‘Andres KKK’ goes onstage at Rockwell Proscenium Theater, Makati City, Aug. 22, 2026, at 3 pm and 7 pm and Aug. 23, 2026, 3 pm.
I’m no ballet expert, though I love Swan Lake and The Nutcracker. The music of Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky is hard to resist. It came to a point where I felt those ballets were his alone, so that I seldom acknowledged the choreographer, whose artistry also made the two ballets timeless classics. I guess for true ballet connoisseurs, mine would be a deadly sin.
Lately, however, I’ve learned to marvel at the brilliant works of National Artist Alice Reyes, Lisa Macuja Elizalde, and Gener Caringal. I’ve seen the light and so now, each time we watch an original ballet by Alice Reyes, we see an Alice Reyes ballet, and so on.
But in contrast to Tchaikovsky and his strong connection to the ballet music he wrote, composers of original Filipino ballets are hardly celebrated. The choreographer and dancers bask in the glory, the composers, not as much. At least that’s what I’ve observed.
In 2003, I saw an original Filipino ballet at Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP), the ballet version of Darna. There had been much ado about the harness they used to make the superhero soar and glide all over the stage. But honestly, the novelty wore off after 30 minutes of seeing her go up and down.
But what I do remember about Darna was the music. It was spectacular, and it did much to make the ballet feel so thrilling. It was prolific composer Jesse Lucas who wrote it. In terms of media attention at that time, I felt he took a backseat to the harness effect. Thus, when my friend Ricky Gallardo asked if I could write about him, I agreed immediately and emailed questions.
Lucas wrote his first ballet in the 1990s, a modern ballet about Andres Bonifacio. Titled Andres KKK, it showcased the choreography by Gener Caringal. Philippine Ballet Theater (PBT) is restaging Andres KKK this weekend.
Sadly, our composers aren’t as heralded as the ballet itself. Think of Sleeping Beauty or Romeo and Juliet, Tchaikovsky instantly comes to mind. This should also be the case for him and local ballet composers. Having written musicals, film scores, and ballet, however, Lucas sees no need to claim popularity for his ballet music.
Dominador Delmo and Sophie Tiangco as Andres and Oryang
“It’s not necessary,” he replied. “In the case of Andrés KKK, it was the brainchild of Mr. Gener Caringal, the choreographer.”
Caringal was cofounder of PBT. He and Lucas have collaborated on four ballets. They were all commissioned works, says Lucas, and were created on Caringal’s artistic vision.
“I believe that the work should always speak for itself. It will have a life of its own, and the contributions of the people who created it will be recognized through the work itself,” Lucas said.
He says it was Caringal who created the concept for Andres KKK. Caringal gave Lucas the story structure, how it would progress and lead to various dramatic points and eventually the climax. From this, Lucas would build the musical arc.
A graduate of the University of the Philippines (UP) College of Music, Lucas has composed the music for movies and stage musicals. He’s won awards given for film (Gawad Urian and FAMAS, to name a few), and theater (Aliw Awards). He is in the FAMAS Awards’ Hall of Fame. He has written six ballets for Ballet Philippines and PBT.
Matthew Davo as Andres Bonifacio
Writing for each medium, he explains, requires a different approach. “For film, the music primarily supports the narrative and emotional direction of the story. For stage musicals, the goal is to create songs and musical moments that move the story,” he said.
“And with ballet, the music is intended for movement. It has to work with the choreography and give the dancers something to respond to. But the common denominator is, all these are collaborative works. You work with a creative team, and everyone has to work harmoniously to obtain a common artistic goal.”
‘The music has to work with the choreography and give the dancers something to respond to’
Writing the music of Andres KKK, Lucas took inspiration from Andres Bonifacio ‘s outstanding traits—his patriotism, strength, and strong convictions. Lucas was given the freedom to experiment. “Since Andres KKK is a contemporary ballet, I didn’t feel the need to make the music strictly period-appropriate. I wanted to explore different sounds while still serving the story and the movement.”
Wedding scene of Andres and Oryang and the Katipuneros
Musical rules don’t have to be strictly adhered to when it comes to contemporary ballet, he explained. “What the music needs to do is serve the choreographer, and most importantly, be intended for movement.”
Arranging the orchestrations, he focused more on “strong interlocking rhythms,” fusing indigenous instruments, chants, and electronic music. “The intention was more about capturing the intensity and spirit of the story rather than reproducing a particular historical musical period.”
Lucas said the music is representative of some of his early influences. In his late 20s in the ’90s, he was into ethnic and electronic music and using synthesizers, which was new technology at that time. For Darna, he used a mixture of electronic dance music and heavy atmospheric music, as well as show tunes.
Compared to writing music for films and musicals, Lucas said writing for ballet is more challenging. “As a composer, you are mostly working with your imagination. You create the musical ideas without actually seeing the final movement.
“But it becomes truly fulfilling when you finally see the dancers bring those ideas to life. The movement gives the music another dimension. It sometimes even gives you a kind of energy that you could only imagine while you were composing it.”
For the past years, Lucas has been on an unofficial sabbatical. He’s planning to write music independently. It has been a long break, but the restaging of Andres KKK has jumpstarted his return to work. He has new projects in the pipeline.
“The long break gave me a chance to step back and reset. It gave me time to work on personal projects. For over 30 years, almost all of my music has been created through collaborations with different creative teams. So it’s interesting for me now to spend time developing ideas more independently.”
‘Andres KKK’ goes onstage at the Proscenium Theater in Rockwell, Makati City on August 22 at 3 pm and 7 pm and on August 23 at 3 pm.
