Finding Snow White and the Prince: Abigail Oliveiro and Mark Sumaylo chase happy-ever-after in another fairy tale
Husband and wife in real life, Mark Sumaylo and Abigail Oliveiro are paired up anew as a couple on stage in Snow White where they get to dance a series of pas de deux. Photo by Giselle P. Kasilag
By Jv Ramos
Principal dancers Abigail Oliveiro and Mark Sumaylo have seen every version of Lisa Macuja-Elizalde’s Snow White. Since Ballet Manila premiered it in 2017, this ballerina and her prince in real life have portrayed the Evil Queen and the Huntsman, respectively, several times that they never expected to be cast as the fairy tale’s lead characters.
Principal dancers Mark Sumaylo and Abigail Oliveiro will perform as the lead characters in Snow White as Lisa Macuja Elizalde’s fairy tale ballet makes its international debut in Taiwan. Photo by Giselle P. Kasilag
Now, they’re stepping into these roles for the first time as Ballet Manila brings Snow White to Taiwan in its international debut. The second ballet in Macuja Elizalde’s Princess Trilogy, it will be presented during the Iron Rose Festival on November 1 and 2 at the Taoyuan Arts Center, in a collaboration with Zhongli Youth Ballet. Aside from the shows in Taiwan, Abi and Mark are also one of the pairs cast in the leads when Snow White returns to Aliw Theater in December as the featured production in Ballet Manila’s Holiday Cheer series.
“It’s not like I had written this role off; I just didn’t see myself in it,” admits Abi, who, with Mark, recently finished a successful run of Cinderella in Malaysia. And while Snow White is a princess as well, she felt that the role is far from the way she looks and where her mindset as a dancer is at. “The ballerinas who have been cast in the past were usually petite and cute, and I’m not like that. And there’s also the question of, if I’m too overgrown for the role. Through the years, they’ve spent so much time asking us to mature for roles. So I had my hesitations at the beginning. I kept asking if I could un-mature and capture the innocence and youthfulness of my character.”
Abi, who has stepped into complex roles such as Giselle, Carmen, and Odette and Odile, even notes that she couldn’t hear the princess’ voice inside her head in the beginning. “I’m the type of dancer who could hear a different voice for every character I’ve portrayed, and for some time, Snow White was just silent!”
Mark was hesitant at first to portray the dark character that is Von Rothbart in Swan Lake (2025), but in the end, he decided to accept the challenge. Photo by Larry Salgado
How Abi eventually managed to bring Snow White out was through her partner’s help. “Mark kept telling me to just capture the essence and come up with my own version. That advice reminded me there’s something exciting about this. It’s not really about going outside of my comfort zone; it’s just something new for me.”
While being cast as the Prince was also an unexpected assignment for Mark, he didn’t go through a period of hesitation like Abi did. He, in fact, was very grateful for the pressure of having to learn a new role quickly. “I find ballet hard. So I already expect that any role given to me is hard. But this is also what keeps me going as a dancer. I don’t like things to be all ‘plateau.’ Because if it were, I won’t be motivated to keep going.”
The principal dancer also expresses that there shouldn’t be a difference in the way a dancer works when assigned a different kind of role. “I always prepare and give every role my 101 percent. It doesn’t matter if I’m just at the back or if I’m dancing as the prince.”
Abi, as Maleficent in Sleeping Beauty (2020), on playing the villain: “You get to ‘texturize’ your character, and in a way, have more fun with the process.” Photo by Giselle P. Kasilag
Asked how he approaches the two princes in Cinderella and Snow White, Mark – who spends a lot of time researching about the characters he portrays – is quick to point out that the former is more playful while the latter is more serious. “The role is pretty heavy and closer to me and what I’m feeling, so I’m actually having a lot of fun exploring the character.”
Considering that this couple has played some of the most memorable villains in ballet – the Evil Queen in Snow White and Maleficent in Sleeping Beauty for Abi and Von Rothbart in Swan Lake and Sultan Ali-Adab in Florante at Laura for Mark – we couldn’t help but ask which they prefer doing more. “That’s difficult to answer. I had so much fun when I was the Evil Queen, and now that I can hear her voice, I’m having so much fun being Snow White as well,” replies Abi. “I guess, what I could say is I’m very lucky to experience being the villain and the princess as a dancer. When you’re the villain, you get to ‘texturize’ your character, and in a way, have more fun with the process. And when you’re the hero, the challenge there is to retain your happy, and even giddy, and euphoric state not just in all the acts but for several shows!”
“I agree! We’re very fortunate and thankful to be given all sorts of roles,” chimes in Mark. “I think between the two, it’s being a villain that’s harder to do. When you’re the villain, you’re expected to appear powerful all throughout the ballet and that can be difficult to sustain.”
In previous shows of Snow White, Abi has played the Evil Queen to Mark’s Huntsman. In this scene, she orders him to take Snow White out into the forest and cut out the princess’ heart to give to her. Photo by Giselle P. Kasilag
Here, the danseur underlines that no matter what’s assigned to him, he makes it his job to protect it. Mark does so by doing all the preparations he could do on his personal time and in rehearsals. “So when it’s time to perform, it’s not difficult to convince the audience that you’re your character.”
Abi adds, “When preparing for a role, especially one that involves a lot of pas de deux, we also want to spend a lot of time cleaning it up as much as possible. So that when you’re on stage, you can just focus on having fun and being your character.”
Now ready to take Ballet Manila’s Snow White to the stage in Taiwan, these principals share that there’s something so special about one’s “firsts.” Abi expresses, “I mean, sure, it’s always fun to revisit and delve into things more. I thoroughly enjoy that process, but there’s nothing like the rush of experiencing something for the first time. You can never go through such an experience again. This is exciting for me… for us! It’s an opportunity that’s awesome!”
“There’s nothing like the rush of experiencing something for the first time,” enthuses Abi, who will be making her debut as Snow White to Mark’s Prince, also his debut in that role. Photo by Giselle P. Kasilag
