This Month in BM History: November 1999
Cover (left) and first page of the Bankard Concert Series, with Ballet Manila among the featured performers. From the Ballet Manila Archives collection
Ballet Manila was among the featured guests at the 7th performance season of the Bankard Concert Series, running from November 4 to December 2 in 1999.
Staged annually by Bankard, Inc. as a treat to its cardmembers and open also to non-cardmembers, it showcased the best of Filipino performing artists in five nights of song, dance and music.
Ballet Manila performed on November 26 at the concert series’ home, the Francisco Santiago Hall of Equitable PCI Bank Tower 1 in Makati. That year’s slate also included the APO Hiking Society, The Best of Broadway (Robert Seña, Isay Alvarez and Michael Williams), The Classics (The Battig Piano Trio, Nolyn Cabahug and Lorna Llames), and the Ateneo Glee Club.
Led by principal dancers Osias Barroso and Lisa Macuja-Elizalde, Ballet Manila staged excerpts of Don Quixote and the Nutcracker Suite.
In her review of the Don Quixote performance, critic Marge C. Enriquez noted how the ballerina – in her signature role of Kitri – delivered as expected, with people going gaga over her series of revolutions. “The images that come to our minds are her series of double pirouettes with one leg extended to the side, followed by a dive into a six o’clock arabesque and her fouettés, one of ballet’s most clichéd turns (the dancer whips her leg around in the course of successive pirouettes).”
Enriquez commented that Barroso was powerful that night. “He surprised the audience with his suave multiple pirouettes that were punctuated with neat finishes. With a stable back and powerful arms, he easily lifted Lisa (who’s taller than him) when she was up on pointe.”
She also mentioned Melanie Motus as an artist in full bloom who was entering her peak years. “That night, there was maturity in everything that Melanie did. Without any effort, she could make little details interesting, such as the smooth and elegant circling of the arm and a flirtatious smile with Basilio.”
A review of Ballet Manila’s performance of Don Quixote at the Bankard Concert Series in 1999 appeared in the Philippine Daily Inquirer. From the Ballet Manila Archives collection
