BALLET Manila (BM) brings together some of its best-loved productions for its 21st season opener—“BM 21.”
The opener will feature the classical precision of “La Bayadere,” Act 3 (“Kingdom of the Shades”), the intricate contemporary magic of Annabel Lopez Ochoa’s “Bloom,” and the intense dramatic tragedy of Eric V. Cruz’s “Carmen.”
The last will be highlighted by the much-awaited return of prima ballerina Lisa Macuja-Elizalde in the title role.
“As we transition into our 21st season, Ballet Manila has decided to mount this special, one-night-only concert that will showcase the unique features that the company has become famous for over the last two decades, sprinkled with a dash of excitement and expectation for what we are offering when we open our new performance season in August,” said Macuja-Elizalde, concurrently BM artistic director.
For its 21st season, she said BM would dig deep into its artistic history and sift through its wealth of classical repertoire in order to tailor-fit a program that would bring out not only the individual strengths of principals and soloists, but also challenge the collective strength of the company, including second company dancers and trainees from the BM school.
“When we founded Ballet Manila, my Russian mentor Tatiana Udalenkova always reminded me that a ballet company’s strength is built on the classics,” said Macuja-Elizalde. “I will never forget that advice and, as a company, we have diligently trained our dancers to excel in a classical repertoire first before engaging in more contemporary choreographies. That is our foundation. So I think it is fitting to welcome the next season by highlighting what we do best.”
“BM 21” is on March 19, 8 p.m., at the Aliw Theater in Pasay City. Tickets are available through TicketWorld Manila at 8919999 or at www.ticketworld.com.ph. Presented in cooperation with the Manila Broadcasting Company, Aliw Theater and Star City.
