Manila Symphony Orchestra, Ballet Manila present joint season opener with Sleeping Beauty

The Manila Symphony Orchestra formally begins its Centennial Season by joining forces with Ballet Manila with the staging of the ballet Sleeping Beauty happening on March 13-15, 2026 at the Aliw Theater, CCP Complex in Pasay.

Ballet Manila's Sleeping Beauty features the choreography of Lisa Macuja Elizalde, the company's Artistic Director and CEO Lisa Macuja-Elizalde and is the final installment of her Princess Trilogy following Cinderella and Snow White.

Shapira Drapete and Joshua Enciso

The music of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky will be brought to life by the Manila Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Maestro Alexander Vikulov. The MSO, BM, and Vikulov have been frequent collaborators since 2011.

Music highlights of the ballet include the Rose Adagio and the popular Waltz known to most as Once Upon a Dream from the animated feature by Disney. Both the Tchaikovsky music, completed in 1899, and the ballet, premiered in 1890, predate by six decades the Disney adaptation that was released in 1959.

Alexander Vikulov

Another music highlight to look out for is Aurora's Variation featuring a special violin passage to be performed by MSO's concertmaster Alessio Benvenuti.

Manila Symphony Orchestra

Below is Manila Symphony Orchestra's updated Centennial Season Lineup.

Concert I: Centennial Opening: Sleeping Beauty

March 13-15, 2026

Aliw Theater

Ballet Manila

Alexander Vikulov, conductor

Concert II: From Mozart to Mahler

May 30, 2026

Proscenium Theater

Emanuel John Villarin, violin

Christian Wrona, viola

Joshua Dos Santos, conductor

Concert III: Concert Celebration: 80 Years of Filipino-American Friendship

July 4, 2026

Metropolitan Theater

Jeanne Marquez, violin

Jason Marquez, clarinet

Jose Lorenzo Reyna, Jr., conductor

Concert IV: Opera and Kundiman: The Legacy of Maestra Conching Rosal

August 29, 2026

FEU Auditorium

Rachelle Gerodias-Park, soprano

Michelle Mariposa, mezzo-soprano

Byeong In Park, baritone

Marlon Chen, conductor

Concert V: Cellist Camille Thomas with the MSO

October 24, 2026

Hyundai Hall, Areté, Ateneo de Manila University

Camille Thomas, cello

Marlon Chen, conductor

Concert VI: World Premiere: Filipino Master Composers

January 2027

Venue: TBA

New works by Ryan Cayabyab

Marlon Chen, conductor

Ballet Manila, Aliw Theater to stage grand comeback with Rise!

Ballet Manila is set to stage a grand comeback with Rise! a double bill presentation incorporating ballet, opera, pop music and orchestral music happening on October 7, 2022, 8:00 PM and October 9, 2022, 5:00 PM at the newly renovated Aliw Theater.

Lisa Macuja-Elizalde 

Rise! is significantly important for Lisa Macuja-Elizalde, Ballet Manila's CEO and Artistic Director. For years, she has celebrated her birthday in October with a special performance by her company at the Aliw Theater, which in itself was a gift from her husband, Fred J. Elizalde. But the October 2019 fire that gutted Star City, coupled with the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, have put this birthday tradition to a stop.

Romeo Peralta

Now, three years later, Ballet Manila's dancers are ready to go on stage in front of a live audience. Joining the dancers for Rise! are multi-awarded recording artist Bituin Escalante, classical singers Jade Riccio, Ivan Nery, and Chris Arceo, a 12 member opera ensemble, and a 60 piece orchestra to be conducted by Gerard Salonga.

Bituin Escalante

The first half of Rise! will be the latest iteration of Ballet & Ballads with Bituin Escalante as the featured vocalist performing songs of hope in keeping with the overall theme of this part of the program.

Abigail Oliveiro and Mark Sumaylo

The show's second half will be the return of La Traviata. This opera by Giuseppe Verdi was turned into a ballet by Lisa Macuja-Elizalde and was staged to cap Ballet Manila's 24th season shortly before the pandemic forced everything into lockdown. Back then, with the company still reeling from the fire, the production held at the Samsung Hall at SM Aura was downscaled with the dancers performing to recorded music. With Rise!, the production will be closer to her original vision of having live singing and a live orchestral accompaniment.

Jade Riccio

Soprano Jade Riccio will sing the role of Violetta with tenor Ivan Nery as Alfredo, and baritone Chris Arceo as Giorgio Germont. Veteran opera singer Andrew Fernando, who suddenly passed away in mid-August, was originally tapped to sing the role of Giorgio Germont.

Bituin Escalante, Jade Riccio, Lisa Macuja-Elizalde, Luna Inocian, Abigail Oliveiro,
Mark Sumaylo, and Gerardo Francisco, Jr. 

The creative team for Rise! is led by Lisa Macuja-Elizalde as overall Artistic Director, theater artist Michael Williams as the Stage Director, playwright Luna Inocian as the Scriptwriter, Gerard Salonga as Music Director, and Gerardo Francisco Jr. and Martin Lawrance as Choreographers.

Newly renovated Aliw Theater reopens, Ballet Manila previews comeback season

Lisa Macuja-Elizalde at the newly renovated Aliw Theater stage

When Ballet Manila launched its 24th performance season back in July 2019, the company's CEO and then Co-Artistic Director Lisa Macuja-Elizalde announced that her choreographic take on Giuseppe Verdi's opera La Traviata would serve as the finale for that season. Initial plans included a live orchestra to be conducted by longtime collaborator Alexander Vikulov and Andrew Fernando with the artists of the Klassical Music Foundation taking on the singing roles. And then the fire that gutted Star City, Star Theater, and damaged Aliw Theater happened.

Ibong Adarna ballerinas before the ribbon cutting

With a  downscaled production utilizing pre-recorded music, La Traviata, double billed with Rudy de Dios' Carmina Burana, was still staged in March 2020, the weekend before everything came to a halt because of the pandemic.

A scene from La Traviata

More than two years later, La Traviata is set to stage a comeback at the newly renovated Aliw Theater in Rise, happening on October 7 & 9, 2022.

Double billed with Ballet and Ballads, this production of La Traviata will be closer to what Lisa Macuja-Elizalde has initially envisioned. There will be live orchestra music, utilizing the Aliw Theater orchestra pit, to be conducted by Gerard Salonga who also serves as music director. Baritone Andrew Fernando leads the lineup of opera singers that also include soprano Jade Riccio and tenor Ivan Nery.

Rise will mark Ballet Manila's first live public performance at the newly renovated Aliw Theater. And it is not just the theater that has gotten upgrades but the entire building as well, now christened as the Elizalde Complex.

Reb Atadero, Lisa Macuja-Elizalde, and Mitch Valdez

New amenities in the complex make the building more versatile than just being a venue for ballets, concerts, and other performances. At the ground level, the 370 square meter area Elizalde Hall includes a lobby and two meeting rooms that can house small conferences, business meetings, forums, and symposiums.

Intimate recitals, rehearsals, gallery exhibits, and even banquets and receptions can now be accommodated at the Custom Spaces, a 500 square meter area, located at the upper level of the complex.

The balcony scene from Romeo and Juliet

And probably a huge relief to all is the presence of numerous rest rooms throughout the complex guaranteed to lessen the long lines during intermissions.

All these changes, especially the Custom Space, meant that the audience capacity of the Aliw Theater has been trimmed to 1,275 from the 2,300+ seats it had before. But the theater boasts of a new, flexible LED screen on stage and top of the line lights and speakers. The interior now sport new seats, air filters, as well as carpeted floors and modified walls that improve upon the theater's acoustics.

A scene from Lisa Macuja-Elizalde's Cinderella

Ballet Manila's comeback performance Rise happening on October 7 & 9, 2022 coinciding with Lisa's birthday, will be a showcase of Aliw Theater's improved technical specifications. The company is also set to stage Lisa Macuja-Elizalde's Cinderella to inaugurate its Holiday Cheer Series on December 25-30, 2022.

The 25th Performance Season, billed as Of Hope and Homecoming begins with Martin Lawrance's Romeo and Juliet on February 18-19, 2023. It will be followed by Don Quixote with guest artists from San Francisco Ballet on May 27-28, 2023. Gerardo Francisco's Ang Ibong Adarna wraps up the season on August 19-20, 2023. The shift in the performance schedule of the season to 2023 was made in order not to clash with other ballet companies' respective seasons.

Ballet Manila's Giselle: A major step "On pointé" towards rebuilding

The cast of Ballet Manila's Giselle

After a massive fire gutted Star City, completely destroying Star Theater and damaging Aliw Theater that has housed Ballet Manila's performances for years, the remainder of company's 24th season was put in major doubt. But the company's CEO and Co-Artistic Director Lisa Macuja-Elizalde's determined resolve to rise from the ashes, her dancers' desire to perform no matter what, coupled with the arts community rallying behind Ballet Manila, the impossible was made possible.

Eventually staged at the Cultural Center of the Philippines through a venue grant with backdrops, sets, props and fog machine lent by Ballet Philippines and the Manila Symphony Orchestra led by Alexander Vikulov offering a discount on their services, Ballet Manila's staging of Giselle pushed through with a one night performance at the CCP's Main Theater.

Looking back as 2019 starts to wind down, this has got to be one of the key moments in the arts and culture scene of the year or possibly even this decade.

To say that the company gave an inspired performance would be a complete understatement. Dancing the titular role of Giselle was principal Joan Sia who already did the part at the very same venue for Dance MNL a little over three years before. Being the veteran in the role, she took charge and danced as if everything depended on her which is no small feat for a character who was supposed to be naive, vulnerable, and frail.

Elpidio Magat's Albrecht provided more than just ample support for Sia's Giselle. His acting gave the audience an avenue to channel their grief. And his brisés towards the end of Act II had power and excitement that further heightened the sense of urgency as his death at the hands of the willis was becoming more imminent.

Conductor Alexander Vikulov, Lisa Macuja-Elizalde, and Ballet Manila

The confident pairing of Nicole Barroso and Joshua Enciso at the Peasant Pas de deux showed why Ballet Manila's future is secure.

Akari Ida as Myrtha embodied coldness in character as she executed her steps without fail. And Mark Sumaylo take on Hilarion made me feel sorry for him as someone who always had Giselle's best interest at heart only having to meet a tragic end while the deceptive Albrecht lived to see another day.

The corps were more mature and showed improvement in leaps and bounds compared to how they were at Chopiniana from their Deux 23rd season ender earlier this year. Every time the audience showered applause to the corps whenever they were spot on, it felt like it was not just an applause for an exceptional performance, but also an applause to show their assurance, a way of communicating to the entire Ballet Manila company that the arts community have their back, that they will not be alone as they rebuild and rise from the ashes. It was one of the moments that makes an impact for life even if one was just a member of the audience.

As always, having Alexander Vikulov lead the Manila Symphony Orchestra means that one can just sit back and be immersed with the ballet without worrying that the tempo and dynamics aren't suited or tailor made to whoever is dancing on stage.

Present on that night were dancers from the Philippine Ballet Theatre who led the loudest cheers from the audience, officials from Ballet Philippines, members of the diplomatic corps, personalities from various arts and culture organizations, and even people who one would never imagine bumping into at the ballet.

The coming year will not be easy for Ballet Manila. But the way they showed their strength as a company with their recent staging of Giselle, one cannot help but feel optimistic that they will eventually rise once again.

Ballet Manila's 24th season On Pointé sees completion of Lisa Macuja-Elizalde's Princess Trilogy

Ballet Manila Principal Dancers Gerardo Francisco, Pia Dames, Abigail Oliveiro,
and Romeo Peralta

The completion of Ballet Manila CEO and Co-Artistic Director Liza Macuja-Elizalde's Princess Trilogy with Sleeping Beauty is just one of the highlights of the company's upcoming 24th performance season. Billed as On Pointe, the season was formally unveiled recently at a media launch held at the S Maison.

Joan Sia as Snow White sleeps while the seven dwarves look on

The season begins with the restaging of Lisa Macuja-Elizalde's Snow White, the second installment of the Princess Trilogy, running on September 7-8, 2019.

Elpidio Magat and Abigail Oliveiro in Giselle

The romantic ballet Giselle follows on October 19-20, 2019. This marks the first time Ballet Manila includes this ballet in its season since Lisa bade farewell to the role during the 2nd year of her Swan Song Series back in 2012.

Sleeping Beauty with
Romeo Peralta as Prince Philip and Pia Dames as Princess Aurora

In time for the holiday season, Lisa Macuja-Elizalde's Sleeping Beauty will make its debut run on December 7-8, 2019. The excerpt performed at the launch revealed that the Princess Trilogy belong to the same/shared universe just like the Marvel Cinematic Universe films. In fact, Cinderella and Snow White (along with their respective princes) will make an appearance in Sleeping Beauty. And Lisa teased that there will be a dragon in this production!

La Traviata

Finally, capping the season is the Carmina Burana and La Traviata twin bill which will have its run on February 29 and March 1, 2019. Recently retired principal danseur Rudy de Dios choreographs Carmina Burana while Co-Artistic Directors Osias Barroso and Lisa Macuja-Elizalde join forces in adapting the Giuseppe Verdi opera La Traviata into a ballet.

Carmina Burana

This season finale production will also feature classical singers from the Klassikal Music Foundation (KMF) and live music accompaniment by the Manila Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Alexander Vikulov.

Lisa Macuja-Elizalde, Osias Barroso, Gerardo Francisco, Romeo Peralta,
Pia Dames, and Abigail Oliveiro

All of Ballet Manila's performances for the 24th season will be held at the Aliw Theater. Subscription packages for the season offering huge discounts are also still available.

Ballet Manila's Deux: A lot more than just Chopin and The Beatles ballets

Ballet Manila's Deux

Even before the first step was made on stage, Ballet Manila's CEO and Co-Artistic Director Lisa Macuja-Elizalde explained that their season ender Deux is more than just a pairing of the classical and the contemporary. Deux also means a pair of dancers in a Pas de deux which also the show features, the two sexes highlighted in their respective numbers, and as a side note, a birthday celebration of the company's very own Dames twins.

Joshua Enciso and Akari Ida in La Bayadere

The show got off to a good start with La Bayadere that showcased danseur Joshua Enciso who showed more maturity with greater control since I saw him last. As Solor, he danced with more polish and kept his tendency to go wild in check. His presence on stage is still so dominant that it takes an effort to keep an eye on his partner Akari Ida. There is a certain comfort and flair in her dancing as Gamzatti that makes me feel at ease, but sometimes she was dwarfed figuratively by her very imposing partner.

Sayaka Ishibashi and Rafael Perez in Flames of Paris

Such an opener was a tough act to follow that Sayaka Ishibashi and Rafael Perez had to step up to keep the momentum with their Flames of Paris Pas de deux. While the two managed to execute the steps, the polish and the character still need to be developed. I just have to remind myself that this is a young pair and that Ballet Manila has always shown guts by letting their junior/new company members do demanding numbers such as this that is usually reserved for more seasoned members.

The next couple of variations were an odd insertion. While it was great to see more of Hyuma as a rather haughty Ali in his variation from Le Corsaire, I wished that Alvin Dictado had more exposure since before I knew it, his Albrecht variation from Giselle is already done and over with.

Elpidio Magat as the Poet in Chopiniana

The main anchor of the first part was Chopiniana, a picturesque showcase that had the corps holding such unusual and intricate angles with their necks, arms, and torso and making them look easy in the process. It made me wonder how groundbreaking these unusual alignments were, in contrast to the classical vein of being always up and vertical, around a century ago when this ballet premiered This was also a showcase for Elpidio Magat as the sensitive poet, and the lead muses composed of Joan Sia, Nanami Hasegawa, and Rissa May Camaclang.

Gerardo Francisco as the soloist in Aramica

The second, contemporary half of the show began with Bam Damian III's Aramica, a slow crescendo that had the male company members parade on to the stage with music from Aram Khachaturian's Spartacus that surged into a powerful display of testosterone exemplified by Gerardo Francisco, who was the soloist for this signature piece. Ballet Manila is distinct for the number of its danseurs it has and it knows how to highlight them.

Pia Dames and Hyuma Kiyosawa in Diane et Acteon

Guest danseur and winner of the silver medal in the Junior Category of the USA International Ballet Competition in Jackson, Mississippi, Hyuma Kiyosawa returns for the Diane et Acteon Pas de deux with one of the night's birthday twins, Pia Dames. Pia showed character, spunk and grit not allowing a slight misstep towards the end of her fouettés dampen her disposition. While she looked diminutive besides the tall and technically impressive Hyuma, she proved that she was a match in intensity.

The Winding Road

The show reached its climax with the world premiere of Martin Lawrance's The Winding Road, a fun ballet set to the music of legendary band, The Beatles. Once again, this highlighted the strength of the danseurs especially the quartet of principals namely Rudy de Dios, Gerardo Francisco, Romeo Peralta, and Elpidio Magat. I admit that I never really gravitated towards The Beatles and was never really crazy about their music. But seeing how Lawrence (who admits to be a huge fan of the Fab Four) choreographed the selection of songs gave me an opportunity to appreciate the music in ways that I never thought possible. Seeing how he told the story visually through dance made me notice elements of The Beatles music like the song structure, rhythms, arrangement, and influences (I was caught off guard with the Greek music in Girl) that I sadly never took notice if before. It was a revelation for me to sit there watching the dancers go through the highs and lows of life while scrutinizing and deconstructing the music and that pleased me a lot.

It pleased some audience members too since more than a few were eager to hit the dance floor to The Beatles' tunes right after the company took their bows. And having dancing audiences leaving the Aliw Theater is a fine way to cap a season.

Catch the final weekend of Deux this March 9, 2019, 6:00 PM and March 10, 2019, 3:00 PM at the Aliw Theater.

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.