Out-of-the-box ‘Romeo & Juliet’ opens Ballet Manila’s 25th season
It’s a Romeo & Juliet like no one has ever seen.
For its 25th performance season-opener, Ballet Manila springs a cutting-edge retelling of the Shakespearean tragedy by British choreographer Martin Lawrance – one that is set in modern-day Metro Manila with Romeo and Juliet exchanging text messages on their mobile phones and sporting current youth fashion.
Joshua Enciso and Jessica Pearl Dames first danced the lead roles in Romeo & Juliet, a suite created by Martin Lawrance in 2019, which has now been turned into a full-length ballet. Photo by Erickson Dela Cruz
“It's super out-of-the-box. The first brawl is set in a karaoke bar. Music is synthesized Prokofiev, OPM music… You can expect the score to segue into different melodies. The balcony scene uses Sana’y Wala Nang Wakas, Juliet’s duet will be on an entablado in the town fiesta, the scene of the double suicide will be in a hospital,” describes Ballet Manila artistic director Lisa Macuja-Elizalde.
This new full-length ballet version of Romeo & Juliet will have its world premiere on February 18, Saturday, 8 p.m., with a 5 p.m. matinee on February 19, Sunday, at Aliw Theater in Pasay City.
Principal dancers Joshua Enciso and Jessica Pearl Dames take on the roles of the star-crossed lovers who first meet during a town fiesta, not knowing that their families – the Montanas and the Kapuletos – have a long-running feud. Providing solid support are fellow principal dancers Mark Sumaylo and Abigail Oliveiro as Juliet’s parents, Gerardo Francisco Jr. as Paris and Romeo Peralta as Tybalt and soloist Anselmo Dictado as Mercutio.
“What I find exciting is that Romeo & Juliet can be placed in any setting, in whatever era,” says Lawrance. “When the idea of doing a full-length Romeo & Juliet was brought up, I didn’t think that it would be a Pinoy one, but I think Lisa did and that’s how it was born: an up-to-date Filipino Romeo & Juliet.”
British choreographer Martin Lawrance rehearses Romeo & Juliet with Ballet Manila principals Jessica Pearl Dames (Juliet), Gerardo Francisco Jr. (Paris) and Joshua Enciso (Romeo). Photo by Giselle P. Kasilag
Macuja-Elizalde agrees that Romeo & Juliet has a timelessness that makes it adaptable. “Many companies have their own version of this Shakesperean tale, and I think that’s because the story lends itself so well to different interpretations and choreographies.”
She encourages the public to avail of subscription packages to Ballet Manila’s 25th season, dubbed “Of Hope and Homecoming,” to get discounts. The season also includes the classic Don Quixote in May and the Filipino epic Ibong Adarna in August.
Tickets are available through TicketWorld.
For more information, visit the website www.balletmanila.com.ph or the BalletManilaOfficial page on Facebook and Instagram, or call 0918 8077148.