Vlad Bunoan

Florante (Joshua Enciso) and Laura (Abigail Oliveiro)

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Leah C. Salterio

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:632px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1759391238020Ballet Manila&#x27;s  Florante at Laura_Photo6.jpg" style="width:950px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/><span class="fr-inner">Florante (Joshua Enciso) and Laura (Abigail Oliveiro). <em>Handout</em></span></span></span>MANILA -- Lisa Macuja-Elizalde is celebrating her birthday the way she knows best — with ballet. </div><p>This year, the Ballet Manila artistic director is reviving &quot;Florante at Laura,&quot; the company’s original production with music by National Artist Ryan Cayabyab, while also preparing international tours of &quot;Snow White&quot; and &quot;Cinderella.&quot;</p><p>“We will still go to Taiwan (Taipei) and Jakarta (Indonesia),” Macuja told ABS-CBN News. “For Taiwan, it’s the Iron Rose Festival that’s going to feature my ‘Snow White’ on November 1 and 2. We are collaborating with the Zhongli Youth Ballet for the third time.&quot; </p><p>Three years ago, Ballet Manila did a &quot;Nutcracker&quot; collaboration with Zhongli. Last year, it was &quot;Cinderella,&quot; and this time, it’s &quot;Snow White.&quot;</p><p>Meanwhile in Jakarta, Ballet Manila did “Le Corsaire” in 2024. This year, it’s going to be “Cinderella” on November 15 and 16.</p><p>&quot;That’s Ballet Manila’s holiday calendar,” said Macuja. “We will stage ‘Snow White’ in Taiwan, ‘Cinderella’ in Jakarta and “Snow White” at the end of the year in the Aliw Theater. </p><p>The company is also reviving the presentation of “Ballet and Ballads” in between. </p><div><br/></div><div><strong>Timeless ballet</strong></div><p>Ballet Manila decided to bring back “Florante at Laura” after the ballet premiered last year.  </p><div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:632px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1759391196679IMG_1401.jpeg" style="width:950px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/><span class="fr-inner">Ballet Manila CEO and artistic director Lisa Macuja-Elizalde. <em>Leah Salterio</em></span></span></span>“It’s an epic ballad,” explained Macuja. “It’s something that, I think, every Filipino should watch. It’s also one of those ballads that’s timeless. Whether you studied ‘Florante at Laura’ in school or just about to learn it in school, it’s just a part of our Filipino literature and history.” </div><p>“I guess ‘Florante at Laura’ is a ballet that I want to stage every year, if possible,” Macuja added. “But it’s just very expensive.” </p><p>With original music by Cayabyab, “Florante at Laura” had its world premiere in October last year, the birth month of Macuja. </p><p>“I really want to celebrate my birthday again this year with a ballet as big as ‘Florante at Laura’,” Macuja admitted. “There was no time to create another original ballet. Normally, that’s how I celebrate my birthday since I get an extra birthday budget to have an orchestra, beautiful sets, costumes.” </p><p>The first week of October is normally a celebration for Macuja’s birthday with a “big, grand production,” since Ballet Manila gets a budget. The ballet is not that long, but it has a long overture that Cayabyab prepared and refused to shorten.  </p><p>“I feel that ‘Florante at Laura’ is a ballet that has to be seen,” Macuja said. “The long overture played by the orchestra is really beautiful. They did an official recording that will be released on Spotify this year.” </p><p>The ballet will have two cast this year. Aside from the original cast, there will be an alternate cast. </p><div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:632px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1759391141201Ballet Manila&#x27;s  Florante at Laura_Photo4.JPG" style="width:950px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">The conflict between Aladin (Noah Esplana) and Sultan Ali Adab (Mark Sumaylo) over Flerida (Stephanie Santiago) unfolds in a tumultuous pas de trois. <em>Handout</em></span></span></span>“When you have a ballet company, there are dancers that are going to leave and there are dancers that are going to stay,” Macuja explained. “That’s a fact of life and that’s kind of dangerous when you only have one cast. One dancer might get injured and another cast member will not stay. </div><p>“You really have to have two or even sometimes three casts, for one ballet. Last year, we didn’t have that luxury. That is very bold and brave really. I think we were very pressed for time last year. </p><p>“We had ‘Giselle,’ we had a Malaysian tour of Ballet Manila’s greatest hits, which was a very heavy program. Then we staged ‘Florante at Laura’ and a repeat at Arete (at the Ateneo de Manila University). This year, there will be no Arete. Next year, we are doing ‘Ibong Adarna’ at Arete and for all the schools in that area.” </p><div><br/></div><div><strong>&#x27;Ibong Adarna&#x27; follow-up</strong></div><p>From Arete, there’s a challenge for “Ibong Adarna” to go all the way to schools in Pasay, Pasig and other schools in Quezon City. </p><p>As soon as “Ibong Adarna” had its world premiere in 2018, Macuja and the late Osias Barrosso, Ballet Manila’s founding member, looked at each other and asked, “Wow, how are we going to top this?”</p><p>“’Ibong Adarna’ was another epic ballet, so Filipino, with original Filipino music, original Filipino design – everything was so Filipino and the material was very Filipino,” stressed Macuja. “It was a ballet that you can bring anywhere in the world.</p><p>“If you perform ‘Ibong Adarna,’ everybody watching will understand the story. It shows universal values of family, love, loyalty, kindness, the triumph of good over evil and it was Filipino epic.”</p><p>They decided to zero in on “Florante at Laura,” a classic Filipino literary masterpiece and commissioned Cayabyab to compose the score. It’s narrative and poetic language were translated into movement and the motion of ballet by choreographers Martin Lawrence and Gerardo Francisco, Jr, who wrote the libretto for the Balagtas epic.</p><p>“Since Lawrence is British, the story had to be translated into English from the original epic book,” said Macuja. “They could not do everything in the story, but what is amazing is how they were able to tell all the stories of the four main characters – Florante, Laura, Aladdin and Flerida – into acts.” </p><div> </div><div><strong>Contemporary and neo-classical</strong></div><p>However, Ballet Manila had to postpone and pandemic closed down the company. As soon as Cayabyab gave his nod, Ballet Manila had to wait half a year for him to finish the score.  </p><p>Cayabyab previously worked with Ballet Manila for the trilogy, “Tatlong Kwento ni Lola Basyang,” comprised of three stories with elements of romance, fantasy and adventure.</p><p>“With the ballet, if you have beautiful music, half the battle is won,” she said, describing “Florante at Laura&quot; as contemporary and neo-classical.</p><p>Macuja also noted how the production’s set design enhanced the storytelling. “What was amazing was that they were able to incorporate the set design to look like an arena to complement the arena of Aliw Theater and the set of Mio Infante,” she explained.</p><p>The staging, she added, immerses the audience. “So basically, when you’re watching it, the feeling is like you are like in a coliseum. You are enrapt into the story, which they told in various costume changes using a color scheme. Florante was blue, Aladdin was red. The traitor, Adolfo’s color scheme was green. It was easily identifiable whose kingdom is it now.”</p><div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:632px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1759391037079Ballet Manila&#x27;s  Florante at Laura_Photo2.jpg" style="width:950px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">The cast of &#x27;Florante at Laura&#x27; from left: Mark Sumaylo as Sultan Ali Adab, Stephanie Santiago as Flerida, Noah Esplana as Aladin, Abigail Oliveiro as Laura, Joshua Enciso as Florante and Romeo Peralta as Adolfo. <em>Handout</em></span></span></span>For Macuja, the ballet’s flow makes it easy for audiences to follow. “What’s beautiful about it is the ballet just flows. The audience will easily understand the story of Florante at Laura because it’s very visual. Our Filipino literature is so rich and it’s so rich with a story that is not just about Filipinos in the Philippines.”</div><p>She also stressed the universal resonance of the Balagtas classic. “Its story and setting in Albania and Athens. So we can create literature that is not just Filipino, but with universal themes of love, loyalty, patriotism, even treachery.”</p><p>At the heart of the tale, she added, is a message of unity. “What’s beautiful with the story of Florante at Laura, is they show that whether you’re Muslim or Christian, you’re a person and you have feelings.</p><p>“Whether you have a different faith or not, you still go through life with the same challenges and trials. The Muslim Aladdin is the one that saves the Christian Florante. I think Balagtas was trying to tell us something there.”</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>Noli and Fili, next?</strong></div><p>Macuja is contemplating of coming up with another original Filipino ballet in the near future.</p><p>“Part of the mission of Ballet Manila is to make original Filipino productions,” Macuja said. “We dedicated to classical ballet and original Filipino ballet. There’s the wish to stage ‘Noli Me Tangere’ and ‘El Filibusterismo’ for a full-length ballet in the future.  </p><p>“But I will need a composer because Mr. C no longer wants to do another score. He said naubos daw siya sa ‘Florante at Laura.’ Bigyan daw muna siya ng ilang taon to recover.”</p><div><br/></div><div><em>Ballet Manila’s &quot;Florante at Laura&quot; returns to Aliw Theater, with performances scheduled on October 3 at 8 p.m., and October 4 and 5 at 5 p.m.  </em></div>

<p>Ballet Manila brings back its original Filipino ballet, '<i>Florante at Laura</i>,' with music by National Artist Ryan Cayabyab, as part of a packed international calendar that includes '<i>Snow White'</i> in Taiwan and '<i>Cinderella'</i> in Jakarta.</p>

Ballet Manila brings back its original Filipino ballet, ' Florante at Laura ,' with music by National Artist Ryan Cayabyab, as part of a packed international calendar that includes ' Snow White' in Taiwan and ' Cinderella' in Jakarta.

Ballet Manila revives 'Florante at Laura' as part of 2025 season

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Ballet Manila revives 'Florante at Laura' as part of 2025 season

Leah C. Salterio

Published Oct 03, 2025 10:00 AM PHT

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