La Bayadère
In 1877 Petipa staged his greatest masterwork to date, the exotic "La Bayadère" to the music of Minkus, which premiered on for the benefit performance of the "Prima ballerina" Ekaterina Vazem. The ballet included Petipa's celebrated scene known as "The Kingdom of the Shades", for which the Ballet Master staged some of his most outstanding choreography. "La Bayadère" would prove to be among Petipa's most enduring works. To this day his choreography for the scene "The Kingdom of the Shades" remains one of the ultimate challenges for the classical ballerina and danseur, and particularly for the "corps de ballet".