Rafael Perez and Shamira Drapete: Making Florante and Laura their own in their first full-length debut
Sharmira and Paeng worried about not meeting the gold standard set by principal dancers Abigail Oliveiro and Joshua Enciso but they just focused on putting in the work to make Florante at Laura their own. Photo by Erickson Dela Cruz
By Jv Ramos
The recent repeat performances of Ballet Manila’s Florante at Laura at the Aliw Theater included debut performances of the story’s titular roles from soloist Rafael “Paeng” Perez and company artist Shamira Drapete. It was the first time for the two of them to dance a full-length ballet, and they are relieved to have managed to successfully take on the challenging roles and, more importantly, to have been able to make the roles their own.
After Florante at Laura, soloist Rafael “Paeng” Perez and company artist Shamira Drapete agree they are looking forward to more partnerships in the future, including the classics. Photo by Giselle P. Kasilag
Paeng recalls that when Florante at Laura co-choreographer Gerardo Francisco Jr. started mapping out the steps for the male lead on principal dancer Joshua Enciso in 2024, it crossed his mind that he would like to experience dancing the role too one day. But even then he knew it wouldn’t be easy to learn. Paeng remembers seeing how his good friend Joshua, after performing key scenes from the ballet, would have an electric fan all to himself backstage to cool down as the warrior-prince’s scenes were very action-packed and required a lot of stamina.
But Paeng notes that Florante at Laura became more of a challenge for his partner who only learned she would dance as Laura a few weeks before opening night. In early September, Ballet Manila had gone to Malaysia to perform artistic director Lisa Macuja Elizalde’s Cinderella. When they returned, the recently promoted company artist was assigned to do Laura due to a last-minute cast change. “I guess, for me, the main challenge was overcoming those thoughts of having very little time to prepare and that I’m the youngest company dancer, who is expected to dance not just a principal role but a very important role,” shares Shamira.
Thinking of the push and pull of Laura’s situation, as pointed out by principal dancer Abigal Oliveiro, helped Shamira understand what her character was constantly going through. Photo by Giselle P. Kasilag
“Thankfully, Ate Abi (Abigail Oliveiro, Ballet Manila principal dancer) has always been very helpful. She been very supportive when I had to dance Giselle and Cinderella, and it was the same for Laura. I even told her once that for as long as she’s around, I know that I will be okay. And, of course, I’m also very thankful for my partner. Kuya Paeng is a very hard worker, and he didn’t mind coming in during days-off to work on the dances with me. He also kept asking if I was comfortable whenever we were learning our pas de deux.”
“Ang turo kasi sa aming mga danseurs ay dapat laging kumportable ang partner mo. Kaya ayun, tanong nang tanong ako kung kumportable siya sa mga sayaw naming dalawa,” comments Paeng. “Ang maganda sa partnership namin ay pareho kaming seryoso sa ballet. Kaya nu’ng sinabi sa amin na kami ang magiging Florante at Laura, nagsimula na agad ang pagtatrabaho namin.” (What they teach us danseurs is to make sure that your partner is comfortable. So I kept asking her if she was comfortable with our dances together. What’s beautiful about our partnership is we both take ballet seriously. So as soon as we found out we’d be Florante and Laura, we immediately started the work.)
Since their roles were originally choreographed for Joshua Enciso and Abigail Oliveiro, Paeng and Shamira were admittedly pressured by the idea that they wouldn’t be able meet the gold standard set by the two principal dancers. But along the way, as they learned their characters, they realized that part of dancing the roles well was to make these their own.
In one of the most emotional scenes for Paeng, he kept weeping even after he had already exited the stage. It’s the moment where he really felt he became Florante, he says. Photo by Erickson Dela Cruz
“Nu’ng palapit na ang mga showdates, nag-decide ako na itigil na ang pagpapanood ko sa video ni Joshua. Ang galing-galing ng Florante niya, pero nu’ng na-realize ko na nasisira ang isip ko tuwing may hindi ako nagagawa na ginagawa niya, nag-decide ako na mag-focus sa pagsayaw ng steps kung paano ko alam siyang gawin para mahanap ko ang Florante ko. (When the showdates were nearing, I decided to stop watching the video of Joshua. He’s such a good Florante, but upon realizing that I’d go crazy each time I couldn’t do something he would do, I decided to just focus on going through the steps the way I know how to so I could find my own Florante.)
Paeng adds, “Alam din ni Joshua iyan – na may sari-sariling paraan ang mga dancers. Kaya naman kapag nag-a-advise siya, hindi niya ako binabago. Nagbibigay lang siya ng tips kung saan ko puwedeng bagalan para mas magandang tignan ang kilos.” (Joshua knows this well too – that we all have different ways as dancers. So when he gives advice, he doesn’t attempt to change me. He just gives me tips on where to slow things down, so the moves look better.)
“Unlike Kuya Paeng, sa huli ko lang na-realize na mahalaga kong mapakita ang version ko ni Laura. Umabot ako sa point na sinasabihan ako na… dance less like Abi and be more like Shamira,” recalls the young ballerina. (Unlike Kuya Paeng, it was towards the end that I realized how important it was to show my very own Laura.) “At first, all I would focus on to get into character was ‘What would Laura do?’ I didn’t think of ‘What would Shamira do?’ to make Laura my own, I decided to let go – I tend to be very in my head sometimes – when we performed, and I’m happy that the choreographers appreciated the change.”
Their debut performance in the lead roles of Florante at Laura was capped by hearty congratulations from Ballet Manila artistic director Lisa Macuja Elizalde. Photo by Erickson Dela Cruz
As with any role, memorizing the steps is just half of the work; it’s getting into the character that becomes the difficult part. And for Paeng and Shamira, the most difficult part was convincing the audience that their characters have a deep romantic connection.
“Ako ang type ng dancer na kung hindi ko mararamdaman ang isang bagay, hindi ko ito mailalabas,” explains Paeng. “Kaya naman, para maipakita ko na mahal ko si Laura, nagtanong ako sa nakakatandang danseurs kung paano nila na-i-internalize ang feelings ng character. Ang nakatulong sa akin ay ang sinabi ni Kuya Balagot (John Ralp Balagot, soloist, who played Sultan Ali-Adab who was inappropriately obsessed with a Flerida). Sinabihan niya ako na mag-focus sa magagandang qualities ng ka-partner at doon ako humugot ng feelings. Nu’ng nag-focus ako sa good qualities ni Shamira, nakuha ko nang i-internalize ang nararamdaman ni Florante kay Laura.” (I’m the type of dancer who cannot show something that I don’t really feel. So in order to show that I’m in love with Laura, I asked for tips from the more mature dancers on how they’re able to internalize the feelings of their character. What really helped was the tip of Kuya Balagot… He advised me to focus on the good qualities of my partner and to pull feelings from there. When I did that, I was able to easily internalize what Florante felt for Laura.)
“Ako naman, para makuha ko ang character ni Laura, nag-text ako sa Filipino teacher ko at humingi ng tips. Nagbigay siya ng descriptions kung sino si Laura at nagpadala rin ng link sa YouTube ng black and white movie ng Florante at Laura. Nakatulong ang mga ito sa pag-bring out ko kay Laura. Siyempre, nakatulong din ang mga notes ni Ate Abi. (As for me, to get into the character of Laura, I texted my Filipino teacher and asked for tips. My teacher replied with descriptions of Laura and sent me a YouTube link to a black and white movie version of Florante at Laura, which helped me understand my character more. Of course, Ate Abi’s notes also really helped me.)
Paeng says out loud where he thinks his ballet journey will lead, believing it helps in making the vision come true. Photo by Giselle P. Kasilag
Ballet Manila’s original Laura explained to Shamira that what the character is going through is so stressful. Laura is in love but cannot say it; she doesn’t want Florante to leave, but she has to let him go. Thinking of the push and pull of Laura’s situation helped Shamira understand what her character was constantly going through.
Asked what their favorite parts of the choreography were, Paeng points to the moment when his dominance as a warrior-prince ends due to the betrayal of Adolfo and other soldiers. “Ito ang part bago mag-intermission, kung saan nakapaligid silang lahat sa akin at wala na akong magawa. Gusto ko ito kasi dito ko naramdaman ang pagiging Florante ko, na kahit nag-exit na ako ng stage, hagulgol pa rin ako dahil sa bigat ng pinagdaanan ng character ko.’ (This is the part before the intermission where soldiers are surrounding me and I can no longer fight them off. I like this scene because it’s the moment where I really felt that I became Florante. Even when I exited the stage, I was still bawling because I really felt the heavy emotion my character was going through.)
As for Shamira, she loved the part when Laura is being chased through a forest by the traitor Adolfo and gets rescued by an arrow shot by the runaway Flerida, portrayed by principal ballerina Pearl Dames. “I really like the way that part was choreographed. Apart from that, I also really like the two pas de deux we did as Florante at Laura,” she adds, noting that it still surprises her how she was able to do a more contemporary style well.
Shamira says getting inputs from her Filipino teacher was beneficial in fleshing out the role of Laura. Photo by Giselle P. Kasilag
“One of the things that got me through my worries at the beginning was trusting the idea that the teachers saw something in me, which is why they cast me as Laura. I just needed to put in the work to be able to meet their expectations, and I’m glad that I got their approval after our show.”
In a gratitude post on Facebook, Paeng gave a shoutout to their artistic director “for seeing something in us and giving us this incredible opportunity.” He also thanked choreographers Gerardo Francisco Jr. and Martin Lawrance for their “unending support (and) patience, and for shaping every steph and every breath.”
At the moment, Paeng and Shamira are busy preparing for Ballet Manila’s upcoming Cinderella performance in Indonesia and the holiday run of Snow White at Aliw Theater.
“Siyempre, open at looking forward din kami sa mga future partnerships namin, kahit mahirap na classic pa iyan,” declares Paeng, who has made it a habit to say out loud where he thinks his ballet journey will lead. (Definitely, we’re open and looking forward to our future partnerships, even if that’s a difficult classic.)
“Tama, puwede na kami mag-rehearse para sa susunod naming partnership,” jokingly says Shamira. (He’s right. We can already start rehearsing for our next partnership.) “But really, I think Kuya Paeng’s makulit (mischievous) nature has helped my dancing. Whenever he’d suddenly laugh or make a joke when we’re rehearsing, I get reminded that it’s okay to let go at times. I really am looking forward to more partnering with him.”
Paeng says the great thing about the partnership with Shamira is they both take ballet seriously. They know they can rely on each other – and still manage to laugh along the way. Photo by Giselle P. Kasilag
“O, di ba? You’re learning how to be more patient when I’m your partner,” Paeng teases, never letting go of his playful side. “Pero seryoso, ready kaming aralin ang iba pang ibigay sa amin na role. Passion ko talaga ang ballet kaya naman motivated ako lagi na gawin ang next performance.” (But seriously, we’re ready to study whatever role is assigned to us. Ballet is my passion, so I’m always motivated to work on my next performance.)
“Same lang din po ako. Dahil mahal ko ang ginagawa ko, I just want to put in the work,” concludes Shamira. (It’s the same for me. Because I love what I’m doing, I just want to put in the work.)
Paeng, in his Facebook post, not only thanked his partner but shared a wish that may just happen in the future. He wrote, acknowledging Shamira, “What an honor to share this milestone with you. Our first full-length together… may it be the first of many.”
