By Jv Ramos

Kitri and Basilio may be the couple that instantly comes to mind when Don Quixote is brought up, but one cannot deny the charm of another pair in it: Mercedes, the street dancer, and Espada, the bullfighter. With her sultry dance moves, his flashy cape-twirling, and their jaw-dropping back bends, they fire up the stage and add even more flair to the ballet classic.

“I remember how much fun I had when I first played Mercedes,” raves principal dancer Abigail “Abi” Oliveiro, who first took on the role in 2017, when she was still a soloist. “I remember having a party on stage, so when I found out that I’d be her again, I was, of course, so excited! But I was a little nervous too, because I didn’t know who my Espada would be this time around.”

As it’s been six years since Ballet Manila presented a full-length Don Quixote, many things have changed. Several of those who had been part of that last production have gone through career and life milestones. Abi, for instance, is now married to co-principal dancer Mark Sumaylo, and through 2017 to the present, the two have gone through many highs and lows. They’ve performed iconic couples on stage, endured and recovered from serious injuries, and chosen to optimistically fight for their dancing during the global pandemic.

“While Mark played my partner Espada before, you can never really assume that he would be cast as that again, but I’m so happy that he was. Dancing with him just never gets old for me. With Mark, the chemistry (of the characters) is so easy to get into. We don’t even have to say anything when we dance Mercedes and Espada. Just one look we already know what to do,” Abi enthuses.

“Like Abi, I’m also very excited about being able to dance my old role in Don Q again,” expresses Mark. “Aside from dancing with her, the ballet in itself is good. The music is nice; the story is nice. And there’s just something so different about our characters. It just feels so freeing when I dance Espada.”

“Yes, that’s true,” echoes the ballerina, who won a Gawad Buhay Award for her performance as Mercedes in 2017. “Mercedes and Espada have this strong confidence which is rarely seen in ballet characters!”

Having danced opposite each other in classics such as Swan Lake and Giselle and in Lisa Macuja-Elizalde’s ballet adaptation of Cinderella, Abigail and Mark note that Mercedes and Espada are the pair they feel most free performing and the couple that they genuinely enjoy portraying.

“I remember the first time I did Espada. The feedback I got from Sir Shaz [Osias Barroso, former co-artistic director of Ballet Manila] is that I did good, but I shouldn’t smile too much,” reminisces the danseur. “I was just enjoying myself so much onstage, I guess, that I couldn’t help but smile all the time!”

“What I remember from back then is being so excited to play Mercedes that in rehearsals, I got so into how Mercedes would be done the classical way that when I did this back bend, I slightly injured my back,” admits Abigail. “So if there’s anything I’d like to accomplish this time around, it’s to anchor my legs down and dance the role more explosively.” 

The principal ballerina stresses, “My legs now are stronger. We’re now both stronger dancers, so we are really excited to do this all over again!”

“As for me, I’ll do the opposite. I’ll be more demure,” chuckles Mark, poking fun at the memory of being an overly-smiling Espada as a company soloist, and perhaps wondering if he can still arch his back the way he did before. “But yes, we’ll be stronger this time around.” Here, the danseur explains that while some may think that there’s less thrill in dancing the same old role, he actually finds the experience to be more inspiring. “Because I’ve done it before, I’m no longer hesitant about the steps; I’m also more confident to do the drama. There are really more things to explore where you have danced a role before.”

As more seasoned dancers, the married couple shares they already know what their body needs to be able to better execute the movements of characters they’ve portrayed before. “Compared to Abi, my back is really tight, so whenever there are roles like Espada, I know I’d have to get a massage days before the performance, because this helps release the tightness. Take note: days before the performance. I’ve once done it a day before and when I performed, my body was too relaxed! It was doing something different from what was in my mind.”

Laughing about how certain treatments may work for one dancer and not for the other, the two also bring up what helps them deal with body pain after a performance – it’s the Tiger Balm patch that is most effective for relief! If needed, says Mark, it can actually be used even while one is dancing.

“There’s always an extra layer you can add when you’ve performed something before,” Abi sums up. “But as with any character role, you also have to be careful that you’re not too choreographed or calculated. You have to be surprised, to not anticipate every movement.”

“You have to be in the moment,” underscores her Espada.

Asked if marriage has affected their approach to the iconic characters, Mark replies that the reason they’ve been able to make every ballet pair work is both have always had a profound respect for their art. “When rehearsing for Don Quixote, I don’t see her as my wife. She is Mercedes and I am Espada. And, when things are difficult, we don’t fight. We go do our homework and figure out how we can make our dancing work.”

“Because we both love ballet and dancing so much, we also give our all in every performance, which makes things worthwhile,” adds Abi, who admits that while fun to play, the roles of the fiery Mercedes and Espada are demanding on dancers’ bodies. “I’m very grateful for those moments when we’re tired but still give our best. When I see Mark give his all, I’m inspired to dance and give my all too.”

With the performance dates of Don Quixote coming up, the two are living for every rehearsal, hoping to make everyone fall in love with the passionate couple known as Mercedes and Espada.