Celebrating ballet’s onstage moms

Loving, protective, affectionate, caring – these are just some of the words that come to mind when describing mothers. Ballet Manila’s productions, both classics and Filipino originals, have highlighted these laudable traits of the family’s nurturer. To celebrate Mother’s Day, we share portraits of mothers as seen on our stage through the years. 

Juliet (Katherine Barkman) shares a light moment with her mother, Lady Capulet (Lisa Macuja-Elizalde), as the nanny (Eileen Lopez) looks on in this scene from Romeo and Juliet (2015). Photo by Ocs Alvarez

In Swan Lake (2008), the adoring Queen (Christine Rocas) gifts her son, Prince Siegfried, on his birthday with a bow to use for hunting. Photo by Ocs Alvarez

Queen Leah (Rissa May Camaclang), beside King Stephan (Mark Sumaylo), looks on tenderly at their daughter Princess Aurora (Jasmine Pia Dames) as she weds Prince Philip (Romeo Peralta) in Lisa Macuja-Elizalde’s Sleeping Beauty (2020). Photo by Erickson Dela Cruz

Goya (Eileen Lopez) reminds her son Pedro (Alvin Santos) to be cautious as he embarks on a search for his missing sisters in Ang Kapatid ng Tatlong Marya, one of the stories in Tatlong Kuwento ni Lola Basyang (2008). Photo by Ocs Alvarez

Prince Siegfried (Mark Sumaylo) stays close to his mother, the Queen (Lisa Macuja-Elizalde), as they watch festivities celebrating his birthday unfold at the palace. The scene is from Ballet Manila’s production of Swan Lake in 2017. Photo by Giselle P. Kasilag

Nanay (Zaira Cosico) envelops son Rodrigo (Gerardo Francisco Jr.) in a warm embrace, almost not wanting to let him go, as he decides to leave home to find work and provide for them in Ang Mahiwagang Biyulin, a story showcased in Tatlong Kuwento ni Lola Basyang (2008). Photo by Ocs Alvarez

Mother (Eileen Lopez) worries about her daughter Giselle (Lisa Macuja-Elizalde) because of the latter’s weak heart in Giselle (2012), cautioning her not to stress herself and to always be careful. Photo by Jojo Mamangun

Attentive to the needs of her family, the Huntsman’s Wife (Nanami Hasegawa) and her son (Juan Angelo De Leon) await the arrival of her husband in Lisa Macuja-Elizalde’s Snow White (2019). Photo by Giselle P. Kasilag

Mother Simone (Jonathan Janolo) keeps in step with daughter Lise (Mylene Aggabao) whom she tries to keep away from the young girl’s chosen partner Colas in La Fille Mal Gardee (2008). Photo by Ocs Alvarez