THE BAYADERES.
Ter: appearance of " the Bayaderes " on the Adelphi stage, and in a piece &occasion dignified with the title of a drama, does not in the least affect their performances, which seem any thing but theatrical in character : they stand out from the scenic background of paint and tinsel as distinctly as do all natural realities surrounded by mere illusion. The withdrawal of a curtain, veiling the sanctum sancturum of a The withdrawal of a curtain, veiling the sanctum sancturum of a Brahminical temple, discloses the five Bayaderes grouped around the image of Vishnu, which they are fanning with red and white coloured horse-tails; the platform on which they stand glides forward, and the features of this strange sight then become more apparent. The five Bayaderes are TILLE- ANAL ( A mal being only a title, signi- fying lady,) a woman of thirty, whose complexion is almost black, and who is the mother of one and the aunt of another of the party ; AVIARY- AMAI., a fine creature of eighteen, of beautiful though ..lender proportions, with skin of olive brown and well-formed features ; SAOUN- DIROUN. Am AI. and RANGOUN• ADIAL, Cousins, each about fourteen years, and both having the broad flat nose of Indian faces, though their skin is not so dark as AMANY'S; and VEYDOUN, a sweet little child, six years old, and tall for her age. They are all dressed alike; and the costume differs from that worn in their native country, chiefly in its covering the form more completely. The kirtle of silk fastened round the waist, falling on one side a little below the knee, and the corset or stomacher, overlaid with plates of gold set with gems—the breasts being enclosed in pliant cup-shaped cases—are almost concealed by a voluminous scarf of white muslin passing over the left shoulder, and crossed under the right arm so as to pass round the body, the long and ample ends almost enfolding the louver limbs: in addition tiny wear loose trousers of red-striped silk, and a little red boddice ; su that only a small I a t of the left side remains mirovered : the throat and arms are of course exposed, and the feet are bare, and the outline of the form is visible beneath the drapery; but there is nothing in their appearance to alarm the most sensitive modesty. Their jet black hair is parted smooth over their foreheads, and the tresses twisted into one long plait, knotted into a sort of tassel ut the end, that hangs clown the back : they wear a round plate of wrought gold on the crown of the bead, and on the Newell over the hair arc gold ornaments arranged somewhat in the foam of the nose and eye piece in the front of the Greek helmet worn by Minerva; a single gold wire reaching from the central ornament to the root of the nose : their cars are laden with bunches of gold, and a large ring, with various jewels threaded on it, is passed through the left nostril, and thus resting against the cartilage, projects on one side : neck-chains, bracelets, atinlets, and anklets of gold, with rings on the fingers, and in one instance on the toes, com- plete their singular costume. The Musicians are clad so as to show the bust and the right shoulder: their sleek brown skins, and spare but not meagre forms, with just eilousli of muscular development for manly beauty, are a study for the artist. The principal, or bard, is an old man with a fine grizzled beard ; who chaunts in a monotonous tone some verses to excite the dancers, timing their movements by striking a p eta of metal with a brass ball that produces a sharp, ringing sound of usly one note: be is accompanied by two performers of inferior glade, one of them breathing into the end of a short tube, which emits a sort of drone on a single note, and apparently incapable of variation ; the other beats with his fingers a tattoo on both ends of the Indian drum, or tom-tom, a rude instrument of the shape and size of a flour-tub, braced with leather thongs outside, and hanging round his neck like a miniature long.drum. To the accompaniment of this rude orchestra assisted, however, by the theatrical band, all the dances are performed. First, the two young girls, SAOUNDIRoUN and KANIGMIN, advance, and their performance may be regarded as a type of the rest ; for though slight variations of action distinguish each dance, the general character of the style is the attune in all. They keep time to the music with the simultaneous movement cf every muscle In their bodies and limbs, rolling their lustrous black eyes, and muttering a low chant incessantly, like beings under the influence of some magic spell. Their motions are not so violent as to seem to require effort, and are emir, ly free from contortions ; yet, notwithstlindirg the air of Oriental lansour and repose, the muscular energy that is thrown into every movement makes the process exhausting ; and on one occasion we detected what wed no us an indication of fatttie on the part of one of the girls, attended with a momentary pause, which the other seemed to recognize; and the final salmon, when they bend themselves almost double, the hands meeting over the forehead, seemed a welcome 'chef. They scarcely stir from the place they occupy, and their principal bodily movements consist of turning round and crouching down, and in this position throwing out first one leg and then the other, resting on the heel: they use the heel as much as the toes. The prevailing movement of the arms is horizontal, crossing the face, and seem- ing to touch the nose ; the long slender arms, and taper fingers pointed with sharp nails, darting to and fro with angular action. There is very little if arty thing of flowing and serpentine movement of the limbs: nearly all is abrupt and rectilinear, but continuous. The in- ductions of the body are graceful, but its twining. are riot developed by corresponding movements of the limbs : one action resembles the effect of a choking sensation ; the upper part of the spine curving, the bead poking forward, and the eyelids and brows being drawn upwards. This dance is called " The Robing of Vishnu." The pas de deux concluded, the sweet little VEYDOUN performs an elaborate dance of less violent action, termed " The Salute to the Rajah ;" her brilliant eyes and teeth of dazzling whiteness seeming to light up ber in- fantine countenance with pleasure. The tall graceful AMANY then steps forward, with a melancholy aspect, and an air of languishment, and rolls her lustrous eyes, that seem suffused with sorrow as if they would literally dissolve with melting tenderness : her move- ments are more grave and slow, for she is performing " The Widow's Lament ;" and she chants audibly a measured strain of wo. The matron TILLE, who all this while has not ceased waving the horse- tail fan before the image, now resigns that task to the infant VEYDOUN, and joins AMANY, and her daughter and niece, in " The Malapou, or Delightful Dance ;" a sort of Indian quadrille, in which the four per- formers keep their respective places, and the principal movement is bending the body from side to side, and making the arms meet in a graceful curve above the head. Meanwhile, the two cousins have per- formed " The Dagger Dance, or the Hindoo Widow's Excitement to Death ; " which is of a more theatrical character than any other, but without the vehement and startling action of ballet-dancing. A fifth dance, " The Carrier Doves," has not yet been performed at the Adelpbi : this, we suppose, is kept in reserve, to revive the attraction after the first flush of novelty is gone off; for the Feailletoniste of La Presae speaks of its success as being equal to that of the Cachuca. The description that we have attempted for the benefit of our country readers—for everybody in town will see the Bayaderes—ne- cessarily conveys a most inadequate idea of the performances them- selves, and none whatever of their effect on the spectators ; indeed it is difficult to analyze the feelings they excite. Those who go expecting to see the graceful agility of TAGLIONI and DUVERN AY eclipsed, and the impulsive ardour of the Spanish dancers outdone, will be disap- pointed: this Hindoo dancing is totally different from either ; it is the pantomime of emotion—exhibiting the flow of soul, not of the animal spirits. Regarded as one style of the poetry of motion, it is to European dancing what we suppose the Greek music to have been in comparison with that of modern times—rude and limited, but withal expressive. We subjoin some interesting particulars of the Bayaderes, from the Journal des Debats ; premising that persons familiar with Brahminical customs do not consider the dancers can be of so high caste as is represented.
[From the Journal des Debuts.]
"The Bayaderes come from Tirouvendi, a small town six leagues from Pon- dicherry. They are five in number, of the caste of Modeli—all priestesses, and married to Peronmala, their god—from the eldest, who is thilty, to the youngest, who is but six years old. From their birth they are destined to a religious life, and they are married, as it is called, when they are consecrated to that god in whose Pagoda they serve. As to civil marriage, the law forbids it ; but each chooses a Bramin, and lives with him as long as fancy lasts. It is a liaison altogether sensual, which religion does not prevent, as a spiritual fidelity to their celestial husband is all that morality requires. "Tills, the superintendent of the party, chief priestess, is thirty years old ; but she does not respond to our European ideas of that age. She never smiles. She has outlived the love of men, and she mocks and fears them. She has an especial dread of the contagion of our bad manners. Tills has a daughter, Saoundiroun, only fourteen. She has also a niece, Ranghoun, of the same age. Aniany, their companion, is a gracious creatute of a noble and gentle character ; and Veydoun is a little child, who is a perfect love. " The three men who accompany them are simply musicians of the Pagoda. They belong to the caste of Velaja, which is much inferior to that of the women. They are married legitimately in their own country. Strange customs, which place men beneath the rank of women, and class dancing as a sacred art, while music is a mere mercenary occupation ! Saravanim is a young man who plays a kind of elarionet ; Devenaygoun heats a tambourine or drum ; but old Rainalinghsm is chief of the band. He leads the music, accompanies the dances of the Bayaderes with his voice, laughs, weeps, and represents by his expressive face all the passions which they exhibit in the dance. " The Bayaderes have no• changed their custom since their arrival in Eu- rope. They live on rice and vegetables, coalcea by themselves. Each morning they rise with the sun, descend to the fountain, or the imitation of a fountain, which is prepared for them, and there make their ablutions. They return then to their apartment, and remain there the whole day. The day is passed in singing or sleeping. They do not know how to do any thing, and they do nothing. But they are gentle and sweet-tempered, and their indolence does not create either jealousy or quarrels. Their conversation is as quiet as their man- ners. It is a kind of whispering, timid and monotonous, of which their countenance renders the expression more faithfully than their lips. A day thus passed should be very tedious, but they do not know what ennui is ; and it is quite clear that their health is nut injured by that idleness. The men keep company with them, but at a respectful distance. The law forbids their approaching or touching the Bayaderes. At night they all lie down to sleep in the same apartment, upon mats, rolled up in their cloaks ; the men at the top of the mat, the women lower down. In a few minutes all are asleep— for their simple hearts know no passions—they have neither love our jealousy; stilt, Tillie watches over all, and remains awake till they are sound asleep. " The dancers of all Europe dance with their feet, but that is all. Examine them well. The body rests cold and constrained while the feet move. The movement of the arms is proverbially graceless. The head obeys with a me- chanical precision, and the mouth wears an eternal smile. Thus, with some exceptions, which must be looked for in the mountains of Spain, or in Styria, the dance of Europe is without style and expression. Taglioni invented a style, which no one can successfully imitate. \Vithout her the ballet is in- sufferably tedious. " The Bayaderes dance in a different manner. They dance with the whole frame. Their heads dance;; their arms dance; their eyes, above all, obey the movement and fury of the dance. For them each dance is a poem. Ac. companied by the most monotonous music, it is they who give tone and cha- racter to the exhibition. If the music is excited, thanks be to them ; if the old Ramalingham looks for an instant inspired, it is the dance which has lent hint the thought. Their feet click against the floor—the arms and the hands flash
in the air—the eyes sparkle—the bosom heaves—their mouths mutter—the whole body quivers ; one cannot look on them without feeling giddy—the coldest
beholder receives the contagion. The dance of the Bayaderes is something strange, impetuous, passionate, and burlesque. It is a mixture of modesty and abandonment, of gentleness and fury. It is a species of poem, which a Bacchante recites as she runs—a religious drama, which a young priestess de- livers without pause, as if the god of the Pagoda pursued her to the last."
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