Ballet Manila starts 2017 with Spanish flair in Don Quixote

Ballet Manila starts 2017 with a lot of Spanish flair and technical fireworks as the company presents Don Quixote in a limited one weekend run this February 24-26, 2017 at the Aliw Theater.

This upcoming production sees the emergence of three new Kitris: Katherine Barkman, Pia Dames, and Dawna Mangahas. The three follow in the footsteps of Ballet Manila’s CEO and Co-Artistic Director Lisa Macuja-Elizalde who has performed the role of Kitri the most times during her illustrious dancing career. The role of Basilio will be portrayed by Rudy de Dios, Gerardo Francisco, and guest dancer Mikhail Martynyuk, principal danseur of the Kremlin Ballet Theater.

The ballet Don Quixote, based on the novel of the same name by Miguel de Cervantes, features choreography by Marius Petipa and Spanish flavored music by Ludwig Minkus. In the ballet, the focus is more on the love story of Basilio and Kitri while Don Quixote and his squire Sancho Panza are reduced to peripheral, non-dancing roles.

Quite a number of Don Quixote productions by the major ballet companies had been staged over the years and I’ve yet to start reading my copy of the novel that has been sitting on my shelf for many years now. If I start now, I doubt that I’ll be able to finish it just in time when I get to watch Ballet Manila’s staging of it. But I’m convinced that after seeing the pirouettes, double tour en l’air, jetés, and that notorious 32 fouettés, I’d have the drive to finally finish the novel.

Don Quixote wraps up the Ballet Manila’s 21^st season billed as Revenge of the Classics. Productions for this season also included the rerun of Martin Lawrance’s Rebel, a celebration of Tchaikovsky’s music in The Swan, The Fairy and The Princess, and the world premiere of Lisa Macuja-Elizalde’s Cinderella.

Don Quixote
February 24-26, 2017 | Aliw Theater

Ticket prices:
P1500 | P1000 | P500

For inquiries:
TicketWorld 891-9999