The Ballet Manila Archives is the repository of documents, print, photographic, audio and video materials and memorabilia relating to the history of Ballet Manila and the life and career of its founder, prima ballerina Lisa Macuja-Elizalde. This site is powered by Ms. Elizalde and Project Art, Inc.
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.
Maleficent (Abigail Oliveiro) and her minions are an ominous lot in their black garbs as the vindictive witch – after not being invited to the princess’ christening – casts a spell on Aurora (Jasmine Pia Dames) that puts her in a protracted slumber in Lisa Macuja-Elizalde’s Sleeping Beauty (2020). Photo by Giselle P. Kasilag
As the gallant soldier Don Jose, Osias Barroso (third from left) leads his men in a scene from Eric V. Cruz’s Carmen. All wearing black uniform, they exude an air of refined elegance that goes perfectly well with their impeccable rhythm. Photo by Ocs Alvarez
In her farewell performance as the scheming Odile (Swan Lake, 2011), Lisa Macuja-Elizalde fools Prince Siegfried into thinking that she is the sweet and innocent Odette. But the black tutu should have clued him in that Odile is just a creepy alter-ego. Photo by Ocs Alvarez
There’s a somber mood as black meets gray in the outfits of (from left) Elpidio Magat Jr., Romeo Peralta Jr., Gerardo Francisco Jr.and Rudy De Dios. Almost silhouetted amid the lights, the foursome simulates crossing the famous Abbey Road in Martin Lawrance’s Beatles-inspired The Winding Road (2019). Photo by Giselle P. Kasilag
Agnes Locsin’s Arachnida, featuring Elpidio Magat Jr. and Joan Emery Sia in 2012, can best be described as sensual and intriguing as it attempts to replicate the movements of mating spiders. In their black unitards, on a blacked out stage save for a lone spotlight, there is almost a sinister air to it. Photo by Gerardo Francisco Jr.
It's pure black for the men and black and maroon for the women as they simulate the movements of a clicking camera in Francis Jaena’s Shutter. The choreography premiered in Heart 2 Heart in 2014. Photo by Ocs Alvarez
Looming like a predator, the sorcerer Von Rothbart (Nazer Salgado) looks even more menacing in a black outfit topped off by a cloak that reminds one of a vulture, the ultimate bird of prey. Salgado played the villain in the ballet classic Swan Lake in 2005. Photo by Ocs Alvarez
