Ballet Manila goes from Chopin to the Beatles in Deux

Ballet Manila caps its 23^rd performance season with Deux, a twin bill showcasing classical and contemporary ballet, on March 2-3,  9-10, 2019 at the Aliw Theater.

Pia Dames and Joshua Enciso

Pas de action from La Bayadere

Elpidio Magat and Joan Sia

Waltz from Les Sylphides

The first half of the program, featuring the classical portion of the show will highlight Les Sylphides or Chopiniana as it is more popularly known in Russia. Set to the Romantic music of Frédéric Chopin with lyrical choreography by Michel Fokine, Les Sylphides is an almost plot less ballet wherein the Poet is surrounded by his muses that are white-clad sylphs or air spirits, dancing in the moonlight. Ballet Manila CEO and Co-Artistic Director Lisa Macuja-Elizalde likens the atmosphere of the ballet to a trance like state when one is most creative. But there's more to the first half than just  poet and sylphs as other vignettes from the classical ballet repertoire will be performed also.

Hyuma Kiyosawa and Sayaka Ishibashi

Diane et Acteon Pas de deux

Girl from The Winding Road

Girl from The Winding Road

For the second half, the dancers switch gears and go contemporary with the world premiere of Martin Lawrance’s The Winding Road a new contemporary ballet set to the immortal music of The Beatles. For Lawrance, each of the nine songs he chose for this ballet tells a little story and he will weave these stories together through a winding road before they eventually coming together in the end. The Winding Road will be Lawrance's fifth choreographic work for Ballet Manila after Misfit or Maverick (2014), Rebel (2016), Amid Shadows (2016), and Aria (2018).

Osias Barroso, Rudy de Dios, Joan Sia, Martin Lawrance, Lisa Macuja-Elizalde,
Gerardo Francisco, Romeo Peralta, and Elpidio Magat

Ballet Manila's season ender Deux not just brings out the best of both styles of ballet featuring music by Chopin and The Beatles that has definitely stood the best of time. There is no question that I'll have for a spin recordings of the music to pump myself up in time for this show.