Since 1995, Ballet Manila has been creating unforgettable performances on stage. As the acclaimed storytellers on toes, they have breathed life to an amazing range of classical and contemporary fare. The Ballet Manila Archives celebrates some of those moments from the company’s first 25 years through this series.

No other ballet is more associated with the holiday season than The Nutcracker. The giant Christmas tree in the middle of the grand living room sets the stage beautifully in evoking the magic of the holidays. Ballet Manila has joined the many dance companies all over the world in upholding this holiday tradition.

Indeed, the piece is among BM artistic director Lisa Macuja-Elizalde’s favorite ballets with Masha and the Sugar Plum Fairy among the roles that she has been performing since her days as a student in the Leningrad Choreographic Institute.

“You just get caught up in the story as its many enchanting scenes unfold onstage. The music of Tchaikovsky alone is enough to transport you to a world of dancing dolls, giant rats and magical transformations — from Nutcracker to Prince, and from an awkward child who doesn’t fit in on Christmas Eve to a glamorous Sugar Plum Fairy,” she told the Philippine Daily Inquirer in 2013.

In this clip, we return to the earlier years of the company — 1999 and 2001 in particular —with excerpts of The Nutcracker with Lisa and her co-artistic director Osias Barroso.