This Month in BM History: September 2000
The Ballet & Ballads shows in the Visayas in September 2000, including one in Iloilo, featured pop singers Lani Misalucha and Brix Ferraris. Ticket from the Ballet Manila Archives collection
Velvet Wings, a choreography by David Campos on the fragility of nature, was among the numbers performed by Ballet Manila. Photo by Jojo Mamangun
Ballet Manila’s winning showcase of ballet and pop music called Ballet & Ballads was taken on a Visayan tour in September 2000. Shows were scheduled in venues in three provincial cities: Silliman University in Dumaguete on September 19, Negros Occidental Multi-Purpose Activity Center in Bacolod on September 21, and Central Philippine University in Iloilo on September 22.
Marketing materials for the three engagements showed pop singers Lani Misalucha and Brix Ferraris as the featured guests. As indicated in the Dumaguete program, Ballet Manila’s numbers included the light classical pas de deux Harlequinade and the environmental-themed piece Velvet Wings by David Campos, and dances performed to music performed by Misalucha and Ferraris.
Ballet & Ballads had become a successful road show since its introduction in 1997. A presentation of the Manila Broadcasting Company in cooperation with its partner radio stations nationwide, the series aligned with Ballet Manila’s mission of bringing ballet to the people. Under this format, ballet is presented in different ways including being danced to songs sung live by guest artists, thus making the art form more accessible to audiences not familiar with it.
