I’ve never been a big fan of the piece. I think even Ravel was rather dismissive of it. It’s way too repetitious for me. My former sister-in-law was a choreographer, and she imagined a staging of the piece as an Arab caravan setting up at an oasis. It would start with one person, and keep growing and becoming more spectacular visually as all the animals are on stage with tents and banners, etc. That would have worked.
I find Bolero to be way too repetitive. To me there is a lot of repetition (But I repeat myself, and did I mention how repetitive it is? But it really repeats itself. And it is repetitive. And it goes on and on, repeating itself...) and for all that it does not really go anywhere. If you have heard 20 seconds worth of the piece, you have pretty much heard it all. I have always called it “Borelero.”
This was done on purpose. It is a piece that builds upon itself as it goes along. Each time around, you add more texture. I think it is masterfully done.