Ballet Manila steers ‘Le Corsaire’ to history in Indonesia
Principal dancers Mark Sumaylo and Abigail Oliveiro perform as the pirate Conrad and his beloved Medora in Le Corsaire. Photo by Giselle P. Kasilag
Ballet Manila is bringing the full-length pirate adventure Le Corsaire to Indonesia in what is said to be a first in the Southeast Asian country.
A collaboration between Etoile Dance Center and Ballet Manila, Le Corsaire is said to be the first full-length presentation of the pirate adventure in Indonesia
A collaboration between the Indonesia-based Etoile Dance Center and Ballet Manila, Le Corsaire – as choreographed by Ballet Manila artistic director Lisa Macuja Elizalde – will be staged on November 16 and 17 at Graha Bhakti Budaya, a key performing arts venue in Jakarta.
“It’s history in the making and Ballet Manila is the perfect choice as they are famous for full-length ballet productions, strong technical dancers and great artists,” said Wenny Halim, artistic director and rehearsal mistress of Ballet Sumber Cipta who, together with Ms. Ade Setiowibowo and Etoile Dance Center’s Archangela Lina Lukman, has been organizing the debut of Le Corsaire in Indonesia.
Halim noted the production is also special as 19 Indonesian dancers from various schools will participate in the ballet. The dancers were selected through an audition conducted by Macuja Elizalde last June.
“They have been working really hard, fully committed to weekend training for the past three and a half months. I have the pleasure to rehearse these 19 beautiful dancers. And with a great sense of pride, I am now watching how they will all shine together with professional dancers of Ballet Manila this weekend!” said Halim.
Ballet Manila co-artistic associate Eileen Lopez, who earlier went to Jakarta to rehearse the Indonesian girls, said: “Having personally worked with the students, it gives me much hope to witness the hard work and dedication of the young dancers. They have poured time and energy into the rehearsals, conducting themselves with the same level of professionalism that we expect from our own dancers.”
Ballet Manila artistic director Lisa Macuja Elizalde (middle) meets Ballet Sumber Cipta artistic director Wenny Halim (right) and Ms. Ade Setiowibowo, organizers of Le Corsaire in Jakarta.
The story of the pirate Conrad and his partner Medora, Le Corsaire – originally choreographed by Joseph Mazilier in 1856 with later additions by Marius Petipa – has been in Ballet Manila’s repertoire for over two decades.
Ballet Manila’s debut performance of Le Corsaire was in 1998 in a collaboration with Russia’s Krasnoyark Ballet, the first time the full-length pirate classic was staged in Southeast Asia, if not in Asia. Since then, the company has presented it numerous times on its own, including a production in 2018.
Last February, Ballet Manila artistic director Lisa Macuja Elizalde premiered her own adaptation of Le Corsaire at Aliw Theater as the company’s 26th season-opener. It is described as a refined version that puts more logic into the story and makes Medora less of a damsel in distress.
“There’s romance, adventure, treachery, suspense, action, drama – all the ingredients of a telenovela, live onstage. It’s not every day you get a pasha’s harem, a shipwreck, swashbuckling pirates and kidnapped damsels, a living garden and a slave market all in one evening,” Macuja said, explaining the appeal of Le Corsaire.
What has remained constant is the dancing as it continues to be a platform for ballet at its finest. Highlights include the pas de trois of Conrad, Medora and Ali, the pas de deux of Gulnara and Lankadem, the intricate variations of the Odalisques, the awe-inspiring Naila Waltz featuring the corps de ballet, and the trademark 32 fouttés of Medora.
The Indonesian ballet students who are dancing in Le Corsaire have been rehearsing with Ballet Manila co-artistic associate Eileen Lopez.
Noting how rare it is in Indonesia to have a full-length ballet performed by a professional company, Halim said she is happy to be part of the team that’s welcoming Le Corsaire to her homeland.
“Bringing a full-length ballet from a professional ballet company to the Indonesian ballet community has been a childhood dream as I myself fell in love madly with ballet when I watched the Russian State Ballet of Moscow on a tour in 1992, bringing four productions of full-length ballets. (It was) a real eyeopener to understand the depth of how beautiful a story ballet is and be captured in their magic,” she enthused.
Halim, who has also had the chance to perform in Manila as Fairy Godmother in Macuja Elizalde’s Cinderella, said she hopes a new generation of viewers will also discover a magical connection to ballet that she experienced.
“Thirty years from now, there’ll be another person who will say, ‘I watched Le Corsaire ballet back in 2024, fell in love with the art form and have been supporting ballet ever since.’ That’s how we pass on the torch.”
The “Living Garden” is one of the highlights of Le Corsaire, this one featuring Abigail Oliveiro as Medora and Jasmine Pia Dames as Gulnara in 2018. Photo by Giselle P. Kasilag
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