This Month in BM History: December 2013
A clipping from the Philippine Star announces Lisa Macuja-Elizalde’s final bow as the Sugar Plum Fairy. Clipping from the Ballet Manila Archives collection
Missy Macuja Elizalde reprises her role as Little Masha. Photo by Jojo Mamangun from the Ballet Manila Archives collection
Ballet Manila’s performance run of The Nutcracker in 2013 was special as it was tied in with artistic director and prima ballerina Lisa Macuja-Elizalde’s Swan Song Series. The three-year series featured her final performances as the female lead in an array of classical ballets, including Kitri in Don Quixote, Odette/Odile in Swan Lake, Juliet in Romeo and Juliet, Giselle in Giselle and Nikiya in La Bayadere.
In The Nutcracker, she was bidding goodbye to one of the most beloved characters in the popular Christmas ballet – the Sugar Plum Fairy. What made the performance even more sentimental was the participation of Missy Macuja Elizalde, Lisa’s daughter, in a reunion on stage. Three years before, they had danced together in the same ballet, with Missy then making her debut as Little Masha.
Missy Macuja Elizalde dances as Little Masha together with Alvin Santos as Fritz. Photo by Jojo Mamangun from the Ballet Manila Archives collection
The dancing snowflakes are part of the charm of The Nutcracker. Photo by Jojo Mamangun from the Ballet Manila Archives collection
Marcus Tolentino as Drosselmeyer amuses the kids on Christmas Eve. Photo by Jojo Mamangun from the Ballet Manila Archives collection
In the story, Drosselmeyer gives a toy nutcracker to Masha which becomes a hit during the Christmas Eve festivities. The nutcracker later transforms into a prince who battles the evil Mouse King and takes Masha on an adventure to the land of snow and the land of sweets.
Ballet Manila lived up to the charm and spectacle that has made The Nutcracker a Christmas staple for many dance companies around the world. From the battle between toy soldiers and mouse minions, the dancing snowflakes, the celebration of dances from Spain, Russia and China, and of course, the appearance of the Sugar Plum Fairy – it was an unforgettable production and a prima ballerina’s fitting farewell.
Lisa mused in 2013: “Thankfully, I continue to look at Masha as that wide-eyed child on Christmas Eve, about to open a present that will change the rest of her life.”
Lisa Macuja-Elizalde turns in a triumphant farewell performance in The Nutcracker. Photo by Jojo Mamangun from the Ballet Manila Archives collection
