From ballet blanc (white ballet) to The Beatles – this was the powerhouse combination of Ballet Manila’s 23rd season-ender in March 2019 entitled Deux.

The show’s key focus was on the company’s twin forte – the classics and the contemporary, as represented by Michael Fokine’s romantic ballet, Les Sylphides, and Martin Lawrance’s new work inspired by Beatles music, The Winding Road.

Having premiered in 1909, Les Sylphides (also known as Chopiniana for its use of music by Chopin) is regarded as a true ballet classic. A short and non-narrative “romantic reverie,” it depicts a lone danseur (The Poet) surrounded by his muses – white clad sylphs or air spirits, dancing in the moonlight.

In contrast, The Winding Road offers choreography danced to a rock-and-roll beat as embodied in some of The Beatles’ anthemic tunes.

In addition, the repertoire of Deux also included a mix of other classical and contemporary numbers. BM’s young danseurs who had won top prizes at the CCP Ballet Competition in November 2018 were featured in a suite of classics – Joshua Enciso in La Bayadere, Rafael Perez in Flames of Paris, and Alvin Dictado in Albrecht Variation.

For the contemporary fare, the all-male Aramica, choreographed by Augustus “Bam” Damian III, took centerstage.