La Bella Otero<\/em> offers a lively, entertaining showcase of Spanish dance \u2013 always popular in Hong Kong, as the rapturous reception from the audience showed \u2013 and Noelia Ruiz did an excellent job of conveying star quality, high energy and sexual allure in the title role.<\/p>\n On the downside, choreographer Ruben Olmo and dramaturge Gregor Acu\u00f1a-Pohl fell short on coherent dramatic narrative and in-depth character development in a somewhat simplistic production that failed to do their protagonist\u2019s extraordinary story justice.<\/p>\n Carolina Otero (known better by her French sobriquet La Belle Otero) was distinguished by her beauty, intelligence and ambition. Born poor and illegitimate in rural Spain in 1868, she was raped so brutally at the age of 10 that she nearly died. She left home in her early teens, became a dancer and made her way to France, where her sensational act at the Folies Berg\u00e8re made her the toast of Belle \u00c9poque Paris and an international superstar.<\/p>\n Her onstage success was eclipsed by her glittering career as a courtesan. Considered one of the world\u2019s most desirable women, her long list of lovers included numerous royals, Kaiser Wilhelm II and King Edward VII among them.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/img.i-scmp.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/fit=contain,width=1024,format=auto\/sites\/default\/files\/d8\/images\/canvas\/2026\/03\/02\/5d40c0c4-681c-45ad-9cd3-10d369a3b29b_248d6f42.jpg\" "\\"A")
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