The Ballet Manila Archives is the repository of documents, print, photographic, audio and video materials and memorabilia relating to the history of Ballet Manila and the life and career of its founder, prima ballerina Lisa Macuja-Elizalde. This site is powered by Ms. Elizalde and Project Art, Inc.
Ballet Manila has showcased a rich palette of hues in its productions over the years. Now, the company’s true colors are revealed! Gathering photographs from the Ballet Manila Archives, we present the vibrant and the somber, the heavenly to the earthy, in a series of virtual exhibitions – one shade at a time.
Shades of blue gauzy material form the skirt of Sofia Sangco-Peralta as she executes her part in Webber Trio, choreographed by Rudy De Dios and Francis Jaena to the music of Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber. The number, showcased in Ballet & Ballads with the West End Mamas (2013), features six other dancers. Photo by Ocs Alvarez
Raymond Salcedo and Shamira Drapete dazzle in royal blue as they dance to the bouncy ditty that is Magandang Gabi, part of the OPM Suite featured in Ballet Manila’s The Silver Gala (2023) in Baguio City. Photo by Giselle P. Kasilag
Sea creatures in turquoise inhabit the kingdom of the sharks in Ang Kapatid ng Tatlong Maria, from Severino Reyes’ Tatlong Kuwento ni Lola Basyang (2011). In the story, Pedro searches for his three missing sisters and finds one in this underwater enclave headed by Haring Urano. Photo by Ocs Alvarez
Anselmo Dictado and Jessa Balote are a perfect pair in matching outfits of blue – with sparkly accents on her tutu and on his top, paired with white tights – as they perform the Grand Pas Classique in Two! (2014). Photo by Ocs Alvarez
The seashore maidens in Lisa Macuja Elizalde’s Le Corsaire (2024) wear delicate aquamarine, reflecting hues in the seascape backdrop, as they dance before being sold off by the slave trader Lankadem. Photo by Giselle P. Kasilag
The destructive Gunaw (Francis Cascaño) marshals his men – all of them in blue bottoms – into waging war against nature in Alamat: Si Sibol at Si Gunaw (2012). In the environmental fable, Gunaw fights against his sister Sibol who is a nurturer and like their mother Luningning is a true eco warrior. Photo by Ocs Alvarez
Two rows of ballerinas in blue tutus give the dream sequence in Act 2 of Don Quixote (2012) that otherworldly air as they portray dryads in an enchanted garden. Photo by Jojo Mamangun
