Ballet Manila
Encyclopedia
Ballet Manila is a classical ballet
institution and dance company in the Philippines
. It currently highlights more than fifty highly trained dancers in the highly rigorous Russian (Vaganova) method of classical ballet. Locally the company has performed in 47 cities holding more than 4,100 performances. The company has done tours in Asia, Europe and North America, where it has held more than 140 performances. The company is most notable for its in-house creative director, principal dancer and prima ballerina Lisa Macuja-Elizalde
. Along with Ballet Philippines and the Philippine Ballet Theatre, Ballet Manila is one of the three major ballet companies in the Philippines. It regularly holds its performances at the Aliw theater and Star Theater, which are both located within the Star City Complex
at Pasay City
. The concept of a ballet company by the dancers, of the dancers and for the dancers was the idea of Lisa Macuja-Elizalde when she, along with ballet master Osias Barroso and ten other dancers established Ballet Manila in 1995. The principals sought to train the dancers in the rigid Russian (Vaganova) method of classical ballet.
, Don Quixote, The Nutcracker
, Giselle
, La Bayadere
, Romeo and Juliet
, Carmen, Le Corsaire, and other classical staples, as well as contemporary Filipino ballet pieces by some of the Philippines most distinguished choreographers. Ballet Manila has also performed non-classical pieces such as the major production piece Tatlong Kuwento ni Lola Basyang
(The three stories of Grandmother Basyang). The company also performs short non-classical pieces which they perform at the Star City Amusement center to cater to the masses, such pieces include Paskong Pista (Christmas Fiesta) and Hi-skul Musikahan which directly translates and is also a Filipino ballet rendition of High School Musical
. The company's season runs from April to February of the following year, where they do four major productions annually. Ballet Manila's major production calendar for 2011 includes Tatlong Kuwento ni Lola Basyang
in August, Swan Lake
in October, Maligayang Pasko (Happy Christmas) in December and Love ko to (I love this) in February 2012.
Ballet Manila’s tie-up with Manila Broadcasting Company has paved the way for the concert series “Ballet and Ballads” where the show features the artistic merger of pop songs and classical dance. To date, Ballet Manila has done collaborations with the bands’ Side A
and Freestyle, as well as musicians Ariel Rivera
, Lani Misalucha
, Janno Gibbs
, Jaya, Luke Mijares
, Karylle
, Toni Gonzaga
, Kyla and Nyoy Volante.
tour of 2004 & 2005, their participation in the Aberdeen International Youth Festival
in 2004, the Angkor-Gyeongju World Culture Expo in Cambodia
, Gyeongju World Performing arts festival in South Korea
and tours in Russia
, Taiwan
, United Kingdom
and Ireland
. Ballet Manila received good raves and high praises in their performances of a recent 2011 United Kingdom and Ireland tour. The Philippine delegation was cited for performing difficult pieces such as Don Quixote, Dulce
, Aguila (Eagle dance), Mga Awit at Savaw (Dances & songs), Arachnida (Spider dance), Sotto Voce
, Arnis (Philippine stick-fighting combat art)
, Reve and excerpts from Romeo and Juliet. The company was said to have received eight standing ovations in all of its eight performances in the same tour.
from the “Lisa Macuja Summer Workshop” which was originally conducted in the summer of 1995. Previously, the classes were held at the old Ballet Manila Studio which was located in Quezon city
. The pilot class performed their first piece entitled Etudes on June 1996. The company officially opened its own summer workshops in April 1997, this time at the permanent facility, where the first enrollees were thirty six students.
The Ballet Manila School has direct links with the Vaganova Academy of Russian Ballet
in St. Petersburg, Russia. Here, the students are trained in the vaganova ballet methodology. The classes held at this school are split into five levels from 3 levels for girls, namely beginner, intermediate and finally to advance. The boy’s levels however are only split into beginners and advance classes. From the time that the school opened, it has held several auditions wherein the company offers full and half scholarships to those who would successfully pass the screening. In previous years ballet was predominantly still viewed as a female art form until recently wherein more people are now more appreciative of ballet which opened the opportunity for more male dancers to enroll at the institution.
on December 2011. Despite being able to walk a day after checking out of the hospital, she acknowledged that she might only have three to four years left before she finally retires from dancing. Subsequently Macuja-Elizalde underwent another surgery on August 2011, this time it was to correct her plantar fasciitis
problem. In early September of the same year, Macuja-Elizalde announced that she will dance her last full-length Swan Lake
in a series of shows scheduled on October 2011. She stated that she would eventually concentrate on being the company's artistic director
after a series of farewell performances.
Classical ballet
Classical Ballet is the most formal of the ballet styles, it adheres to traditional ballet technique. There are variations relating to area of origin, such as Russian ballet, French ballet, British ballet and Italian ballet...
institution and dance company in the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
. It currently highlights more than fifty highly trained dancers in the highly rigorous Russian (Vaganova) method of classical ballet. Locally the company has performed in 47 cities holding more than 4,100 performances. The company has done tours in Asia, Europe and North America, where it has held more than 140 performances. The company is most notable for its in-house creative director, principal dancer and prima ballerina Lisa Macuja-Elizalde
Lisa Macuja-Elizalde
Lisa Teresita Pacheco Macuja-Elizalde is a Prima Ballerina. She is the first Philippine ballerina, and first foreign soloist who ever joined the Kirov Ballet in 1984. In the Philippines, she is the Artistic Director of Ballet Manila and Vice-Chairman of the Philippine UNESCO National Commission...
. Along with Ballet Philippines and the Philippine Ballet Theatre, Ballet Manila is one of the three major ballet companies in the Philippines. It regularly holds its performances at the Aliw theater and Star Theater, which are both located within the Star City Complex
Star City, Manila
Star City is a family-oriented 35,000 square metre amusement park next to the Cultural Center of the Philippines in Pasay City in the Philippines. It is considered part of the Cultural Centre Complex...
at Pasay City
Pasay City
The City of Pasay is one of the cities and municipalities that make up Metro Manila in the Philippines. It is bordered on the north by the country's capital, Manila, to the northeast by Makati City, to the east by Taguig City, and Parañaque City to the south.Pasay City was one of the original four...
. The concept of a ballet company by the dancers, of the dancers and for the dancers was the idea of Lisa Macuja-Elizalde when she, along with ballet master Osias Barroso and ten other dancers established Ballet Manila in 1995. The principals sought to train the dancers in the rigid Russian (Vaganova) method of classical ballet.
Repertoire
Ballet Manila has featured full-length performances of Swan LakeSwan Lake
Swan Lake ballet, op. 20, by Pyotr Tchaikovsky, composed 1875–1876. The scenario, initially in four acts, was fashioned from Russian folk tales and tells the story of Odette, a princess turned into a swan by an evil sorcerer's curse. The choreographer of the original production was Julius Reisinger...
, Don Quixote, The Nutcracker
The Nutcracker
The Nutcracker is a two-act ballet, originally choreographed by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov with a score by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. The libretto is adapted from E.T.A. Hoffmann's story "The Nutcracker and the Mouse King". It was given its première at the Mariinsky Theatre in St...
, Giselle
Giselle
Giselle is a ballet in two acts with a libretto by Jules-Henri Vernoy de Saint-Georges and Théophile Gautier, music by Adolphe Adam, and choreography by Jean Coralli and Jules Perrot. The librettist took his inspiration from a poem by Heinrich Heine...
, La Bayadere
La Bayadère
La Bayadère is a ballet, originally staged in four acts and seven tableaux by French choreographer Marius Petipa to the music of Ludwig Minkus. La Bayadère was first performed by the Imperial Ballet at the Imperial Bolshoi Kamenny Theatre in St. Petersburg, Russia, on...
, Romeo and Juliet
Romeo and Juliet
Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy written early in the career of playwright William Shakespeare about two young star-crossed lovers whose deaths ultimately unite their feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular archetypal stories of young, teenage lovers.Romeo and Juliet belongs to a...
, Carmen, Le Corsaire, and other classical staples, as well as contemporary Filipino ballet pieces by some of the Philippines most distinguished choreographers. Ballet Manila has also performed non-classical pieces such as the major production piece Tatlong Kuwento ni Lola Basyang
Mga Kuwento ni Lola Basyang
"Lola Basyang" is the pen name of Severino Reyes, founder and editor of the Tagalog magazine Liwayway. From 1925, Reyes wrote a series of stories for children under the title Mga Kuwento ni Lola Basyang...
(The three stories of Grandmother Basyang). The company also performs short non-classical pieces which they perform at the Star City Amusement center to cater to the masses, such pieces include Paskong Pista (Christmas Fiesta) and Hi-skul Musikahan which directly translates and is also a Filipino ballet rendition of High School Musical
High School Musical
High School Musical is a 2006 American television film, first in the High School Musical film franchise. Upon its release on January 20, 2006, it became the most successful film that Disney Channel Original Movie ever produced, with a television sequel High School Musical 2 released in 2007 and...
. The company's season runs from April to February of the following year, where they do four major productions annually. Ballet Manila's major production calendar for 2011 includes Tatlong Kuwento ni Lola Basyang
Mga Kuwento ni Lola Basyang
"Lola Basyang" is the pen name of Severino Reyes, founder and editor of the Tagalog magazine Liwayway. From 1925, Reyes wrote a series of stories for children under the title Mga Kuwento ni Lola Basyang...
in August, Swan Lake
Swan Lake
Swan Lake ballet, op. 20, by Pyotr Tchaikovsky, composed 1875–1876. The scenario, initially in four acts, was fashioned from Russian folk tales and tells the story of Odette, a princess turned into a swan by an evil sorcerer's curse. The choreographer of the original production was Julius Reisinger...
in October, Maligayang Pasko (Happy Christmas) in December and Love ko to (I love this) in February 2012.
Ballet Manila’s tie-up with Manila Broadcasting Company has paved the way for the concert series “Ballet and Ballads” where the show features the artistic merger of pop songs and classical dance. To date, Ballet Manila has done collaborations with the bands’ Side A
Side A (band)
Side A is a Filipino pop show band formed in 1985 who gained recognition in the Filipino music scene in the 1980s, 1990s and early 2000s, best known for their hit single "Forevermore".-Origins and early years:...
and Freestyle, as well as musicians Ariel Rivera
Ariel Rivera
Jose Ariel Jimenez Rivera was born on September 1, 1966 in Manila, Philippines but has since migrated with his family to Canada. Rivera was an architect in Canada before his singing talent was accidentally discovered while vacationing in the Philippines. He has since become a successful...
, Lani Misalucha
Lani Misalucha
Lani Misalucha is a singer from the Philippines currently performing in the United States where she also resides. She holds shows at the Flamingo Las Vegas with the Hawaiian variety troupe Society of Seven - SOS...
, Janno Gibbs
Janno Gibbs
Janno Ronaldo Gibbs is a Filipino singer and actor–comedian. He is a regular host of GMA Network television shows SOP Rules , Nuts Entertainment, Eat Bulaga, Kakasa Ka Ba Sa Grade 5?, and Power of 10 . He played as Geron Agular in Codename: Asero...
, Jaya, Luke Mijares
Luke Mijares
Michael Luke Mejares is a Filipino singer.-Works:He was chosen as the new vocalist of South Border in 1999, but he left the group in 2002. As a solo recording artist he remade Rivermaya's "214"...
, Karylle
Karylle
Ana Karylle Padilla Tatlonghari , better known as simply Karylle, has established herself as one of the most talented showbiz personalities in the Philippines. She is a respected singer, actress, TV host, athlete, and a writer/blogger....
, Toni Gonzaga
Toni Gonzaga
Celestine Cruz Gonzaga , better known as Toni Gonzaga, is a Filipino singer, television host and actress. She started her career with GMA Network, then later moved to ABS-CBN Network...
, Kyla and Nyoy Volante.
International tours
Ballet Manila has performed in international tours, more than 140 times since 1995. Notable tours include their United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
tour of 2004 & 2005, their participation in the Aberdeen International Youth Festival
Aberdeen International Youth Festival
Aberdeen International Youth Festival is a leading Festival of Youth Arts, and one of Scotland's major international cultural events.Every year Aberdeen International Youth Festival attracts over 1000 of the most talented young people in performing arts companies and music groups from across the...
in 2004, the Angkor-Gyeongju World Culture Expo in Cambodia
Cambodia
Cambodia , officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia...
, Gyeongju World Performing arts festival in South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
and tours in Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
, United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
. Ballet Manila received good raves and high praises in their performances of a recent 2011 United Kingdom and Ireland tour. The Philippine delegation was cited for performing difficult pieces such as Don Quixote, Dulce
Dulce
The term Dulce may refer to:-Places:*Dulce Base, a supposed American secret military facility*Dulce, New Mexico*Dulce River *Dulce River, a river in Guatemala-People:* Dulce, a Mexican singer...
, Aguila (Eagle dance), Mga Awit at Savaw (Dances & songs), Arachnida (Spider dance), Sotto Voce
Sotto voce
Sotto voce means intentionally lowering one's voice for emphasis. The speaker gives the impression of uttering involuntarily a truth which may surprise, shock, or offend...
, Arnis (Philippine stick-fighting combat art)
Eskrima
Eskrima is the umbrella term for the traditional martial arts of the Philippines, which emphasize weapon-based fighting with sticks, knives and other bladed weapons, and various improvised weapons...
, Reve and excerpts from Romeo and Juliet. The company was said to have received eight standing ovations in all of its eight performances in the same tour.
Ballet school
Ballet Manila School started as a spin-offSpin-off (media)
In media, a spin-off is a radio program, television program, video game, or any narrative work, derived from one or more already existing works, that focuses, in particular, in more detail on one aspect of that original work...
from the “Lisa Macuja Summer Workshop” which was originally conducted in the summer of 1995. Previously, the classes were held at the old Ballet Manila Studio which was located in Quezon city
Quezon City
Quezon City is the former capital and the most populous city in the Philippines. Located on the island of Luzon, Quezon City is one of the cities and municipalities that make up Metro Manila, the National Capital Region. The city was named after Manuel L...
. The pilot class performed their first piece entitled Etudes on June 1996. The company officially opened its own summer workshops in April 1997, this time at the permanent facility, where the first enrollees were thirty six students.
The Ballet Manila School has direct links with the Vaganova Academy of Russian Ballet
Vaganova Academy of Russian Ballet
The Vaganova Academy of Russian Ballet is a school of classical ballet in Saint Petersburg, Russia. The school was previously known as the Imperial Ballet School, becoming the Leningrad State Choreographic Institute during the Soviet era...
in St. Petersburg, Russia. Here, the students are trained in the vaganova ballet methodology. The classes held at this school are split into five levels from 3 levels for girls, namely beginner, intermediate and finally to advance. The boy’s levels however are only split into beginners and advance classes. From the time that the school opened, it has held several auditions wherein the company offers full and half scholarships to those who would successfully pass the screening. In previous years ballet was predominantly still viewed as a female art form until recently wherein more people are now more appreciative of ballet which opened the opportunity for more male dancers to enroll at the institution.
Class levels
- Baby Ballet, Level 1A, Level 1B, Level 2 and Level 3
- Level 2 has Beginner Pointe class
- Level 3 has Variation, Pointe Class and Pas de Deux or Partnering Class
- Boys’ Class Beginners
- Boys’ Class Advanced
Facility
Since then, the company opened up a facility located at Donada street within Pasay City. The private compound currently has three rehearsal studios, a music library which houses a collection of books and videos which sole purpose is to ensure that the dancers and students are given continuous education. The company also holds ballet workshops during summers, this is done on top of the professional training and regular master classes for the company. Aside from the school, Ballet Manila is also equipped with a fully staffed office which provides marketing, logistical and administrative requirements for the company.Advocacy
Project Ballet Futures (PBF) is a dance scholarship program established by Ballet Manila in 2008. It provides quality ballet education and training to elementary and high school students enrolled in public schools. As of 2011, the project has thirty five underprivileged students from the Philippine Christian Foundation in Tondo, Manila and Gotamco Elementary School and Bonifacio Elementary School in Pasay City. Along with ballet education, they are also given full meals, vitamins and other nourishments good for six days of the week, As well as ballet uniforms and shoes. The kids are chosen through an audition, where the successful ones are given daily ballet class training in an accelerated dance program. In a 2010 interview with Macuja-Elizalde, she said that one of the first male scholar was the Macuja family’s house boy, the late Rolando Tagaro. Tagaro then went on to become the company’s costume master where he was earning enough to send money back to his family in the province and send several children to school.Lisa Macuja-Elizalde's retirement
On March 2010, it was reported that Lisa Macuja-Elizalde had sustained minor injuries during rehearsal. This prompted the cancellation of several shows that year. Upon consulting her physician, she underwent surgery to release her tendonsTendonitis
Tendinitis , meaning inflammation of a tendon , is a type of tendinopathy often confused with the more common tendinosis, which has similar symptoms but requires different treatment...
on December 2011. Despite being able to walk a day after checking out of the hospital, she acknowledged that she might only have three to four years left before she finally retires from dancing. Subsequently Macuja-Elizalde underwent another surgery on August 2011, this time it was to correct her plantar fasciitis
Plantar fasciitis
Plantar fasciitis is a painful inflammatory process of the plantar fascia, the connective tissue on the sole of the foot.Longstanding cases of plantar fasciitis often demonstrate more degenerative changes than inflammatory changes, in which case they are termed plantar fasciosis. The suffix...
problem. In early September of the same year, Macuja-Elizalde announced that she will dance her last full-length Swan Lake
Swan Lake
Swan Lake ballet, op. 20, by Pyotr Tchaikovsky, composed 1875–1876. The scenario, initially in four acts, was fashioned from Russian folk tales and tells the story of Odette, a princess turned into a swan by an evil sorcerer's curse. The choreographer of the original production was Julius Reisinger...
in a series of shows scheduled on October 2011. She stated that she would eventually concentrate on being the company's artistic director
Artistic director
An artistic director is the executive of an arts organization, particularly in a theatre company, that handles the organization's artistic direction. He or she is generally a producer and director, but not in the sense of a mogul, since the organization is generally a non-profit organization...
after a series of farewell performances.
Notable members
- Lisa Macuja-ElizaldeLisa Macuja-ElizaldeLisa Teresita Pacheco Macuja-Elizalde is a Prima Ballerina. She is the first Philippine ballerina, and first foreign soloist who ever joined the Kirov Ballet in 1984. In the Philippines, she is the Artistic Director of Ballet Manila and Vice-Chairman of the Philippine UNESCO National Commission...
- Osias Barroso
- Mylene Agabao-Salgado
- Eileen Lopez
- Jerome Espejo
- Rudy de Dios
- Gerardo Francisco Jr.
- Niño Guevarra
- Zaira CosicoZaira CosicoZaira Cosico is a ballerina from the Philippines. She is one of a few successful scholars of Liza Macuja's dance company, Ballet Manila. She first learned to dance at the Halili Cruz School of Dance. Cosico has been instructed in the Vaganova method by Tatiana A. Udalenkova of the Academy of Russia...
- Jennifer OlayvarJennifer OlayvarJennifer Rose Olayvar is a contemporary ballerina from the Philippines. She has been a dancer for Ballet Manila since 2000. She had been the special assistant to Lisa Macuja-Elizalde from 2004 to 2007...