal Opera House).

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The titular temple dancer is portrayed as a beautiful woman who is not capable of enduring heartache and jealousy, a prime example of the “wilting flower” trope. Interviewee for the film Slaying the Dragon: Reloaded (2011) Amna Sheikh says, “Indian characters, the female characters, tend to be a bit on the passive side.” The dancer’s characterization supports Sheikh’s assertion; throughout the ballet, the dancer accepts the situations she is placed in. When she attempts to stand up for herself against her lover’s jealous fiance, she cannot follow through, accepting that she will never win him back. She accepts her place in society as a temple dancer, her beloved’s marriage to another woman, and the Rajah’s wish to kill her after discovering her relationship with the warrior. The female protagonist’s life is dictated by the three men in her life, and she has no choice but to accept her fate. The Rajah decides whether she is allowed to live; the High Brahmin decides her religious role; the warrior requires her unwavering love. She never questions the control these men have in her life. Instead, she is tossed from man to man, fulfilling their demands and emphasizing the trope of Asian women as demure and dependent.

The antagonist in La Bayadere is a jealous and lustful High Brahmin who covets the female lead. This characterization reveals another aspect of Orientalism: the demonization of non-Western systems, such as Hinduism, as inherently evil and immoral. Cultural scholar Sut Jahally describes this facet of Orientalism as “...a framework that we use to understand the unfamiliar and the strange…” (Edward Said). Goethe did not practice Christianity, but was influenced by Christianity and its tenets (Bergsträsser). By creating a vile character “associated” with Hinduism, Goethe portrays Hinduism, and by extension those associated or who practice the religion, as evil to his primarily Christian, white European audience. This juxtaposition between the evils of Hinduism and the morality of Christianity reinforces the notion that the Orient stands as the mystical counterpart to the West.

WHAT’S THE “POINTE”:

People attend ballet to appreciate art that features the human body as the artistic medium. Audience members watch pas de deuxs instead of paragraphs and instead of chapters. However, behind the costumes and romance lies a darker, grimier message. Works like La Bayadere stereotypes such as the fetishization of a fantastical time period and setting, “wilting flower” female characters, and the homogenization and demonization of non Judeo-Christian religions.

Akin to the consumption of food, the types of media we consume can either help or harm us; watching a documentary or a TikTok are all forms of consumption that, for better or worse, impact our lives in different ways. However, orientalism is the harmful consumption of ideas that frame Asian and Middle Eastern people and cultures in a derogatory and degrading light. La Bayadere’s historical presentation of India to a white audience exemplifies Orientalist consumption of the Other: India is presented not as a complex country or culture but as an entity to view and fetishize.

CURTAIN CALL:

In 2012, the Royal Danish Ballet transposed La Bayadere into Colonial India. In 2020, the Philadelphia Ballet invited kathak performance scholar Pallubi Chakravorty to assist them in correcting aspects of La Bayadere such as hand positions to make the overall performance “...a little more Indian” (Pennsylvania Ballet). The DK Ballet Encyclopedia La Bayadere’s creators by presents a particular view of India that would make the story and characters accessible to 19th-century Russian eyes…” (Durante 100). By trying to ground the ballet in history, rationalizing the piece by calling it a “product of its time,” and consulting experts on Indian dance forms, ballet companies are aiming to redesign . Although these efforts offer some excuse or redress, the consumption of the idea of India and Indian culture still remains the center of the ballet. Attempts of reframing La Bayadere show that ballet companies wish to rectify the ballet; is inherently orientalist. Although La Bayadere can be appreciated as an example of classical era ballet, it cannot be completely separated from its history and story rooted in the Orientalist consumption of an Other.

WORKS CITED:

Bergsträsser, Arnold. “Goethe’s View of Christ.” Modern Philology, vol. 46, no. 3, 1949, pp. 172–202. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/435532. Accessed 24 Sep. 2022. Carman, Joseph. “A ‘La Bayadère’ for the 21st Century: How Companies Are Confronting the Ballet’s Orientalist Stereotypes.” Pointe Magazine, 8 Sept. 2021, https:// pointemagazine.com/la-bayadere-orientalist-stereotypes/. Durante, Viviana. “La Bayadere.” Ballet: The Definitive Illustrated Story, Dorling Kindersley, London, 2018, pp. 100–103. Edward Said on Orientalism. Directed by Sut Jhally. Media Education Foundation, 2002. Hennigfeld, Iris. “Goethe’s Indian Inspirations.” India-Europe Foundation for New Dialogues, 2016, pp. 7–11. Kelete, Author Selina. “The Caste System (Brahmin and Kshatriya).” Religion 100Q Hinduism Project, 20 Jan. 2020, https://scholarblogs.emory.edu/rel100hinduism /2015/11/25/the-caste-system-brahmin-and-kshatriya/.

“La Bayadère: Ballet Story, Characters, Music & Performances.” The Ballet Herald®, 29 Jan. 2021, https://www.balletherald.com/la-bayadere-ballet/. PennsylvaniaBallet. “La Bayadère - Professor Pallabi Chakravorty.” YouTube, YouTube, 21 Feb. 2020, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D1kJegswSC8. RoyalOperaHouse. “Why the Royal Ballet Love Performing La Bayadère.” YouTube, YouTube, 13 Nov. 2018, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kI0dZRM-qxs. Said, Edward. Orientalism. Vintage Books, 1978. Slaying the Dragon: Reloaded. Directed by Elaine H. Kim. Asian Women United of California, 2011.