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.
In a 2005 performance of Arachnida, Gerardo Francisco Jr. and Marian Faustino make a fascinating pair in their black unitards as they bring to life National Artist Agnes Locsin’s choreography exploring how mating spiders might move and act. Photo by Ocs Alvarez
No color connotes evil more than black and in this scene from Lisa Macuja-Elizalde’s Snow White (2019), viewers get a double dose of wickedness with the queen/ witch (Abigail Oliveiro) and her mirror image (Emma Harris) clad in their black gowns and spiky crowns. Photo by Giselle P. Kasilag
Don Jose (Osias Barroso) is unable to resist the feminine wiles of Carmen (Lisa Macuja-Elizalde) in Eric V. Cruz’s Carmen (2005). The seduction leads to a passionate tryst between the pair who are both clothed in black. But while the soldier has fallen madly in love, for the temptress, he is just the latest conquest that can easily be cast aside for the next man in line. Photo by Ocs Alvarez
Masque of the Red Death is daring in theme and to match, so are the costumes that Eduardo Espejo and Elline Damian are wearing. After all, black leather and studs are not exactly the materials one instantly associates with ballet. The suggestive dance piece by David Campos Cantero was featured in Ballet Manila’s OPM at OPB in 2003. Photo by Ocs Alvarez
Christine Rocas takes on the devious role of Odile in Swan Lake (2005) and perfectly embodies the character in a dark tutu with red and gold trim. Together with the sorcerer Rothbart, Odile wreaks havoc and makes Prince Siegfried believe she is his beloved Odette. Photo by Ocs Alvarez
Mark Sumaylo and Abigail Oliveiro move to the fast-paced, pulsating music that Augustus “Bam” Damian III’s MAZN is choreographed to. Performing the piece together for the first time in Dance Day Live! in March 2022, they slip into form-fitting black dance wear to best show off every step and nuance. Photo by MarBi Photography
Both in black, Romeo Peralta and Joan Emery Sia are a commanding presence even amid shadows and silhouettes as the lead couple in Augustus “Bam” Damian III’s El Adwa as performed in Iconic 2.0 (2018). Photo by Giselle P. Kasilag
