For its Pearl Year, Ballet Manila (BM) will re-stage Swan Lake, a ballet favorite anywhere you go in the world. It runs at Aliw Theater in Pasay City, on May 30, 2025 at 8 pm, May 31 at 1 pm and 5 pm, and June 1 at 1 pm and 5 pm.
Katherine Barkman, now first soloist of the San Francisco Ballet, and Joseph Phillips in a past BM production of ‘Swan Lake’
BM artistic director Lisa Macuja-Elizalde told the Diarist.ph: “For this year, I will have the pleasure of watching several Odette/Odiles in the persons of Katherine Barkman and Abigail Oliveiro in one set, and Shaira Comeros, Pearl Dames, and Pia Dames in another set. I need a little bit more time to talk about each dancer, but I think first and foremost, these ballerinas have the qualities to essay the part. These are impeccable technique, artistic depth, and the athletic stamina that one needs to be able to be effective in these roles. Each of these ballerinas brings something. And with each performance, they keep on improving and growing as dancers and artists.”
Making their auspicious debut as the Big Swans are Rissa Camaclang, Stephanie Santiago, company artist Francesca Raypon, and apprentice Shamira Drapete.
The Big Swans are the grandest of the swans, and their presence is one of the highlights of Swan Lake Act II, where ballerinas, fine-tuned by years of training, soar in the air, creating a stunning display of strength, stamina, and grace.
Another character you cannot miss in Swan Lake is the villain of Rothbart, to be played by Mark Sumaylo who explained thus: “Rothbart is such a strong character who holds the power to command the swans. He essentially owns them and made Odette their Queen. One of my favorite parts is in Act 3, where Rothbart commands Odile to deceive Prince Siegfried into promising to marry her, breaking Odette’s heart.”
Coming in as Prince Siegfried is Esteban Hernandez, principal dancer of San Francisco Ballet, opposite the Odette-Odile of Katherine Barkman. Esteban Hernandez was BM’s principal guest artist in Don Quixote last year, opposite the Kitri of Pia Dames for two performances in BM’s previous season. The alternate Siegfried is Nathaniel Remez, also from San Francisco Ballet.
Adds Lisa: “In the past, Abigail Oliveiro has danced the part and is now a very accomplished principal ballerina. We found an earlier Prince Siegfried in Mark Sumaylo, who has also danced the role. So has Katherine Barkman, now first soloist of the San Francisco Ballet and Esteban Hernandez, now principal dancer of the same company. I’m very happy that Abi gets to explore the role with a new Prince in Nathaniel Remez, also of the San Francisco Ballet, this time around!”
Lisa Macuja Elizalde’s first ‘Swan Lake’ in Cuba in 1990 with a Siegfried who spoke only Spanish. She had only four rehearsals, as she had stepped in for an indisposed Odette-Odile.
BM has staged Swan Lake many times in the ’90s, with guest artists from foreign companies. Why did it take so long to mount a full-length version? Lisa points out: “The pandemic made us lose a whole generation of potential professional classical ballet dancers. It took a while to gather the people you need for a full-length Swan Lake. To illustrate, you need at least 20-plus strong women who can dance in the corps, and good ones to essay the soloist’s roles.”
‘The COVID pandemic made us lose a whole generation of potential professional classical ballet dancers,’ Lisa says. ‘It took a while to gather the people you need for a full-length ‘Swan Lake”
Just dancing Odette-Odile is already tough. Lisa continues: “This is one of the hardest classical ballerina roles to perform. This takes a while before you can perform it well. Also, among the most difficult roles to cast are the members of the corps de ballet. You really need strong girls who can dance in all the four acts.”
Lisa Macuja-Elizalde teaching a new generation of ballerinas
What makes staging Swan Lake tough is that it is a four-act ballet. Lisa points out that doing an abridged version makes it easier to mount. “Swan Lake with four acts is one of the longer classical ballets. The cast needed is formidable, as you really need to create a corps de ballet of swans. What many don’t realize is that producing them takes years of training. That’s on top of the Odette/Odile and Prince Siegfried who have to be of the highest calibre. There is also a certain expectation about the sets and costumes that need to be opulent and plush. You need a very strong company to mount Swan Lake.”
Lisa considers the Odette-Odile role in ‘Swan Lake’ one of the hardest classical ballerina roles to perform.
Abigail Oliveiro as Odette-Odile in a previous BM production of ‘Swan Lake’
Recalling past Odette-Odiles she has seen, Lisa singles out Natalia Makarova as her favorite Odette (“She’s poetry in motion”), and Yoko Morishita as her favorite Black Swan (Odile). “I watched her Swan Lake with Fernando Bujones at the age of 14 and my life was transformed. In the combined roles of Odette and Odile, my choice would be Ulyana Lopatkina, the Queen of Marinsky Ballet at that time!”
One of the most feared parts of Swan Lake is Odile doing the required 32 fouettés in the finale. (A fouetté is a whipping turn characterized by a quick extension and bending of the leg.) In this part, you can hear balletomanes literally counting as Odile goes through her death-defying movements.
Is doing the 32 fouettés still a big deal now as it was in the ’80s and ’90s? “That is an interesting question,” Lisa says. “Doing 32 fouettés is a must for certain ballets, but there are legendary dancers like Dudinskaya, Kolpakova and many more who are doing variations. With social media affecting the way we look at ‘tricks,’ especially pirouettes, it becomes ‘normal’ to see multiple fouettés and turns in combinations now—when the requirement is simply 32 whipping turns executed in a fast tempo, and most importantly, in place—without traveling from the spot where you started. I think that 32 fouettés is not the be-all and end-all of a good performance. There are so many other factors involved. However, this has become part of audience expectation, that fouettés need to be done effectively in order to call the performance a success.”
Is doing Odile’s death-defying 32 fouettés still a big deal now as it was in the ’80s and ’90s? ‘It’s not the be-all and end-all of a good performance, but it has become part of audience expectation’
Lisa Macuja-Elizalde with the legendary prima ballerina assoluta Alicia Alonso of Cuba
From her ballet memory, Lisa recalls her first Swan Lake with the National Ballet de Cuba in 1990. “It was the worst Swan Lake of my career. I mean, what do you expect with only four days of rehearsals? But I’m glad I accepted the challenge. It was the legendary Alicia Alonso version, and I was dancing with a partner who only spoke Spanish. I was coached and had an orchestra rehearsal onstage, but I was very nervous.”
Her first curtain call in Cuba was really special. “It lasted for a long time, and the Cubans can really cheer passionately about their experience at the ballet. After the show, I became sort of a celebrity as people would stop me on the street to congratulate me on the performance. I realized how the Cubans really love their ballet. As for the last curtain call, I was in tears because I was surrounded by so much love. My family, my company, my extended family, and friends. It was sad but also very triumphant.”
Lisa’s last Swan Lake was in 2011, during her Swan Song Series. “I danced with David Makhateli as my guest Prince Siegfried, and I was backed up by my own ballet company Ballet Manila. I was emotional, of course. And I just had surgery for plantar fasciitis, and at 47, I was not very young anymore. So it was definitely very challenging. I was able to do the 32 fouettés for my last show. It was an amazing feeling of accomplishment, despite all the odds. I never really thought of myself as a Swan Queen. So, the fact that I clocked more than 40 performances of the full-length Swan Lake in my career is already a very generous gift!”
For now, Lisa is busy teaching and coaching, and of course, missing dancing. “I miss the ability to move the way I could in my younger years, the way I could jump and turn and just enjoy my dancing. But what I do love about teaching and coaching is watching my students and dancers improve, discover, and celebrate their own careers. It is such a wonderful and rewarding feeling to mentor when your students and dancers do well, and then you see them teaching and mentoring themselves, and you know that your legacy is secure.”
Lisa conducting masterclasses in Taiwan
Celebrating Ballet Manila on its Pearl Year (30 years) is special for everyone in the company. “I think that the fact that we have not just one, but two full-length classical ballets (Swan Lake and Don Quixote), says something about Ballet Manila today. The fact that we are 42 people strong—the largest ballet company, as far as dancers’ roster is concerned—says something also about our Pearl Year. There’s the fact that we are performing in Malaysia, Taiwan, and Jakarta this year, aside from the full season in Aliw Theater and seven performances of Swan Lake in Dumaguete. The fact that we have a rerun of our original Filipino ballet, Florante at Laura, with a full orchestra—of course I’m biased, but I think the facts speak for themselves. Our track record is something to be very grateful and proud about!”
Ballet Manila’s Lisa Macuja Elizalde at the presscon for ‘Swan Lake’ with a new set of Odette-Odile and Prince Siegried dancers (Photo: Erickson de la Cruz)
Ballet Manila’s Swan Lake runs at Aliw Theater in Pasay City on May 30, 8 pm; May 31, 1 pm and 5 pm; and June 1, 1 pm and 5 pm. Tickets available exclusively through Ticketworld. Direct link to buy : https://bit.ly/BM30SwanLakeBuyTickets. For group or bulk purchases and advance reservation, email balletmanilamarketing@gmail.com.
