By Jv Ramos

The origin story of Ballet Manila’s Florante at Laura began as early as 2017. Upon the company’s successful staging of the Filipino classic Ibong Adarna, artistic director Lisa Macuja Elizalde thought it would be wonderful  if they could also do a full-length ballet based on another beloved literary work. 

Ibong Adarna choreographer Gerardo Francisco Jr. was enthusiastically challenged by the idea, especially since the epic poem had never been turned into a ballet before. But it’s only after several years that this ambitious project would finally be realized.

Apart from the pandemic interrupting the performing arts scene everywhere and subsequent changes taking place within Ballet Manila itself, Florante at Laura required the right creative minds to be presented well through dance. Which was why the company brought in National Artist for Music Ryan Cayabyab to compose the original score and orchestration, esteemed poet and professor Michael M. Coroza as libretto consultant, theater stalwarts Mio Infante and John Batalla for the set design and lighting design respectively, and the creative team of Make It Happen led by Otto and Therese Hernandez (who were also part of Ibong Adarna) for the costume design. 

For the all-important choreography, Macuja Elizalde also tapped the company’s long-time collaborator Martin Lawrance to work together with Gerardo “Geri” Francisco Jr. “It’s great that Martin is onboard because Florante at Laura is such a big project, and what I like about Martin as my co-choreographer is that he’s open to ideas. Whenever I say that I want this part of the story to be approached in a particular way, he listens and sees what he could do with the dancers,” shares Geri in Lisa’s show Art 2 Art where he and Martin are guests for an episode airing on October 6.

“While this is the first time each of us is collaborating with another choreographer, the transition was seamless, since I’ve been working with Geri since 2013,” adds Martin, whose first full-length with Ballet Manila was Rebel (2016) wherein Geri danced the role of the dictator Ferdinand. 

Geri — who is also a principal dancer of BM — has indeed helped breathe life into a variety of Martin’s works, including the Shakespeare-based Amid Shadows in 2016, the Beatles-inspired The Winding Road in 2019, and the Filipino-flavored full-length Romeo & Juliet in 2023 wherein Geri was Juliet’s suitor Paris. 

Martin comments, “As a dancer, Geri is brilliant, and he carries that brilliance to his choreography. Every day that I see him work with the dancers really is inspiring. It is an honor to be choreographing with him.” 

So how did these two choreographers take on the daunting task of translating the epic poem into dance? Martin puts forward that getting a librettist was helpful as they were able to see the sequencing and important parts of Florante at Laura more clearly. It’s also with Dr. Coroza’s guidance that they managed to identify the flow of events and the Acts that they’d be a match for. 

“I’m working on Act 1, while Martin is doing Act 2. Act 3 involves us both, and along the way, we also saw that some parts in Act 1 needed to be more of a collaboration between us, so we’re working on that together too,” explains Geri.

And though they have stuck to their respective personal choreographic approaches, both agreed to attack Florante at Laura in the same manner. Geri emphasizes, “From the beginning, we wanted the ballet to be very different from how ballets are done. Martin and I wanted a cinematic effect to it, so when audiences see Florante at Laura, it doesn’t feel like an ordinary ballet. It’s like they’re watching a movie.”

The great thing about Florante at Laura, as the two choreographers point out, is that it has so many varied elements to it. The story doesn’t just revolve around the love between Florante and Laura. There are kingdoms at war, conflict between Christians and Muslims, and the story tackles many heavy themes, including power and oppression, unwavering friendship and betrayal, and the quest for justice.

“As I was doing my research for Florante at Laura, I realized that though it was written by a Filipino, its content is not exclusively Filipino. I also found Michael’s explanation – that it’s an awit (song) or a work that’s meant to be sung – to be very helpful. That gave me an idea to make the ballet feel lyrical and yet still have its sharp parts,” adds Martin who, earlier in the process, found the epic poem “quite complex” despite already being given its English translation. 

“I came up with sketches as soon as I got to know the story, but upon getting the music of Ryan Cayabyab, there were some sketches that I had to throw out, since it didn’t make any sense with the music,” Martin admits. “I’m the kind of choreographer who’s usually music-first. I have to hear the music before coming up with steps.” 

Geri, on the other hand, can choreograph without any music, so usually, when the assigned score comes in, he would adjust the timing of the music to the steps he initially put together to create a dance that’s more cohesive and impactful. Regardless of the way they approach choreography, however, Geri says that he and Martin, as seasoned choreographers, could creatively put together steps for scenarios that aren’t often seen in dances. 

The protagonist Florante’s iconic scene, for instance, wherein he’s tied to a tree — expressing both anger and despair — is tackled by Geri through a mix of leg work and emotion. Geri notes, “I told Joshua (Enciso, principal dancer) that more than showing his feet and body struggling, it’s very important that his facial emotions show the pain that Florante has been through. Dance, after all, is more than the movement of one’s arms and legs.” 

Martin relates, “When I saw Joshua perform that choreography by Geri in the studio, my reaction was, ‘Gosh! Joshua’s facial features really conveyed that Florante’s struggle is real.’ That part alone is such a brilliant piece of choreography and there’s so much more in Florante at Laura to look forward to.” He adds that they made sure the dances didn’t feel redundant, even if several battle sequences are present in the story. 

“I truly think that it’s going to be an epic adventure for the audience the way it has been for us. Every day in the studio, we are able to come up with something new, and it’s been such a wonderful journey, especially with the number of creative minds involved,” says the British choreographer. 

Geri underscores that through this ballet, he hopes that audiences would be able to see how excellent the writing of Francisco Baltazar (also known as Francisco Balagtas is, as well as what ballet adaptations could do for literary masterpieces. “Another thing Martin and I agreed on is we don’t want the audiences to just be entertained. We want this ballet to also teach, and for viewers to remember the story and lessons of Florante at Laura!”

Photos by Giselle P. Kasilag