Three of a Kind: Labor of love

They say that good things come in threes and the Ballet Manila Archives wholeheartedly agrees! In this series, we feature three photos or videos with the same theme that celebrates the history of ballet, the company, and its dancers.

Labor Day, observed on May 1 every year, honors the contributions of workers to economic development. It is also a time when calls are renewed for fair wages, safe working conditions, and labor rights. For this significant commemoration, we show the varied portrayals of the workforce that have been seen on the Ballet Manila stage.

Ang Mahiwagang Biyulin, one-third of the ballet comprising Tatlong Kuwento ni Lola Basyang, is a story that best illustrates unfair labor practice as it casts an exploitative boss in Ahab opposite an oppressed worker in Rodrigo. The young man is the family’s breadwinner, but no matter how hard he toils, Rodrigo only gets a pittance from Ahab who later refuses to give him just wages altogether.

In this scene from the premiere of the Lola Basyang trilogy (2008), Rodrigo (Gerardo Francisco Jr., left) starts working for Ahab (Marcus Tolentino), not knowing he has fallen into unscrupulous hands. It will take a magic violin for Rodrigo to force Ahab to pay him the salary he is owed. Photo by Ocs Alvarez

Gerardo Francisco’s OFW is his tribute to the people dubbed as the country’s modern heroes, the initials standing for overseas Filipino workers. The nine-minute choreography depicts a pair of OFWs and the struggles they face as they strive to earn a living for their family, sometimes even paying the ultimate sacrifice.

In a promo photo for OFW which they were to present in their hometown of Cagayan De Oro (2020), John Balagot and Mark Sumaylo are the blue-collar workers about to begin their employment in a foreign land, separated from loved ones. Photo by MarBi Photography

“Heigh-ho/ heigh-ho/ It’s off to work we go…” Can there be any more cheerful workers than those in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs? After all, the diminutive fellows have made it a habit to sing gleefully as they march to work and do the same as they head back home. One day, they find a stranger in their hut, the princess Snow White, who becomes their friend and carer.

In one of several re-stagings of Lisa Macuja Elizalde’s fairy-tale ballet, the Seven Dwarfs not only have their shovels and axes in hand, but have ready smiles on their faces – all set for another day of honest labor at the diamond mines. Heigh-ho, indeed! Photo by Jeanne Young