Ballet in bloom

While beautiful to behold, flowers are rarely mere decorations in ballet productions. The blooms often hold a significance that enriches the unfolding story. The crushed rose, the shower of lilies, and the cluster of wildflowers all come to the aid of our storytellers on toes as they express a variety of emotions while dancing. 

As we revel in the month of May – a season most associated with flowers – we look back on the many productions of Ballet Manila filled with these fragile and colorful blossoms, and rejoice over their beauty along with the many meanings that they carry.

The Living Garden scene in Le Corsaire is one of the dreamiest in classical ballet, says Abigail Oliveiro who, as Medora, joyfully clutches red roses while surrounded by ballerinas carrying floral garlands. Photo by Giselle P. Kasilag

Giselle (Lisa Macuja-Elizalde) offers lilies – symbols of purity – to Myrtha (Se Hee Hong), queen of the wilis, to implore her to spare Albrecht from a cruel fate in Giselle. Photo by Jojo Mamangun

A rose figures prominently in La Traviata as a sign of romantic love given by Alfredo to Violeta (Joan Emery Sia). Photo by Giselle P. Kasilag

A circle of flowers descends upon Gunaw, the evil twin in Alamat: Si Sibol at Si Gunaw, to curb his destructive ways. Photo by Ocs Alvarez

Odile, the Black Swan (Abigail Oliveiro), succeeds in her ruse to make Siegfried fall for her when he already promised eternal love to Odette, the White Swan, in Swan Lake. The devious Odile celebrates by throwing the bouquet Siegfried has given her in his face. Photo by Giselle P. Kasilag

Rissa May Camaclang as Carmen radiates passion in her red dress and the matching red rose in her hand. Photo by Mark Sumaylo

Flowers reflect the jubilation at the palace when Aurora awakes in Sleeping Beauty. Photo by Erickson dela Cruz

The rose symbolizes the hope that is passed on from one person to another in Ballet Manila’s dance film, Walang Hanggang Paalam. 

In this haunting scene from Giselle, the titular character played by Joan Emery Sia showers Albrecht (Elpidio Magat) with lilies at her grave to indicate that she has saved him from death. Lilies are also said to denote immortality. Photo by Giselle P. Kasilag 

Rose petals rain down on Dawna Reign Mangahas in the dramatic finale of Bloom. Photo by Kurt Alvarez