This Month in BM History: May 2007
An advertisement in Starweek magazine announces the 2007 Summer Workshop souvenir program, culminating in recitals on May 26 and 27. Clipping from the Ballet Manila Archives collection
The Ballet Manila School, now known as the Lisa Macuja School of Ballet, marked a decade of offering summer workshops in 2007.
Dubbed as Just Dance 10!, the summer workshop recital was presented on May 26 and 27 at the Star Theater, gathering the school’s students and scholars in a showcase of dance skills learned over the past two months with the artists of Ballet Manila joining them.
The Ballet Manila School’s faculty for the summer was led by Lisa Macuja-Elizalde and Osias Barroso (center) and included (front row) Sofia Sangco-Peralta, Marian Faustino, (back row) Jennifer Olayvar, Jonathan Janolo and Eileen Lopez. Photo by Ocs Alvarez
For the first time in Just Dance history, a ballet called Movements was especially choreographed for Baby Ballet and Level 1 girls and boys, put together by faculty member and Ballet Manila artistic associate Osias Barroso.
Barroso also choreographed Enchanted Garden, which made its comeback on the recital stage that year – a sort of rite of passage for several accomplished Ballet Manila dancers, including Christine Rocas who was by then on her third year at the Joffrey Ballet in Chicago.
The Ballet Manila School had its early beginnings as the Lisa Macuja Summer Workshop in 1995, with classes conducted at the Macuja family residence in Quezon City which also doubled as Ballet Manila’s studio. The original group of students from that workshop went on to perform their first performance with Ballet Manila in the piece called Etudes in June 1996.
The cast of Osias Barroso’s Enchanted Garden brought together summer workshoppers from the school’s different levels and guest artists from Ballet Manila. Photo by Ocs Alvarez
The very first official Ballet Manila Workshop opened in April 1997. With a total of 36 students, this first workshop saw the transition of the BM company and school to the new base on Donada St., Pasay City.
As the summer workshop celebrated its 10th year, school directress and Ballet Manila artistic director Lisa Macuja-Elizalde had this to say in the program notes: “Many adventures await the children of our Just Dance recitals. Whether these involve the ballet or not, we are sure that their participation and dancing onstage have made these kids resilient, confident and ready to continue with their individual journeys of a thousand or more miles – and many more steps!”