This Month in BM History: March 2016
Bloom, Annabelle Lopez Ochoa’s first choreographic work for an Asian dance company, is inspired by rituals and prayer.
To cap its 20th season in March 2016, and in anticipation of the next to come, Ballet Manila put together BM 21: A Ballet Concert.
Abigail Oliveiro performs as a Lead Shade, or the spirit of a temple dancer, in La Bayadere’s “Kingdom of the Shades.”
Digging deep into the company’s history and sifting through its wealth of repertoire, artistic director Lisa Macuja Elizalde – in her director’s notes – wrote how fun it was to craft a tailor-fit program. “One that brings out not only the individual strengths of our principals and soloists, but also challenges the collective strength of all company artists – including the second company dancers and trainees from the school.”
BM 21 had three key components.
First, there was Act 3 from La Bayadere also known as “The Kingdom of the Shades.” Ballet Manila had first performed this full-length ballet in 2004 as restaged by Lisa’s Russian mentors, Tatiana Udalenkova and Sergei Vikulov. Heeding the former’s reminder that a ballet company’s strength is built on the classics, the choice was but fitting. “(It) is a piece that highlights what we do best: a white tutu ballet that features our lovely ballerinas, all dancing as one!”
Carmen (Dawna Reign Mangahas) moves on to her next conquest, the bullfighter Escamillo (Alfren Salgado) in this scene from Eric V. Cruz’s Carmen.
Second, there was Bloom, a commissioned piece from Belgian-Colombian choreographer Annabelle Lopez Ochoa that had premiered the previous year in BM’s 20th anniversary concert. Proving the versatility of the company in the modern/ contemporary genre, it was also a nod to all its 24 danseurs included in the piece, giving them the opportunity to showcase fierce dancing and fiery energy.
Third, there was Carmen, a nod to founding artistic director Eric V. Cruz whose signature choreography in BM’s early years had become an enduring piece for the company in the ensuing two decades. Lisa considered it a timeless classic that BM will continue to hand down to its next generations of dancers and audiences. The tragic romance between Carmen and Don Jose, she said, was one that has been told and retold by the company from the very beginning. Thus, she called it a fitting finale and a much deserved tribute to a beloved mentor as BM turned 21.
