‘Snow White’ scores Aliw Awards for Ballet Manila, principal dancer Abigail Oliveiro
After a year battling injury and illness, bouncing back in Snow White and being recognized for it is such sweet victory for principal dancer Abigail Oliveiro. Photo by Mark Sumaylo
By Susan A. De Guzman
Christmas came early for Ballet Manila when it was named as the winner of the 2019 Aliw Award for Best Dance Production for artistic director Lisa Macuja-Elizalde’s fairytale adaptation, Snow White, which was restaged as the company’s season-opener in September.
Ballet Manila principal artist Abigail Oliveiro also bagged an Aliw Award for Best Classical Dancer for the same production where she portrayed The Evil Queen.
Ballet Manila principal dancer Joan Emery Sia receives the Aliw Award for Best Dance Production for Snow White on behalf of artistic directors Lisa Macuja-Elizalde and Osias Barroso. Joining her on stage, to the right, are fellow principal dancers Abigail Oliveiro and Elpidio Magat. Photo by Mark Sumaylo
One of the oldest awards-giving bodies in the Philippine entertainment industry, the Aliw held its annual awards ceremony Tuesday night at The Manila Hotel.
Principal dancers Oliveiro, Joan Emery Sia and Elpidio Magat received Ballet Manila’s trophy on behalf of artistic directors Macuja-Elizalde and Osias Barroso, with Sia underscoring in her thank-you speech the company’s twin mission of bringing ballet to the people and people to the ballet.
When told of Snow White’s triumph, Macuja-Elizalde was effusive in her gratitude to the Aliw Awards especially since it is in recognition of being a dance-maker.
“Snow White was a ballet that I had many insecurities creating because of the success of Cinderella the year before. However, from the first scene of The Queen’s Facial to the end with the wedding scene, this ballet just came happily alive because of the overwhelming support and talent that all the dancers in Ballet Manila gave to me as their choreographer and director. It is a ballet I created specifically with families in mind as my audience. I wanted people to smile, laugh and fall in love – and it has worked magic for all of us!” Macuja-Elizalde enthused.
Macuja-Elizalde is thrilled that the award will help usher in her next choreography, Sleeping Beauty, which is the final installment in her Princess Trilogy. Sleeping Beauty will premiere in 2020 with shows on January 18 and 19 at the Newport Performing Arts Theater, Resorts World Manila.
Portraying The Evil Queen in Snow White was exciting for Abigail Oliveiro as it offered her an opportunity to showcase both artistry and technique. Photo by Giselle P. Kasilag
Oliveiro, who received her award earlier in the night, was dumbfounded upon being named the Best Classical Dancer, a category where both Sia and Magat were also nominated along with three dancers from other companies.
Going up the stage to receive her trophy and give a thank-you speech was a blur for the ballerina, who described it as a surreal moment.
“The first thing that crossed my mind – after recovering from my brain’s flatline – was that I was incredibly honored to receive this recognition. But I struggled to put that into words as I felt it would most probably take longer than a minute to explain why, so I chose to thank my wonderful directors, parents, Mark [principal dancer Mark Sumaylo, her boyfriend] and the jury. I couldn’t smile any bigger,” Oliveiro recalled.
It was a particularly sweet victory for the dancer, coming after a challenging year when she had to deal with injury and illness. “The recovery from the surgery was a wild cha cha. I was battling a lung infection simultaneously so that journey was intense. Although trying, I know that my love for dancing was real. So real and so true. And that’s what this award means to me. I feel really lucky and blessed to be able to do what I LOVE every single day. Even through the frustrations, the love of dance has always won me over. More often than not, I feel like I’m able to discover myself more through dance. The journey has been a large delicious cake. And this award is a wonderful cherry on top.”
Real-life couple Joan Emery Sia and Elpido Magat dance the wedding scene pas de deux in Lisa Macuja-Elizalde’s Snow White. Photo by Giselle P. Kasilag
Oliveiro was more recently seen in her debut in the lead role of the full-length Giselle, performing two shows of the ballet classic in two venues, the Cultural Center of the Philippines and the University of Makati.
Macuja-Elizalde praised Oliveiro for her drive to get better and return to the stage. “For Abi to get the recognition is very heartwarming because I know that she has not had an easy year. Coping with surgery and then getting sick took a toll on her career but she bounced back and has been recognized for her work so I am really happy for her. Her role in Snow White was that of The Evil Queen and it really just proves that if you give your all – even in a supporting role – your artistry and technique will be given true value by the audience.”
For Oliveiro, sinking her teeth anew into the role of The Evil Queen meant channeling a character that she finds vastly different from her real-life demeanor. “In dance, I like to draw from my own experiences or imaginations and go from there. In this case, it was a combination of both multiplied by a thousand! To be someone you aren’t, it takes a little more crafting and that process is always such a joy – crafting that blend of technique and artistry, translating feelings and words into actions and the language of dance.”
Smiles all around for Elpidio Magat, Joan Emery Sia and Abigail Oliveiro. Photo by Mark Sumaylo
She is thankful for the support that she got from her colleagues in tackling the role which she first originated in 2017. “I had amazing guidance from the original evil character, [Ballet Manila rehearsal master] Jonathan Janolo. And I truly appreciate the trust and faith Ma’am Lise and Sir Shaz had in me to let me run so wild with The Evil Queen. Like, wild! And I loved every minute!”
Oliveiro is currently rehearsing two new choreographic pieces that Ballet Manila will premiere next year – Rudy De Dios’ Carmina Burana and Lisa Macuja-Elizalde’s La Traviata, both of which she is quite excited about.
She is facing the new year with a big smile on her face, with a trophy serving as a timely reminder that dancing is where she’s supposed to be. “This award is just totally humbling! And it makes me so happy. But it doesn’t change anything about me, except that it motivates me to keep striving. To keep working. To love what I do wholeheartedly. To be true to who I am and what I believe in.”
