Petal attraction

In keeping with the festive tradition known as Flores de Mayo, we remember the moments when flowers appeared on the Ballet Manila stage – propelling the story along, underscoring key themes or simply livening up the scene, making each show bloom with limitless possibilities. 

Odile (Lisa Macuja-Elizalde) scatters the flowers just given to her by the kneeling Siegfried (Jonathan Janolo) as she laughs at the prince for believing she is Odette, the swan princess he is actually in love with. Standing behind Odile is the sorcerer Rothbart (Nazer Salgado) who hatched the scheme to break up Siegfried and Odette in Swan Lake (2005). Photo by Ocs Alvarez

After Albrecht (Mark Sumaylo) gives her a daisy, Giselle (Abigail Oliveiro) playfully plucks each petal off in a game of “He loves me, he loves me not.” The scene is from Giselle which the real-life couple danced for the first time together in its full-length version in 2019. Photo by Erickson Dela Cruz

Stealing some time with each other, Basilio (Gerardo Francisco Jr.) takes the opportunity to give Kitri (Jasmine Pia Dames) a rose as a token of his love for her even as her father Lorenzo disapproves of their relationship. Basilio and Kitri make up one of ballet’s most famous couples whose love story is highlighted in Don Quixote. Photo by Ocs Alvarez

Forced to flee from her home, Yani (Joan Emery Sia) stumbles upon a place like no other she has ever seen in the Tatlo Pang Kuwento ni Lola Basyang story, Ang Palasyo ng mga Duwende (2013). In this scene, Yani dances with her lively hosts, the dwarves, amid brightly colored blooms. Photo by Ocs Alvarez

In Le Corsaire (2018), Medora (Katherine Barkman) smilingly gets the flowers handed to her by Lankadem (Elpidio Magat Jr.), not knowing that the slave trader and his evil cohorts have poisoned the bouquet – meant to knock out the pirate Conrad so they can kidnap Medora again. Photo by Ian Santos

The village lass (Lisa Macuja-Elizalde) in Pista receives flowers from rival suitors (Gerardo Francisco Jr. and Nazer Salgado, both kneeling) amid celebrations for the town fiesta. Pista was featured in Halo-Halo Supreme (2018). Photo by Ocs Alvarez

In Anting-Anting, one of the stories showcased in Tatlo Pang Kuwento ni Lola Basyang (2013), Meling (Dawna Reign Mangahas) swoons as she accepts a flower offered by town hunk Rodrigo (Mark Sumaylo). Photo by Ocs Alvarez

The red roses held by the female dancers in Manuel Molina’s Buenos Aires underscore the choreography’s representation of passion. Set to Argentine tango composer Astor Piazolla’s music, Buenos Aires fittingly premiered in the Valentine show Lab Ko ‘To (2012). Photo by Ocs Alvarez