Return of the Swan Queens
In 2017, Ballet Manila introduced three new Swan Queens – ballerinas that would take on the dual lead roles of Odette and Odile in the beloved classic, Swan Lake. Katherine Barkman partnered with Joseph Phillips, Abigail Oliveiro with Mark Sumaylo, and Joan Emery Sia with Rudy De Dios.
The Queens have since taken different paths in pursuing their passion. Katherine is currently dancing with San Francisco Ballet while Joan has been performing with the Florida Ballet. Abigail has remained with Ballet Manila and is now a principal dancer.
This coming May, Ballet Manila is bringing back Swan Lake for the first time since the Star City fire and the pandemic with two of the Swan Queens returning to the Aliw Theater stage where they debuted the role. Katherine will be performing with fellow San Francisco Ballet dancer Esteban Hernandez as Prince Siegfrid while Abigail will be partnered with Nathaniel Remez, also with the San Francisco Ballet.
In this clip, we look back on the successful debuts of Katherine and Abigail when both ballerinas performed their respective first full-length Swan Lake.
