Actors, dancers crossover in Ballet Philippines' Manhid

Mark Anthony Grantos

One main feature of superhero comicbooks is the crossover wherein a story starts on one title, say Spider-Man and then the next part continues on to another title, Fantastic Four for example. During this crossover, characters from the Spider-Man comicbook appear in the pages of Fantastic Four and vice versa. In Ballet Philippines’ comicbook inspired production Manhid: The Pinoy Superhero Musical, there are also crossovers as artists from one field (theater) cross over to another (dance) and vice versa.

Mark Anthony Grantos and Teetin Villanueva

Ricardo Magno, Mayen Estañero, and JV Ibesate

In Manhid, the guest actors/singers hailing from theater companies such as Tanghalang Pilipino, PETA and Dulaang UP dip their pointed toes to the territory of Ballet Philippines’ dancers. I saw first hand during an open rehearsal how they are required to step up and move like they’ve never moved before to the point that one will find it hard to figure out which is the actor and which is the dancer. The dancers, taking on superhero/villain roles in the musical, also get to flex their acting chops, deliver some lines, and even join in the singing further blurring the line between the two fields. But if there's someone whom we can say crossed over the most, it had to be no other than Ballet Philippines’ Mark Anthony Grantos, the alternate Bantugan.

Gold Villar and JV Ibesate

Mark is currently an apprentice of the company whose singing experience is just limited to weddings. A recent chat with him revealed that the only time that the rest of the company got aware of his singing skills was when he did the doxology during the company’s Christmas party some years back. He was then asked to try it out for Manhid when auditions were announced. He initially bagged the role of understudy but moved up the ranks when the one who was originally cast as the alternate had to leave the production due to his involvement with a televised singing tilt which is still ongoing as of this moment.

Ricardo Magno and KL Dizon

Jean Judith Javier, KL Dizon, and Fred Lo

Scale model set of Manhid

As an apprentice of the company, Mark never imagined that he’ll be one of the leads in one of Ballet Philippines’ productions. He then realized that taking on such a role required him to make an extra effort, especially in the acting department. It did surprise me to see his name among the leads since the other major roles are being played by actors who’ve amassed a sizable theater résumé. Mark is a total newbie with zero acting/stage credits apart from his performances with Ballet Philippines. But that might change after his stint with Manhid.

Kanakan Balintagos

The cast of Manhid: The Pinoy Superhero Musical

Manhid: The Pinoy Superhero Musical is Ballet Philippines’ 45^th Sapphire Anniversary season ender. This ballet musical runs from February 20-March 8, 2015 at the Cultural Center of the Philippines’ Tanghalang Nicanor Abelardo.