‘Cinderella’ brings enchantment to Baguio
Ballet Baguio artistic director Jacqueline Go-Ramon (front row, center) is thrilled to be able to stage Lisa Macuja Elizalde’s Cinderella in the City of Pines. With her are her faculty members and advanced dancers who are taking on major roles in the production. Photo by JJ Go
After performances in Taoyuan, Taipei and in Dumaguete, Lisa Macuja Elizalde’s Cinderella wears glass slippers once more and heads to Baguio City to enchant audiences this Christmas season.
Cinderella is the second full-length ballet that Ballet Baguio is presenting in the city. It stars Ballet Manila principal dancers Abigail Oliveiro and Mark Sumaylo as Cinderella and her Prince.
Presented by Ballet Baguio, in a special collaboration with Ballet Manila, Cinderella brings the magic, romance and humor of the fairy-tale ballet to the stage on December 22, 5 p.m., at the CAP John Hay Trade & Cultural Center.
Ballet Baguio artistic director Jacqueline Go-Ramon is thrilled to present Cinderella, restaging it together with Ballet Manila co-artistic associate Eileen Lopez especially for the City of Pines production.
“After watching Ballet Manila's Cinderella in 2022, I imagined the same ballet being performed by my students in Baguio. Lisa Macuja Elizalde's version is a fun mix of classical and modern music while not deviating from the traditional Cinderella fairy tale we all know and love,” Go-Ramon enthused.
Ballet Manila principal dancers Abigail Oliveiro and Mark Sumaylo star as Cinderella and her Prince, with Ballet Baguio artists taking on key roles – Phoeboa Buen as The Fairy Godmother, Simone Co as The Stepmother, and Michel Quan and Kerri Villegas as The Stepsisters.
Ballet Manila soloists John Balagot and Sean Pelegrin will be The King and The Duke, respectively, while from Ballet Baguio, the following will be playing supporting characters: Quisha Babas as The Mediterranean Princess, Jade Mestito as The Scandinavian Princess, Gab Alinio as The Racoon, and King George Bueno as The Dance Teacher.
Go-Ramon is particularly excited that the full-length ballet will also showcase quite a huge cast composed of her students.
Phoeboa Buen plays Fairy Godmother. Photo by JJ Go
“Out of all versions of Cinderella, this one would be the longest, because after the ball, the Prince travels around the world to look for the owner of the glass slipper! This idea was created by Ma’am Lisa because we have about two hundred dancers participating in this production so we needed to create more roles for the students to dance to,” she shared.
Cinderella is the second full-length ballet that Ballet Baguio is staging in the city, following last December’s The Nutcracker which capped the school’s 20th anniversary celebration. The Christmas ballet featured guest artists from Ballet Manila as well – principal dancer Jessica Pearl Dames as The Sugar Plum Fairy and soloist Sean Pelegrin as The Prince.
“It has always been my dream to see my dancers and the dancers of Ballet Manila onstage, dancing together in a full-length ballet. I believe that this will give my dancers exposure and inspiration to become the next generation of professional dancers in the beautiful and magical world of ballet,” said Go-Ramon.
Limited tickets to Lisa Macuja Elizalde’s Cinderella are available for sale at P500 (orchestra seats) and P1,000 (balcony seats). For inquiries, visit Baguio Ballet (Studio 1), 4th floor Porta Vaga Mall, Baguio City or send a message via the Ballet Baguio Facebook page.
The Stepfamily is portrayed by, from left, Keri Villegas, Simone Co and Michel Quan. Photo by JJ Go
