In 1996, Ballet Manila embarked on its first tour to the United States, with its first stop being the Big Apple in June. After making its debut in New York, New York, the company moved on to three other stops: Cleveland, Ohio; Corpus Christi, Texas and New Orleans, Louisiana.

With the support of Filipino-led arts organizations and Filipino-American contacts, Ballet Manila was able to organize the tour which was capped by a performance in New Orleans in July. The venue was Roussell Hall in the city’s Loyola University, with the Philippine Society for the Performing Arts as presentor along with Loyola University and the New Orleans Dance Council.

Like in the previous legs, the repertoire featured choice selections ranging from classical pieces to original Filipino choreographies. These included the Le Corsaire pas de deux performed by principal artists Lisa Macuja and Osias Barroso, Jojo Lucila’s Sari’t Bahag inspired by Mountain Province lore and Sergei Vikulov’s Classical Symphony set to music by Prokofiev and featuring the pioneering twelve dancers of Ballet Manila.

In her newspaper column, On Pointes, Lisa Macuja would write about their experiences in New Orleans – walking along the streets in the French Quarter, seeing some of the city’s attractions and, of course, headlining a successful show. She narrates: “We danced to an SRO crowd that gave us a long-standing ovation at the end of the two-hour gala. Looking out from the stage, I could not tell where the seats ended and the aisles began. A sea of smiling faces, cheering and applauding, even demanding an encore, was the best sight to cap our United States performance tour with. We were even made honorary citizens of New Orleans through a City Council Proclamation given to us at the end of the show.”