Ballet Manila Archives

Oct 21

Oct 21 Swan Lake: Unlocking the mystery of Odette and Odile

For most ballerinas, dancing one lead role in a full-length production is a major career milestone. But to dance two lead roles in one production is truly an achievement of a lifetime.

Oct 19

Oct 19 Ballet Manila Moments: The male corps of Ballet Manila

Ballet Manila Archives

Ballet Manila Moments

In this clip are excerpts from Carmen, Swan Lake and Don Quixote showcasing the male corps of Ballet Manila.

Oct 19

Oct 19 Ballet Manila Moments: The female corps of Ballet Manila

Ballet Manila Archives

Ballet Manila Moments

In this clip are excerpts of the best moments of the female corps in Les Sylphides, Swan Lake, and Giselle.

Oct 15

Oct 15 Talk about dance: Lora Kiddo

Ballet Manila Archives

Talk About Dance

Sometimes, the only way to become a ballerina is to run the whole ballet.

Oct 13

Oct 13 Ballet Manila in full color: Think pink

Ballet Manila Archives

Features

Ballet Manila rules with pink!

Oct 11

Oct 11 In Their Own Words: Soloist John Ralph Balagot on performing supporting roles

Ballet Manila Archives

In Their Own Words

“Doon tayo sa baba muna, dito sa umpisa tapos paangat nang paangat para maka-adapt ako.”

Oct 8

Oct 8 This Month in BM History: October 2008

Ballet Manila Archives

This Month In BM History

With many interpretations by various companies since its premiere in France in 1789, Ballet Manila came up with its own with no less than People’s Artist of Russia Sergey Vikulov as choreographer.

Oct 7

Oct 7 ‘Lola Basyang’ goes to the ballet

Ballet Manila Archives

Features

Wearing traditional Filipino dress, perched on her rocking chair with a book in her arms, she has gained iconic status for being a master storyteller.

Oct 5

Oct 5 In Their Own Words: Lisa Macuja-Elizalde on teaching ballet

Ballet Manila Archives

In Their Own Words

“The artist that your student will become is the stuff that is his or her very own, refined by the tradition in which they are taught.”

Oct 4

Oct 4 Spinning ballets about spiders and other intriguing creatures

Ballet Manila Archives

Features

Animals have long fascinated choreographers, motivating them to create ballets based on non-human movements.

Oct 3

Oct 3 25 life lessons I learned from ballet

Ballet Manila Archives

25 Life Lessons

The lessons were then shared on this website one at a time in a series, accompanied by photographs underscoring each nugget of wisdom. Here, we run the article in full to celebrate the ballerina’s birthday on October 3.

Oct 1

Oct 1 Principal danseur Elpidio Magat Jr. on creative firsts, dancing for film, and the future

Ballet Manila Archives

Interviews

Danseur Elpidio Magat Jr. was perhaps in the worst place one could be when the first pandemic lockdown was announced in March 2020.

Sep 29

Sep 29 Talk about dance: Catherine Pulsifer

Ballet Manila Archives

Talk About Dance

But the secret is not to let that one step back turn into a failure. Learn from backward steps and keep on stepping forward in this dance called life!

Sep 27

Sep 27 Ballet Manila in full color: Go for gold

Ballet Manila Archives

Features

Ballet Manila glitters in gold.

Sep 24

Sep 24 From the Mailbox: A ballet fan says a heartfelt thank you

Ballet Manila Archives

From the Mailbox

In 2016, when shown the message her teenage self had written, Czarina was surprised that the token had been kept in BM’s files all those years.

Sep 23

Sep 23 This Month in BM History: September 1999

Ballet Manila Archives

This Month In BM History

Staging the full-length Don Quixote in 1999 – just two years after its founding – was a major achievement for Ballet Manila given its still modest size then.

Sep 22

Sep 22 Talk about dance: Marquita Burke-De Jesus

Ballet Manila Archives

Talk About Dance

You dance how you live. Show me how you move on the dance floor and I'll show you an area of your life where you live the same way. So dance big and live loud because life is too short to do anything else.

Sep 20

Sep 20 Swan Lake: A failure takes flight

Ballet Manila Archives

Spotlight On The Classics

While the core of the story may be similar, the libretto of the original ballet version of Swan Lake, however, had twists and turns that were quite different from the tale we know and love today.