Spartacus, considered to be the world's greatest ballet of the 20th century, was composed in 1954 by Russian people's artist Aram Khachaturian (1903-1978). Over the years, it has been performed in many reputed theatres throughout the world, including in Vietnam where the premiere performance took place in 1982. After 27 years of absence, the ballet returned to the Vietnamese stage with a revised version made by the Vietnam Music-Dance-Drama Theatre. Pledging to fight by Spartacus and his fellow rebels. Crassus orders his concubine Aegina to seduce Spartacus. Spartacus trains with his fellow rebels. Spartacus and his wife Phrygia before he goes to the battle field. Spartacus is a neoclassic ballet, but when performed on the Vietnamese stage it has a modern and fantasist breath that is welcomed by many Vietnamese spectators. Compared with the original version having three acts performed for three hours and 15 minutes, the revised version by the Vietnam Music-Dance-Drama Theatre has been shortened, with two acts lasting for one hour and 45 minutes. The Theatre's Deputy Director, People's Artist Kieu Ngan, together with artist Hong Phong, has shortened the ballet while retained valuable details as well as its epical, woeful and majestic values. This results in the fact that the ballet has become more understandable for the Vietnamese spectators. Deputy Director Kieu Ngan, said: "Spartacus returns on the Vietnamese stage after 27 years of absence. Formerly it was choreographed with technical and financial assistance from experts of the former Soviet Union. We tried to revise it and make it adaptable to the Vietnamese theatre. Our actors and actresses can perform it quite well. With success gained from this ballet, we hope to revise more world famous ballets aimed at bringing more qualified performances to the Vietnamese spectators." Roman general Crassus becomes paniced by the rebels’ growth. Crassus’ captives. Spartacus is killed by the Romans. The widows are painful for their heroic husbands – rebels’ death. Spartacus is the title of the ballet and also the name of the main character – Spartacus (120 B.C – 70 B.C). He is a slave gladiator and leader of the Thrace rebels against the Roman oppressors represented by the cruel, narcissistic general, M. Licinius Crassus. When the rebels grow in strength, the Romans panic. Crassus orders his concubine, the sensual and permissive Aegina and a group of Romans to search for and buy off the rebels. Some rebels are bribed and leave with the Romans. In the gladiatorial ring, Spartacus unintentionally kills his close friend. So painful with the desperate fate of the slaves, Spartacus and his fellow slaves continue to fight to regain freedom. Their fight with the Romans is unbalanced. Spartacus is killed, but loyalty to the slave-hero remains in the heart of many people. The fight between two blindfolded gladiators is taking place slowly. Without seeing each other, two fighters, holding swords in hand, sometimes stand very close with their backs facing to each other. They can't see the light, only the darkness, like their miserable fate. The viewers, who stand on the stage's edge, move around, leaving some room in the centre for the gladiators. Their faces are horrified, expressing the fight's die-or-live end. Spartacus finally stabs his rival, but his stab does not have any sign of bloody purpose. Following this scene, Crassus, throwing out his chest, comes in – he wins at last! The revised Spartacus ballet is still basically choreographed on the original classic by the Moscow Bolshoi Theatre. The two main characters are Dam Han Giang in the role of Spartacus, and Cao Chi Thanh as Crassus. Giang has been highly acclaimed for his well-fit body and characters to depict the heroic Spartacus, while Thanh, nicknamed as "the Vietnamese ballet prince", really reproduces images of a powerful and witty Roman general. Several parts of the ballet impress the audience due to their strong sporting spirit; for example, the slaves gather together under Spartacus' control, build up stations and fight the Romans. To depict their hard fight, which is unbalanced to the Romans' superiority due to more troops, the choreographer so skilfully directed the performance of two opposing troops, that it isn't noticed that both sides have the same number of fighters. Faithful to the original work with its heroics, and despite the end of the performance that is about the death of Spartacus and the failure of the rebels, the Vietnamese artists are quite successful in depicting the tragic, yet valiant impression through images of their hands reaching out. Spartacus' fighting spirit is upheld by later generations, who fight for liberty, justice and equality, and for a better life of the people. Story by Tran Tri Cong - Photos by Tat Son