Rothbarts rising: John Balagot and Rodney Catubay on portraying one of ballet's iconic villains
Rodney Catubay steps into the sorcerer Von Rothbart’s shoes at the media conference for Ballet Manila’s Swan Lake. Photo by MarBi Photography
By Jv Ramos
True to its mission of bringing ballet to the people, Ballet Manila will soon bring Swan Lake on a performance run at Silliman University in Dumaguete, featuring familiar and new faces to play the classic’s iconic roles.
Soloist John Balagot and company artist Rodney Catubay are all set to take on the cape as the sorcerer Von Rothbart in Swan Lake when Ballet Manila brings the classic to Dumaguete later this month. Photo by Giselle P. Kasilag
Among the new faces to play the story’s evil sorcerer Von Rothbart – who has turned young maidens into swans through a powerful spell – are soloist John Ralp Balagot and company artist Rodney Catubay, who respectively have been the understudies to Ballet Manila’s previous Rothbart performers, company artist Godwin Merano in 2017 and principal dancer Mark Sumaylo in 2025.
“Nu’ng sinabi sa akin noong una na ako ang understudy ni Mark, kinabahan ako, dahil character role ’yun at villain pa,” starts Rodney, who had been informed in March about the assignment. As someone who has grown up dancing princely roles, being a villain meant going out of his comfort zone. “Hindi rin naging madali ang transformation ko dahil sanay ako maging makulit bilang part lagi ng corps. Kung mangulit kasi ako – kahit sa rehearsals lang – nawawala ang pagka-Rothbart!” (When I first found out that I will be Mark’s understudy, I got nervous because Rothbart is a character role and also the villain… Transforming into Rothbart was a bit difficult for me, because I’m so used to joking around with other dancers as part of the corps. When I do this – even just in rehearsals – my being Rothbart disappears.)
“Kung villain ka kasi, kailangan mong mag-internalize lagi, para pagdating na ng show, halos natural ang dating ng pagka-villain mo,” offers John, whose dance resumé includes some memorable anti-heroes, including Atheos in Rudy de Dios’ Carmina Burana, Ahab from the Lola Basyang tale Ang Mahiwagang Biyulin, Tybalt in Romeo & Juliet, Osmalik in the ballet adaptation of Balagtas’ Florante at Laura (2024) and the Stepmother in Lisa Macuja Elizalde’s Cinderella. “Pero kahit naging kontrabida na ako dati, hindi rin naging madali ang pag-transform ko to Rothbart. Ibang klaseng villain kasi si Rothbart. Controlled niya ang lahat, masamang-masama talaga!” (If you’re tasked to be the villain, you need to always internalize so when the show comes, your villain ways come out naturally… But even if I experienced being a villain before, transforming into Rothbart is still challenging. He’s a different kind of villain. He controls everything; he’s really evil!).
In a scene from Rudy De Dios’ Carmina Burana (2020), John Balagot as Atheos is carried by his minions as he tries to lure the new king Spero (Joshua Enciso) to the dark side. Photo by Giselle P. Kasilag
The soloist points out that it’s still a work-in-progress for him as he admits he hasn’t fully captured the nuances of the evil sorcerer yet. “Pinag-aaralan ko pa kung paano siya gumalaw, ang kanyang body language – kung paano siya tumitig, kung paano siya mag-interact sa ibang character, at pati na rin ang awra niya.” (I’m still learning how Rothbart moves, his body language, how he stares, how he interacts with the other characters, and his aura.)
Ballet Manila soloist Stephanie Santiago helps Rodney get into character as Rothbart by applying his make-up for a Swan Lake excerpt at Shangri-La Plaza Mall. Photo by Jv Ramos
To figure out these details, John took advantage of a former ballet master’s recent visit to the studio. “Nu’ng nakita ko si Sir Jay [Jonathan Janolo, who’s now based in Australia], humingi agad ako ng tips tungkol kay Rothbart mula Act 2 hanggang 4, at napaka-helpful ng mga tips niya! Sa Act 3, ni-remind niya ako na kailangan makita pa rin ng audience si Odile [the Black Swan].” (When I saw Sir Jay, I immediately asked him to give me tips on Rothbart from Acts 2 to 4, and he was very helpful. For Act 3, he reminded me that the audience should still see Odile.) Always eager to learn from his peers, John points out that his Atheos, a role he did from scratch, only became a success due to the coaching of teachers and fellow dancers.
As for Rodney, what helped him flesh out the character was Lisa Macuja Elizalde’s analogy that Rothbart is like Voldemort, which she noted in the introduction of a promotional show of Swan Lake. “Dahil sobrang fan ako ng Harry Potter, na-gets ko na kung ano ang kailangan kong maging.” (Because I’m such a huge fan of Harry Potter, I immediately understood what to do with my character.) The company artist points out that like in the book and movie series about a boy wizard where everyone fears Voldemort, in Swan Lake, everyone fears Rothbart, so he had to transform himself into something that would startle people.
John plays Tybalt in the Romeo and Juliet Suite, Sergey Vikulov’s version of Shakespeare’s masterpiece of love and tragedy presented in Iconic 1.0 (2018). Photo by Giselle P. Kasilag
“Naghanap din ako ng feature ko na puwede kong i-capitalize at ito nga ang mata ko na malaki,” adds Rodney, after observing that “He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named” instantly scared people due to his snake-like features. (I also looked for a physical feature that to capitalize on and that would have to be my big eyes.”
Rodney says soloist Stephanie Santiago assisted him in his transformation, applying his Rothbart make-up for the Swan Lake media conference at Aliw Theater and the show featuring excerpts from the classic at Shangri-La Plaza Mall in May. “Ang laki kasi talaga ng tulong ng make-up at costume para mailabas ang pagka-kontrabida namin (Make-up and costumes are really a big help in bringing out the villain in us),” he stresses.
As for executing the steps, both John and Rodney note that Rothbart’s parts can be tricky since the music the character moves to sounds repetitive. “Ako ay ang type ng danseur na dependent sa counting. Kaya para hindi ko ma-miss ang mga cue ni Rothbart, nag-a-apply ako ng sariling counting system,” says Rodney. (I’m the type of danseur who’s dependent on counting. So in order to not miss the cue of Rothbart, I apply my own counting system.)
With arched eyebrows and pouty lips, John (center) transforms into the wicked Stepmother in Lisa Macuja Elizalde’s Cinderella (2018), with Jasmine Pia Dames (left) and Rissa May Camaclang as the Stepsisters. Photo by Ian Santos
“At nagpapasalamat ako na na-share ni Rodney ang counting na ’yan sa akin! Madalas din kami bigyan ng tips ni Mark. Lalong-lalo sa technique,” expresses John, who points out that part of the pressure of learning Rothbart is making sure that one does as well as the principal, but at the same time, leaving one’s own mark on the character. (I’m very grateful that Rodney has been sharing his own counting with me. We also get a lot of tips from Mark, especially when it comes to the technique.)
He adds, “Mataas ang standards na na-set ni Mark. Pinag-aralan niya talaga ang galaw at itsura ni Rothbart. Kaya naman kailangan naming dalawa na mag-work hard talaga. Lagi nga kaming nag-uusap after every run para makabisado namin ang character at steps bago mag-Dumaguete!” (Mark has set such high standards. He gave so much effort in studying the movement and the look of Rothbart, so Rodney and I have to work as hard as him. We even exchange notes after every run, so we can really familiarize ourselves with the character in time for Dumaguete.)
Both Rodney and John take every opportunity to practice Rothbart. The former internalizes the sorcerer when he walks, which makes people around him think that he’s mad; while the latter practices his Rothbart evil stares and expressions of obsession in front of the mirror.
Rodney is Haring Langay to Stephanie Santiago’s Marya Loleng in Ang Kapatid ng Tatlong Marya, one of the stories in Tatlong Kuwento ni Lola Basyang (2024). Photo by Giselle P. Kasilag
“Nag-e-enjoy naman kami sa pag-explore ng iba’t-ibang aspects ng character,” claims Rodney. “Challenging pero nag-e-enjoy dahil ang lawak din ng imahinasyon ko. Naiisip ko rin nga ang backstory ng villain na ito.” (We’re enjoying exploring different aspects of the character… Rothbart is really challenging for me, but I’m enjoying it too since I have a wild imagination. There are even times when I think of the backstory of this villain.)
Having been trained to always support the ballerina, John chimes in, “Very excited din ako na makasayaw si Pearl at Pia [Dames, who are both principals of Ballet Manila] bilang Odette [the White Swan] at Odile. Kailangan siyempre matulungan ko sila na ilabas ang swan characters nila.” (I’m also very excited about being able to dance with Pearl and Pia as Odette and Odile. I’d of course like to be of help to them as they bring out their swan characters.)
