Ballet Manila 22nd Season preview (July 25, 2017)

Get ready!!! GEEET REAAADY!!! Ballet Manila is killin’ it with their 22nd season!!! Anyone who doesn’t live in a cave has prolly seen or heard somewhere as to how epic Ballet Manila’s Cinderella was last year. Ballet Manila’s goddess, Lisa Macuja, is actually feeling the pressure right now that she put on too much of a show last season that there is nowhere else to go but up when it comes to this season’s offerings.

The 22nd Season is entitled Flights of Fantasy, and mainly, that’s because they’ll be staging their first ever Ibong Adarna ballet (and possibly the first ever in Philippine history), as well as including a classic in Swan Lake. There will of course be elements from Snow White and their Ballet and Ballads production. They’ll have 4 ballets this season, and I’m so excited to see each one!!!

Lisa Macuja is of course happy to be seeing everyone. After all, the mission and vision of Ballet Manila is to bring ballet to the people and to bring people to the ballet. It’s always been important to make ballet accessible to the people.

I dunno if it’s just me, but as a non-ballet dancer, before I started watching Ballet Manila, there was this intimidation that came with ballet. Like it was its own sophisticated world of rules and rigidity I can never understand or be part of. Until I watched Ballet Manila shows last year, and understood that ballet can be fun, exciting, and entertaining. It need not be this rigid world of rules, for it can fluidly tell stories and elicit feelings. I can just be enthralled with what the dancers were doing, to be taken into their world, without having to understand the names or structures of the moves they were doing.

The first of four previews is Ibong Adarna. I feel that this will be very unique as there is this mystery to the concept of Ibong Adarna, that even the lead dancer herself got mixed opinions from different people as to what Ibong Adarna is.

I also feel that this will be the most majestic and breathtaking of all because there indeed is this unexplainable mystic feel to the Ibong Adarna.

They will also be doing Swan Lake as their classical ballet. The preview was a scene of the black swan. I have yet to see the white swan perform in the actual show!!! For those who are looking for classics, this is the classical offering of Ballet Manila this season.

I feel that Snow White will have the best production values amongst all the shows this season. I just feel it. or maybe that’s also because Lisa herself was very pressured as the production levels for Cinderella were so high last year that people expect no less from the next Disney princess the company will be showing. I’m among the people who have really high production value expectations for this hahahaha.

Lisa wants to have a light hearted version, with a mix of elements from the Grimm brothers version and the Disney version. But in general, this will not be the dark kind of Snow White some people might be thinking of.

They will also be staging a contemporary kind of show this season with Ballet and Ballads. This intrigues me the most because unlike the other shows, this will not be so heavy on fantasy or theatrical elements production wise, as far as what is known as of now. It will hinge on the technicalities of dance and the raw emotion the dancers will bring to the audience.

After the preview, the creative directors and dancers of Ballet Manila answered questions from the press and gave deeper insights into what their visions were for the shows.

I am excited!!!! I will be seeing you guys at the shows!!!

Be sure to follow https://www.facebook.com/BalletManilaOfficial/ to be updated as more information becomes available over the latter shows of the season. Ballet Manila is also a school so if you feel that you know someone who could be the future star in one of Ballet Manila’s productions, you may want to send them there as early as now!

The first ballet to be staged for this season is Gerardo Francisco’s “Ibong Adarna” on August 26 at 6:00 p.m. Other performances are on September 2 at 6:00 p.m; August 27 and September 3 at 3:00 p.m. All shows are at the Aliw Theater.

Visit any Ticketworld outlet, buy online at www.ticketworld.com.ph, or call ‎891 9999 for tickets!!!