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The Dawn collaborates with Ballet Manila in free show

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Leah C. Salterio

<div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1770608728196Ballet Manila_A legacy fulfilled Lisa Macuja Elizalde marks 40th homecoming celebration with a season of curated performances and a landmark collaboration with The Dawn_photo1.JPG" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/>(L-R) (first row) Ballet Manila principal dancer Joshua Enciso, company artist Shamira Drapete with principal dancers Jessica Pearl Dames, Abigail Oliveiro and Junmark Sumaylo; (second row) The Dawn members Bim Yance, Rommel Sanchez, Jun Boy Leonor, Francis Reyes and Jett Pangan; Ballet Manila CEO and artistic director Lisa Macuja-Elizalde, associate artistic director and resident choreographer Gerardo Francisco Jr., and resident choreographer Martin Lawrence; The Manila Symphony Orchestra president Maan Hontiveros and music director Maestro Marlon Chen. Handout</div>In a rare cross-genre collaboration, Ballet Manila will join forces with iconic OPM band The Dawn for a free concert that fuses rock music and contemporary ballet, set for February at the Aliw Theater, marking a new chapter in its “Ballet and Ballads” series.While Ballet Manila’s 2026 season is still anchored in classical milestones, the company is also looking outward — teaming up with OPM rock band The Dawn for a show that blends live music and contemporary dance.Ballet Manila artistic director Lisa Macuja credits her life partner, Fred Elizalde, who came up with the idea behind “Ballet and Ballads” to make ballet more accessible to the general public.“That’s Fred’s brainchild,” beamed Macuja. “We are using the music of mainstream artists. Fred wanted to balance radio and ballet. We committed performances in schools, across the country  even abroad for over 30 years now.&quot;We carry on this mission and vision when we ventured in a new musical genre. We partnered with the iconic rock band of the ‘80s, The Dawn.&quot;For four decades, The Dawn has shaped the sound, soul and the story of OPM. Their songs have crossed generations and they continue to influence and inspire audiences today.Led by Jett Pangan, with Jun Boy Leonor, Francis Reyes, Sancho Sanchez and Bim Yance, The Dawn will mount the stage at Aliw Theater in “The Dawn of Ballet,” on February 20 and 21 at 7:30 p.m. “It’s such a huge honor to perform for Ballet Manila,” said Pangan. “We are really very excited for this ‘Ballet and Ballads.’ We are preparing because I know it’s going to be a great show. It’s also going to be something different for The Dawn.”Eight songs of The Dawn will be featured in “Ballet and Ballads.” “We chose the songs,” admitted Pangan. “We chose some of our biggest numbers, biggest songs, since we are both celebrating 40 years on both sides. In a nutshell, it kind of features the 40 years of The Dawn. ‘Enveloped Ideas’ was released in 1988, ‘Salamat’ was 1989, ‘I Saw You Coming In” in the year 2000. We also have a new song, ‘Saan Ka Pupunta’ that was released last year.“We believe that those songs will resonate to our audiences the most and if you are not a fan of The Dawn and you haven’t heard yet much of our music, I think the visual that Ballet Manila has done for the songs will be a spectacle, at the very least. It’s a career-spanning eight songs.” For one, they are aware they need to adjust the arrangement of the songs. “That part, we are a little nervous about,” said Leonor. “As much as Ballet Manila is dancing to our music, we don’t want to get in the way of their dancing also. We’ll see in the rehearsals how we are going to manage. There are a lot of dynamics in our music.“We do more dynamic versions of the songs. The thing that’s beautiful with Ballet Manila, it’s not just about tradition, but also contemporary approach to dance and the arts. So I think we don’t need to be too nervous about our music. This is a collaboration.”Sanchez disclosed The Dawn had to modify most of the songs they lined up for the show, compared to their regular gigs. “The pace is still how to play the songs live,” Sanchez said. “We just had to make sure there’s a little bit more space for the dancers, so our music will not enter right away.“There was a song that we really modified, but the rest are really based on our live performances. We have to make sure how the dancers rehearsed their numbers.”The music will be “very contemporary,” Macuja said, noting that the pieces will be choreographed by Ballet Manila resident choreographers Martin Lawrence and Gerardo Francisco Jr.Unlike previous editions of “Ballet and Ballads,” there will be no stand-alone ballet or music numbers. Instead, the show will feature eight songs by The Dawn performed as a full collaboration, with contemporary dance created specifically for each track.“The moves are very athletic, very dynamic” Macuja said. “What we hope to do is tell a stories of the eight different songs of The Dawn into dance.”Macuja always believed it is always possible to choreograph to any kind of music. “It is even possible to choreograph to silence,” she added. “It’s always easy choreograph as long as the choreographer is able to visualize the song and we create it with the dancers. It’s relatively easy but at the same time it’s difficult because we are a classical company.&quot;“We train in the classics more than contemporary dance. We have a lot of very versatile dancers in Ballet Manila.Ballet Manila previously collaborated with top-notch artists such as Side A, Lani Misalucha, Basil Valdez, Nonoy Zuñiga, Jaya, Ariel Rivera, Christian Bautista, and Luke Mijares. “With ‘The Dawn of Ballet,’ we hope to reach out to the audiences of The Dawn, who have never been inside the theater to watch ballet. They can come and watch ballet now. I just want to erase the stigma of ballet only for the rich, the elite or educated.&quot;That push to broaden ballet’s audience also frames Ballet Manila’s wider plans for 2026, a milestone year the company is marking with what it calls a “Triple Treat” season.&quot;The first is the 40th anniversary of my return to the Philippines after my stint with the Kirov Ballet of Russia, where I danced for two years,” Macuja told ABS-CBN News. “That was in August 1986. I was supposed to become a principal dancer at the Strasbourg in Ballet in London, but there was a problem with the home office not granting me a work visa, I was forced to come home. For me, it was destiny.&quot;<div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1770603522409Ballet Manila_A legacy fulfilled Lisa Macuja Elizalde marks 40th homecoming celebration with a season of curated performances and a landmark collaboration with The Dawn_photo2.JPG" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/>(L-R) Ballet Manila company artist Shamira Drapete and principal dancer Joshua Enciso perform an excerpt from Sleeping Beauty. </div>Macuja will mark her homecoming milestone through Ballet Manila’s PRIMA Performance Season, a curated program of classical works that highlight the company’s Vaganova roots and its commitment to sustaining excellence .After &quot;Ballet &amp; Ballads,&quot; the season will unfold with a series of landmark productions. &quot;Sleeping Beauty&quot; will be staged on March 14 and 15 at Aliw Theater.“Sleeping Beauty’ is the last of my princess trilogy, along with ‘Cinderella’ and ‘Snow White’,” Macuja said. “We are going to perform the ballet with live music from the Manila Symphony Orchestra (MSO) under the baton of Maestro Alexander Vikulov (from Russia).”<div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1770603592728Ballet Manila_A legacy fulfilled Lisa Macuja Elizalde marks 40th homecoming celebration with a season of curated performances and a landmark collaboration with The Dawn_photo3.JPG" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/> Paquita Pas de Trois featuring Ballet Manila principal dancer Jessica Pearl Dames with company artists Rafael Perez and Nanami Hasegawa. </div>Next is the world premiere of the full-length ballet, “Paquita&quot; on June 20 and 21, featuring a showcase of the company’s Vaganova heritage and classical precision.Finally, the season will culminate with &quot;La Bayadère&quot; on August 22 and 23.<div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1770603670890Ballet Manila_A legacy fulfilled Lisa Macuja Elizalde marks 40th homecoming celebration with a season of curated performances and a landmark collaboration with The Dawn_photo4.JPG" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/>Ballet Manila company artists Samantha Garay, Rodney Catubay, and Ana Graciela Andes; with principal dancers Abigail Oliveiro and Junmark Sumaylo; and company artists Ana Katharina Andes, Jos David Andes and Celine Astrologo in a scene from La Bayadère. </div>Guest performers for the full-length ballet will be Renata Shakirova, premier ballerina of Mariinsky Ballet and Kimin Kim, who will return for “La Bayadere.” Other performances throughout the year include &quot;Ibong Adarna&quot; in Dumaguete in February and at Ateneo’s Areté in October, an international tour in Kuala Lumpur in September, and the Holiday Cheer Series in December.

Ballet Manila will make ballet more accessible to new audiences through a free concert collaboration with veteran rock band The Dawn, part of its refreshed “Ballet and Ballads” series.

Ballet Manila will make ballet more accessible to new audiences through a free concert collaboration with veteran rock band The Dawn, part of its refreshed “Ballet and Ballads” series.

The Dawn collaborates with Ballet Manila in cross-genre show

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The Dawn collaborates with Ballet Manila in cross-genre show

Leah C. Salterio

Published February 09, 2026 12:30 PM PHT

Read More:

The Dawn of Ballet

Ballet and Ballads

Ballet Manila

Aliw Theater

Lisa Macuja

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