‘Cinderella’ attends the ball in Taiwan once more
The poster announcing Cinderella’s shows on October 3 and 4 at the Taoyuan Arts Center
Two years after its successful staging of Lisa Macuja Elizalde’s Cinderella in Taiwan, Ballet Manila is bringing back the fairy tale adaptation to the same country.
Ballet Manila principal dancers Abigail Oliveiro and Mark Sumaylo, as Cinderella and The Prince, ride the magical pumpkin carriage towards their happy ending. The photo is from the staging of the fairy tale ballet in Malaysia in 2025. Photo by Larry Salgado
Cinderella will be presented on October 3 and 4 at the Taoyuan Arts Center.
Produced and presented by DunQing Dance, the production features principal dancers, soloists and company artists from Ballet Manila in collaboration with approximately 60 young performers from the Zhongli Youth Ballet, including students from elementary, junior high and senior high school who are part of Talented Dance Class programs across Taoyuan.
The principal dancers will participate in intensive training, artistic exchange and rehearsals in both Taoyuan and Manila. By bringing international ballet professionals together with young dancers from Taiwan, the production celebrates the timeless artistry of classical ballet while fostering meaningful cultural exchange across cities, generations and communities.
Cinderella takes audiences on an enchanted journey from a forest to the royal ball as the title character is transformed from a servant into a princess by her fairy godmother and goes on a fateful ride on a pumpkin carriage to meet the prince.
Yung Yu Chang, artistic director of DunQing Dance and Zhongli Youth Ballet
When the clock strikes midnight and the magic fades, Cinderella runs and ends up leaving behind one of her glass slippers. The prince then goes on a wide-ranging quest in search of the shoe’s rightful owner – the girl whom he has fallen in love with.
Principal dancers Abigail Oliveiro and Mark Sumaylo will dance as Cinderella and The Prince once more. The cast also includes the following principal dancers in their respective roles: Romeo Peralta Jr. as The Duke, Jasmine Pia Dames as The Short Stepsister and Stephanie Santiago as The Tall Stepsister.
The Ballet Manila delegation also includes soloists Rodney Catubay, Jos David Andes and Noah Esplana, and company artists Marinette Franco (The Stepmother), Loraine Gaile Jarlega (The Fairy Godmother), Alvin Dictado, Jamil Montibon, Jefferson Balute, Raymond Salcedo, John Carl Concepcion and John Stanley Alamer.
Lisa Macuja Elizalde, artistic director of Ballet Manila and choreographer of Cinderella
From Zhongli Youth Ballet, the company dancers performing roles such as foreign princesses, tailors and ballroom couples are Chih Chieh Chang, Pin Han Hsu, Hui Ching Lee, Chiao Chu Hsieh, Shu Ting Pai, Hsin Hui Pan, Li Ying Peng, Kai Ssu Chiu, Yu Chiao Lo, Hsien Ya Tsou and Yu Hsuan Hsiao.
A host of local apprentices will also be taking on roles as flowers, birds, butterflies, fairy helpers, trumpeters, ballroom guests and clocks.
The partnership between Ballet Manila and DunQing Dance first started in 2023 when the latter was invited to perform at the Taoyuan Iron Rose Festival. They enlisted Ballet Manila to join them and together worked on presenting The Nutcracker. This was followed in 2024 by Cinderella, and in 2024 by Snow White, both choreographed by Ballet Manila artistic director Lisa Macuja Elizalde which are the first two ballets in her Princess Trilogy.
