The Ballet Manila Archives is the repository of documents, print, photographic, audio and video materials and memorabilia relating to the history of Ballet Manila and the life and career of its founder, prima ballerina Lisa Macuja-Elizalde. This site is powered by Ms. Elizalde and Project Art, Inc.
“I love to teach. There are times when the energy I put into teaching far exceeds that which I put onstage dancing.”
The comeback is significant since, as the show’s title implies, it signals a new beginning for the company.
Ballet Manila emerges from a nearly three-year drought of live performances on stage with a grand comeback that also marks a sentimental return to their restored home, Aliw Theater.
When the Rebel choreographer stepped into the company’s unique three-walled studio, he saw Lisa Macuja-Elizalde busy as ever with teaching. Once the company members spotted him, they all paused and applauded to welcome him, as he and Lisa hugged each other and cried.
You can use your body as a way of expression, to protest and to heal.
In July, this ballerina found herself flying to Russia to take part in the Innopraktika & Russian Seasons School’s (IRSS) Choreography 2022,.
The truest expression of a people is in its dance and its music. Bodies never lie.
“Siguro ‘yung motivation ko, yung nag-ho-hope ako na once na maging better na lahat, masasayaw ko na ’yung mga variations na ito ulit.”
Ballet Manila’s Swan Lake in September 2003 was one year in the making. It was an ambitious undertaking as it was presenting the ballet classic with an all-Filipino cast for the very first time.
I wasn’t just going to walk, I was going to run. And then, once I stopped running, I was going to dance.
Here, the dancers share what the return to their old home felt like and what it meant to them to take the stage once more, as well as what their hopes are for the near future.
The COVID-19 pandemic has forced many teenagers to quickly mature, and ballerina Elyssabeth Apilado is no stranger to this.
In celebration of National Heroes Day, we look back on a choreography by Ballet Manila artistic associate and principal dancer Gerardo Francisco Jr. on Filipino hero Andres Bonifacio.
“Kailangan mahalin mo kung ano ang ginagawa mo. At saka huwag kang matakot na subukan ulit kung ano ‘yung nasimulan mo.”
Taking a cue from a local pop song, Ballet Manila whipped up a production that celebrated the remarkable quality of Filipino music to open its 19th performance season in 2014. Just like the well-known tune, the company just had to proclaim it in its title – Kay Ganda ng Ating Musika.
