Video: Behind the scenes with the Bolshoi Ballet La Bayadère was given its debut at the Bolshoi Theatre in 1877 and is now being performed for two nights at the Royal Opera House as part of the Bolshoi Ballet's 50th anniversary season in London. Marius Petipa's exotic tale, set in India sees the beautiful temple dancer, Nikiya, and her jealous rival, Gamzatti battle it out for the love of warrior Solor. The ballet was performed regularly in the Soviet Union throughout the 20th century but was almost unknown in the West until 1961. It became popular after the touring Kirov Ballet performed the famous Kingdom of the Shades scene in which a mesmerising procession of ballerinas dance in unison across a moonlit stage. Rudolf Nureyev then mounted this famous scene for the Royal Ballet, which now has its own full-length version of the tale. But the Bolshoi Ballet's production is one of the most famous - and its glittering line-up of ballerinas including Svetlana Zakharova, Evengia Obratsova and Olga Smirnova bring it to thrilling life.