In March 1995, barely a month after its formal launching concert, Ballet Manila embarked on a performance tour of Mindanao – specifically in the provinces of Sultan Kudarat and South Cotabato. It was a groundbreaking trip, particularly since most of the stops on the itinerary hadn’t hosted a ballet show ever before. 

But true to its declared mission of bringing ballet to the people, Ballet Manila was bringing its full-concert program to places the dancers themselves hadn’t heard of before: Isulan (March 8), Tacurong (March 9), Surallah (March 10), Marbel (March 11),  and Palomoloc (March 12). It all added to eight performances in five days, what then principal dancer and artistic associate Lisa Macuja described as “a mean ‘road test’ indeed for this fledgling group of 12 performing artists.”

It was an adventure no one in the group would soon forget. For starters, they traveled via Superferry which was a tour sponsor. And as with any provincial tour, they had to contend with the lack of adequate theaters that would provide a basic stage, curtains, wings, backstage crossover, dressing rooms with mirrors and toilets nearby and so many other requirements of performing artists. The late artistic director, Eric V. Cruz, however, reminded everyone during a company meeting: “When you are a member of a touring company, you cannot afford to be a complainer.”

And so, the dancers proved what real troupers they were. No matter what conditions they faced, they gave the same quality of performance as they would in adequately equipped venues. The group’s Mindanao repertoire included pieces from their just completed launching concert, such as the pas d’action from La Bayadere, Bluebird pas de deux, Satanella pas de deux, White Swan adagio, Le Corsaire pas de trois, Nutcracker pas de deux, Paquita variations, and Osias Barroso’s neo-classical piece, In Quest.

Writing in her On Pointes column at the time, Macuja mused about the Mindanao experience afterwards: “I thought of the close to 40,000 people that have seen classical ballet for the first time because of Ballet Manila’s pioneering efforts. I thought of the many unusual (to say the least) situations Ballet Manila artists encountered – from the goats to the frogs and everything in between. I reflected on ‘The Mission’ – ballet for the people. Mission accomplished, for now.”