Olé! Don Quixote fun facts: #6 – Fantastic fan fare
As Ballet Manila prepares to bring back Don Quixote in May – the second offering in its 25th performance season – we share assorted trivia about the beloved classic, tidbits from the company’s past performances and artistic director Lisa Macuja-Elizalde’s long history with it, along with select photographs from the Ballet Manila Archives. The series is a celebration of this happy ballet, a showcase for the bravura Spanish-inspired style featuring show-stopping technical feats by the ballerina and her danseur in the lead roles of Kitri and Basilio.
Preparing for her debut as Kitri in Don Quixote with the Kirov Ballet in 1986, Lisa Macuja learns the nuances of using a fan while dancing from Russian prima ballerina Gabriela Komleva. Photo from the Ballet Manila Archives collection
Fantastic fan fare. The use of fans definitely adds to that Spanish verve in Don Quixote. But while one may think it’s easy to open and close this accessory, it’s challenging when one has to sync each flick of the fan with a step, a movement or a beat. For the female dancers in the ballet classic, particularly for the lead Kitri, fan flourishes can be difficult to master. Wear and tear can be expected (with the frequent and fast opening and closing, not to mention the playful whacks given the males in the cast including Basilio), hence it is no surprise when fans are broken even during rehearsals. Just hanging on tight to those fans through all the dancing is said to be tougher than one can imagine. Expertise comes through constant practice and with knowledge gained from those who have wielded the delicate accessory quite skillfully through the energetic pace of Don Quixote.
Top photo: Fans add an inimitable flourish to a final pose, as shown by Lisa Macuja starring as Kitri with Ballet Philippines in 1986 and by Jasmine Pia Dames in her full-length debut as Kitri with Ballet Manila in 2017. First photo from the Ballet Manila Archives collection; second photo by Ocs Alvarez
Ballet Manila artistic director Lisa Macuja-Elizalde (foreground) coaches a new generation of Kitris – from left, Jasmine Pia Dames, Dawna Reign Mangahas and Katherine Barkman – in the skillful handling of the Spanish fan in 2017. Photo by Jimmy Villanueva
