Mark Sumaylo and Abigail Oliveiro: From onstage partnership to real-life romance
They were Sigfried and Odette, Albrecht and Giselle, Prince Charming and Cinderella, Don Jose and Carmen, Conrad and Medora, and quite recently, Alfredo and Violetta.
Ballet Manila principal dancers Mark Sumaylo and Abigail Oliveiro have performed many of the most romantic and passionate leads in ballet. Through the gift of dance, they have taken audiences on dramatic encounters, enchanted romances and swashbuckling adventures, easily making everyone believe in happy-ever-afters.
But dance has also given this pair a wonderful gift. Since their first encounter in the studios of Ballet Manila, the couple has transformed their onstage partnership into a real-life romance.
Surrounded by loved ones, Mark and Abi recently tied the knot. Ballet Manila artistic director Lisa Macuja-Elizalde and husband, Manila Broadcasting Company chairman Fred J. Elizalde, were among the principal sponsors along with Cesar and Susan Macuja, the ballet company’s president and treasurer, as well as parents to Lisa. It was a true wedding in the family.
As the company celebrates this union made in ballet heaven, we look back on some of the most romantic and iconic ballet roles that the newlyweds have performed over the years.
Cinderella
One look is all it takes, and Cinderella and Prince Charming are instantly smitten as they dance the night away. In Lisa Macuja-Elizalde’s Cinderella, Mark and Abi bring these fairytale characters to life with natural flair and convincing charm that audiences can’t help but swoon and believe this pair will live happily ever after.
Giselle
In Giselle, Mark and Abi play the titular characters in a story of love and tragedy that is redeemed in the afterlife. Giselle falls in love with Albrecht only to go mad and die of a broken heart when Albrecht is found out to have promised his heart to another. As the guilt-stricken Albrecht visits Giselle’s grave, he can feel her overwhelming presence that he can almost touch her and is inconsolable in his loss.
Don Quixote
As the bullfighter Espada and the street dancer Esmeralda in Don Quixote, Mark and Abi engage in a fun, flirty sequence that counts among the ballet’s showstoppers. The couple heats up the dance floor with their amazing back bends and fast-paced steps, executed amid twirling capes and flicks of fans.
La Traviata
She already belongs to another man who provides the material comfort she craves. But meeting Alfredo makes Violetta wonder, is she only after security or does she also want love? Abi and Mark infuse passion and drama into a conflict-ridden relationship in Lisa Macuja-Eizalde’s La Traviata. Ultimately, they realize they are meant for each other, but it is already too late.
Bloom
As the lead couple in Annabelle Lopez-Ochoa’s Bloom, Mark and Abi are the picture of grace and beauty as they move in perfect symmetry. Love and gratitude are the values the choreographer wishes to convey in this dance inspired by a floral ritual in Bali.
Carmen
In Eric V. Cruz’s Carmen, the titular character seduces Don Jose who is unable to resist her feminine wiles. Abi and Mark step into these mature roles, infusing them with a passion that sizzles on stage. But while Don Jose has fallen obsessively in love, it seems for the temptress Carmen, he is just another man to add to her conquests.
Le Corsaire
Medora is the damsel in distress and Conrad the pirate who saves her – not just once but twice – in Le Corsaire. Taking on lighthearted characters for a change, Mark and Abi exude an easy rapport appropriate for this pirate escapade that includes a pas de trois with Conrad’s faithful servant Ali played by Rudolph Capongcol.
Swan Lake
Odette is an enchanted swan who returns to human form at night, and whom Prince Siegfried promptly falls in love with when he sees her while out in the forest. As Odette and Siegfried, Abi and Mark fight for true love as they overcome the odds, proving that nothing can keep them apart – not a sorcerer’s spell and not even death!
