Ballet Manila fetes audience with threein-one spectacle
Still riding high on the classics for its 21st performance season, Ballet Manila unfurls all the enchanting ingredients of a romantic ballet — captivating damsels and dashing noblemen, grand parties in magnificent castles, magic and sorcery with a dash of adventure, the classic battle between good and evil and the triumph of everlasting love — made even more captivating by live theater and music, all in one exciting show. Ballet Manila’s The Swan, The Fairy and The
Princess brings together excerpts from three of the most celebrated ballet classics: Swan Lake, The
Nutcracker and The Sleeping Beauty all set to the immortal music of legendary Russian composer, Peter Tchaikovsky.
A brainchild of Ballet Manila artistic director Lisa Macuja-Elizalde and co-artistic director Osias Barroso, The Swan, The
Fairy and The Princess was first presented in 2009 with a cast led by the prima ballerina herself. Designed to showcase the company’s classical tradition, it also serves as a launching pad for its rising stars to take on “dream roles” such as the White Swan, the Sugar Plum Fairy, and the Sleeping Beauty.
“A ballerina who has not danced to the music of Tchaikovsky cannot call herself a classical ballerina,” Macuja-Elizalde points out. “His scores have filled concert halls and theaters for over a century, bringing life to some of the most unforgettable choreographic pieces of our time and inspiring roles that have been coveted by generations of ballerinas throughout the world.”
Now in her third season with BM, soloist Abigail Oliveiro essays the role of Odette. Lithe, willowy and unmistakably musical, she embraces the White Swan as a familiar yet everevolving character.
“Since it was such a famous classical role, you had this perception that it had to be done a certain way, but then you also want to put yourself into it. I can only innovate within the boundaries of tradition but I feel the character has so much more layering now than before.”
Few would ever guess that Dawna Reign Mangahas typically breaks down in tears right before she goes onstage for a difficult classical role like the Sugar Plum Fairy.
“Dancing the classics is always tough, especially in a company where the standards are so high,” she admits. “I’ve danced the Sugar Plum Fairy several times before but I still find myself crying right before a show just to release my anxiety. I feel the pressure each time I am assigned a classical role, but I also enjoy the feeling of fulfillment after a good show. Of course if I wasn’t satisfied, I’d go cry some more!”
Nineteen-year-old principal Katherine Barkman could not conceal her excitement over dancing her favorite role. “My teacher always told me that if there was one role that was completely mine, it was that of Princess Aurora. The style, the character, the music, everything about this ballet resonates with me.
Featuring guest artists Mikhail Martynyuk of the Kremlin Ballet, stage actor Miguel Faustmann as Peter Tchaikovsky, and the Manila Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Maestro Alexander Vikulov, Ballet Manila’s The Swan, The Fairy and The
Princess goes onstage on Oct. 14 and 15 at 8 p.m., ant on Oct 16 at 3 p.m., at the Aliw Theater in CCP Complex, Pasay City.
Tickets are now available at TicketWorld Manila via www. ticketworld.com.ph or through 891-9999. The show is sponsored by Manila Broadcasting Corporation, Star City, ACS Manufacturing Corporation, First United Travel, Hot Star Chicken, Papa John’s Pizza, Oasis Paco Park Hotel, Microtel, Ramada Manila, Armada Hotel, Philcom, and Island Rose.