Ballet Manila in full color: Color it red

Ballet Manila has showcased a rich palette of hues in its productions over the years. Now, the company’s true colors are revealed! Gathering photographs from the Ballet Manila Archives, we present the vibrant and the somber, the heavenly to the earthy, in a series of virtual exhibitions – one shade at a time.

True to her titular character in Jean Paul Comelin’s Firebird (2000), Aileen Gallinera makes her presence felt to Osias Barroso in a costume channeling flames – a combination of blazing red and splashy orange. Photo by Ocs Alvarez

Lankadem (Elpidio Magat) commands attention in red harem pants and a gold-flecked top as he leads the auction of slaves among bidders in the pirate caper, Le Corsaire (2018). Photo by Giselle P. Kasilag

Little Red Riding Hood (Shaira Comeros) and the Big Bad Wolf (John Ralp Balagot) are among the fairy-tale characters that show up in The Sleeping Beauty, excerpted in the all-Tchaikovsky production, The Swan, The Fairy and the Princess (2016). The young girl of course gets her name from the color of her head gear that tops off her red outfit. Photo by Ocs Alvarez

Nikiya (Lisa Macuja-Elizalde), stunning in her red finery, falls for Solor in La Bayadere (2004) but it’s a forbidden love that causes her untold heartache. As she dances at the betrothal ceremony of Solor and Gamzatti, the girls performing the Parrot Dance stand in a row behind her, also garbed in red. Photo by Ocs Alvarez

Red stands for courage, and this Mercutio (Romeo Peralta) has in spades, as he is set to confront Romeo who is rumored to be courting his cousin Juliet in Sergey Vikulov’s Romeo and Juliet, excerpted in Gold (2014). Photo by Ocs Alvarez

Dancing as one of the cavaliers in Swan Lake (2017), Rodney Catubay reflects dignified elegance in red and gray. Photo by Giselle P. Kasilag

The wily Ahab (Marcus Tolentino), whose aggressive personality is mirrored in his flashy red suit, gets his comeuppance as he is forced to dance against his will by Rodrigo (Gerardo Francisco) while playing his enchanted violin in Ang Mahiwagang Biyulin. The fable about treating people right is one of three stories by Severino Reyes showcased in Tatlong Kuwento ni Lola Basyang (2008). Photo by Ocs Alvarez

Red-and-black is the coordinated color combination for Romeo Peralta and Rissa May Camaclang as one of the couples featured in Martin Lawrance’s Winding Road (2019), danced to – what else but – music by The Beatles. Photo by Giselle P. Kasilag

As the parents of Pedro in Ang Kapatid ng Tatlong Marya, one of the stories in Tatlong Kuwento ni Lola Basyang (2008), Harold Salgado and Eileen Lopez send off their son as he goes on a search for his three missing sisters. The couple is swathed in complementing outfits that are predominantly red, with traditional accents. Photo by Ocs Alvarez

In eye-catching red, with matching red hair, Nicole Barroso is one of the fairy godmothers of Princess Aurora in Lisa Macuja-Elizalde’s Sleeping Beauty (2020). Photo by Giselle P. Kasilag