Ballet Manila Unveils a Bold New ‘Swan Lake’ for Its Pearl Year

Ballet Manila Unveils a Bold New ‘Swan Lake’ for Its Pearl Year

Ballet Manila continues its Pearl Year with the full grandeur of Swan Lake, running from May 30 to June 1 at the Aliw Theater. Leading the cast are Guest Artists Katherine Barkman—San Francisco Ballet’s First Soloist and former Ballet Manila Principal Dancer—as she takes on the iconic dual roles of Odette (White Swan) and Odile (Black Swan), alongside Esteban Hernandez, Principal Dancer of San Francisco Ballet, as Prince Siegfried. Lisa Macuja Elizalde will appear in the role of the Queen Mother.

Matinee performances will feature Ballet Manila Principal Dancer Abigail Oliveiro as Odette/Odile, with San Francisco Ballet Soloist Nathaniel Remez as Prince Siegfried.

Celebrating its 30th anniversary, Ballet Manila’s “Pearl Year” marks Swan Lake as its second major production following The Pearl Gala in March.

The Most Romantic Ballet of All Time

Few works in the classical ballet world rival the prestige and challenge of Swan Lake. Ballet Manila CEO and Artistic Director Lisa Macuja-Elizalde calls it, “the most romantic ballet of all time.” She notes its unlikely origin—initially a flop at its 1877 Moscow premiere—before a reimagined 1895 version by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov became “the greatest hit of all time.”

At the ballet’s heart lies the dual role of Odette and Odile. “It’s the most demanding of classical ballets… two different styles, two different personalities. Odette is soft, lyrical, and it’s more of adagios, slow movements. Odile is a seductress. She’s quite evil, and she needs to be really strong for all her turns and jumps.”

The dual role wasn’t always performed by one ballerina. “At first, the role of Odette and Odile was performed by two different ballerinas because the role was deemed so difficult that two ballerinas needed to share it. And as the ballet progressed in the repertoire of these companies in Russia, one ballerina wanted all the glory,” she laughs. “So they started to dance both the Black Swan and the White Swan.”

A New Vision: Manila and Dumaguete Performances

This year’s Swan Lake features bold artistic updates by Macuja-Elizalde herself. “There’s going to be a lot of new stuff, especially in Acts 1 and 3. I re-choreographed those parts to tell the story more clearly.”

In addition to five performances at the Aliw Theater, Ballet Manila will take the production to Dumaguete in July for seven shows over four days. The upcoming staging also rebalances technical demands across the cast. “Four acts for the women en pointe is not a joke. So I really wanted this version of Swan Lake to have a little bit more shared responsibility between the boys and the girls.”

Character dynamics are also evolving. “I wanted [Rothbart] to really dominate Odette in Act 2,” she explains. “We also changed the ending, so that’s going to be a revelation as well.” While preserving the Petipa-Ivanov choreography, she has reworked some of the group and court dances. “So it’s a new Ballet Manila Swan Lake.”

The company is also preparing alternate dancers for Dumaguete: Pearl Dames (Odette/Odile), Shaira Comeros (Odette/Odile), Noah Esplana and Joshua Encisco (Prince Siegfried), and Rodney Catubay (Von Rothbart).

Legacy and Lineage

For Macuja-Elizalde, who has performed Odette/Odile many times herself, passing on these roles is deeply meaningful. “The process is endless when you’re coaching, and when you’re teaching, and when you’re handing down the role, but I just feel very fortunate and privileged that I am able to hand down the roles that I danced before to the next generations of dancers. It is a legacy that I’m very excited to be able to do.”

Barkman’s return is a full-circle moment—she danced Odette/Odile with Ballet Manila at just 19. Her partner, Esteban Hernandez, also returns to Manila, having performed the role of Basilio in the company’s 2023 staging of Don Quixote.

Equally anticipated is the pairing of Abigail Oliveiro and Nathaniel Remez. Dancing the dual role for the fourth time, Oliveiro reflects:

”When it comes to Swan Lake actually, I feel like I can give a little more soul than before. I’ve performed it three times here as a full-length. In between, I’ve also had chances to perform the White Swan adagio, or the Black Swan pas de deux in galas, so I’ve also had those opportunities to refine my technique, my nerves, and my artistic qualities.”

“For me right now, it’s embodying all of that, and trying to give a fuller Swan Lake,” she adds. “Now, I feel like I have a different story to tell, even though it’s the same story. It’s different. It’s a different Odette, it’s a different Odile for me. With a new partner comes new chemistry… Every time you get to perform it, it’s a different version, so I’m excited to discover what this is gonna be.”

Setting the Standard

For Ballet Manila, Swan Lake is not just a classic—it’s a benchmark.

“Swan Lake has been called a ballet warhorse because it is a ballet that any classical ballet company would put first and foremost in front, in a repertoire, for a company to perform. A little bit like The Nutcracker, but it is much, much more difficult than Nutcracker to mount,” shares Macuja-Elizalde.

From the iconic Black Swan pas de deux, with its five demanding variations and infamous 32 fouettés, to the swan corps that transforms between acts, Swan Lake tests every facet of a company.

“I think it is the standard that any classical ballet company can call itself a classical ballet company because of the dynamics and the different demands of the ballet,” she says. “You really have to have at least 24 girls that are strong enough to dance all 4 acts as swans and as court maidens. There’s also a lot of demand from the soloist roles–the pas de trois in act 1, and the jester in act 1. There is a huge demand from the Principals– of Odette/Odile and Siegfried. So any ballet company that puts a Swan Lake on, has arrived and can really call themselves a classical ballet company in its true form and its true being of a classical ballet company.”

Lisa knows the pressure firsthand. “Whenever I hear the music of the Bazurka, I start to get nauseas. I start to vomit, because it’s like a triggering thing—The Black Swan is happening soon.”

She ends by saying, “When I was planning The Pearl Year last year, I asked myself, ‘What classical ballet do I program for The Pearl Year that signifies that Ballet Manila has truly recovered and arrived after the pandemic?’ And hands down, it was Swan Lake. If the company can do Swan Lake in its Pearl Year, it means we have truly recovered and arrived.”

Tickets are P2,060 (Center) and P1,030 (Sides), with matinee prices at P1,442 (Center) and P721 (Sides). Available via Ticketworld.