Floral fest

To celebrate May, the month of flowers, we once again pluck images from the Ballet Manila Archives featuring an assortment of blooms in the company’s shows. Enjoy this year’s lovely bouquet!

Carmen (Lisa Macuja Elizalde) is all fire in her red dress, with matching red flower in her hair and red rouge on her lips. Don Jose (Osias Barroso Jr.) falls to her feminine wiles, seemingly leaving him no choice but to accept the red rose she has offered him – along with the promise of a night of passion. The scene is from Eric V. Cruz’s Carmen (2003). Photo by Ocs Alvarez

Violetta (Abigail Oliveiro) holds the white rose given by Alfredo that symbolizes his love for her in Lisa Macuja Elizalde’s La Traviata, performed in Ballet Manila’s The Silver Gala in Baguio City (2023). In the ballet adaptation of the opera, the rose serves as a recurring motif as the tragic story unfolds. Photo by Giselle P. Kasilag

A frilly red-and-black tutu and a red flower hair accent form the perfect combination for Shaira Comeros dancing as the spitfire Kitri in an excerpt of Don Quixote, part of The Silver Gala (2023) in Baguio City. Photo by Giselle P. Kasilag

In Swan Lake (2017), amid palace celebrations for his 21st birthday, Prince Siegfried (Mark Sumaylo) receives a bunch of white roses from his mother (Lisa Macuja Elizalde) for him to present to Odile whom he mistakes for his beloved Odette.

Princess Aurora (Dawna Reign Mangahas) is giddy with excitement as she receives flowers on her 16th birthday, not knowing that hidden among the blooms is a poisoned needle from the vengeful fairy Carabosse. The scene is from The Sleeping Beauty portion of The Swan, The Fairy and The Princess which also features excerpts from Swan Lake and The Nutcracker, all using the music of Tchaikovsky. Photo by Kurt Alvarez

Already smitten with each other, the pirate Conrad (Romeo Peralta) and the servant Medora (Jasmine Pia Dames) share a playful moment as she tosses a bouquet of flowers for him to catch in this scene from Lisa Macuja Elizalde’s Le Corsaire (2024). Photo by Giselle P. Kasilag

Wearing a dress and matching floral hair ornament in hot pink, Sinderela (Sofia Sangco-Peralta) is determined to make an impression at the audition for a leading lady called by Prinsipe Alcantaro. Hazel Sabas’ Sinderela (2012) is a modern Pinoy version of the popular fairy tale. Photo by Ocs Alvarez

Ballerinas carrying floral arches and dancing in sync make the Naila Waltz one of the most memorable scenes in ballet. The so-called Living Garden amazed once more in Lisa Macuja Elizalde’s Le Corsaire (2024). Photo by Giselle P. Kasilag