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.
In the Chinese Zodiac, the snake is synonymous to wisdom, intelligence and charm. The shedding of its skin is said to represent transformation. But on the opposite end of the spectrum, it is also thought to signify deceit and duplicity. As the Year of the Snake begins, we look back at Ballet Manila’s “hiss-tery” – those moments when serpents of differing sizes slithered their way on to the stage and into the spotlight.
Snake lady Medusa (Elline Damian, third from left) and her minions are a menacing force in Jean Paul Comelin’s Firebird (2000). But she is no match for the Shaman who vanquishes her and who returns to find the villagers she had turned into stone come to life again. Photo by Ocs Alvarez
In La Bayadere (2004), the temple dancer Nikiya (Lisa Macuja Elizalde, right) reacts in shock after being bitten by a snake hidden in the basket of flowers she was carrying while performing in the palace. While the snake has been wrestled away from her, it is too late, as its venom soon seeps through her veins and leads to her death. Photo by Ocs Alvarez
The snake in Ang Kapatid ng Tatlong Marya – one of Severino Reyes’ stories making up Tatlong Kuwento ni Lola Basyang (2011) – lives up to its villainous reputation. Dancing and writhing in front of the ancient tree called the kolesmeloko, it convinces Teong to cut down the tree where he picks healing leaves with the promise of a treasure hidden beneath. Photo by Ocs Alvarez
In the same Lola Basyang story which premiered in 2011, Teong lives to regret cutting down the tree. Because as soon as he does, a big snake emerges and abducts Teong’s three daughters, never to be seen again until the sisters’ younger brother embarks on a quest to find them. The giant snake with colorful scales is actually held aloft by a team of fifteen dancers. Photo by Ocs Alvarez
In the 2024 restaging of Tatlong Kuwento ni Lola Basyang, the lone snake becomes two in Ang Kapatid ng Talong Marya. Husband-and-wife principal dancers Mark Sumaylo and Abigail Oliveiro launch into a sinuous pas de deux. With snakes crowning their heads and encircling their torsos and limbs, they persuade the unwitting Teong into doing their bidding. Photo by Giselle P. Kasilag
