BM 2.0: A TRIUMPHANT 20-YEAR CELEBRATION

Press Release for Ballet Manila's 20th Anniversary Celebration

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"We did not have our own studio. We had a makeshift rehearsal area in my parentsí house in Quezon City, but it was not big enough. Every time we had to rehearse as a group, we had to move from one studio to another. There were days when our dancers would warm-up six at a time, kasi hindi kasya, walang space. It had a mirror pero kalahati lang, we couldn't see our feet" Ballet Manila directress Lisa Macuja-Elizalde shared.

From its humble beginnings, having only 12 dancers who tirelessly do full repertoires, now the dance company has over 50 professional dancers, plus their own facility that boasts three rehearsal studios and a music library. After two decades of top-notch dance instruction, Ballet Manila continues to produce world-class, highly disciplined dancers that the country can be proud of.

With its main focus on classical ballet, Ballet Manila uses the Russian Vaganova training, a method that was taught to Lisa when she was a scholar at Vaganova Choreographic Institute in Leningrad. "What makes us different from other companies is our commitment to the highest standards of classical ballet based on our Russian Vaganova roots," Lisa said. Aside from the training under Lisa's tutelage, as the Ballet Manila School is associated with the Vaganova Academy of Russian Ballet in St. Petersburg, Russia, Russian teachers are invited yearly to conduct lessons and closely work with the dancers.

For its 20th year, the concert will highlight the company's road to success and will also honor certain members of the Ballet Manila family who have made waves in the international scene. BM has produced outstanding dancers over the course of twenty years and one of its alumni will be flying in from the USA to perform in the concert. "We welcome back our alumna, Christine Rocas, who has been enjoying a successful career at Joffrey Ballet in Chicago. She will perform with her regular partner, Rory Hohenstein." Christine Rocas topped the New York Ballet Competition when she was still with Ballet Manila, and she will be performing as Cinderella in Chicago this September.

To start off the two-day celebration, BM 2.0 will open with "Paquita," a staple in the early performances of Ballet Manila. "It represents our Vaganova training. It was danced for many generations at the Academy of Russian Ballet. Itís traditional and powerful, something that shows off the technical refinement of our dancers," she explained.

A new work will also be presented in the concert. The audience of BM 2.0 will be treated with the world premier of "Bloom", choreographed by Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, her first work for an Asian dance company. "I have a lot of male dancers. Use them," Lisa jokingly instructed Annabelle as they were preparing for the concert.

Another number will serve as a tribute to Filipino music. "Every Filipino is a singer and dancer, regardless if they are good or not, it's in our genes," Lisa said during the press preview. Headed by principal artist Gerardo Francisco, Ballet Manila will be dancing to Imago's hit song, Taralets. "This reaffirms our commitment to bring the ballet to the people and people to the ballet. We continue to dance with OPM singers and we'll continue to do that as part of our mission." According to Lisa, the first time they danced to Filipino songs were back in 1997 when Fred J. Elizalde, her husband, launched Ballet & Ballads with hopes of merging Manila Broadcasting Community with Ballet Manila to help ballet reach a wider audience.

Lastly, a dancer's commitment to his craft is highlighted in "Ecole". The piece was created by BM co-artistic director and Lisa Macuja-Elizalde's dance partner for 16 years Osias Barroso and was first performed in 1999. "Ecole" has become the Ballet Manila dancers' ìrite of passageî for two generations. According to Lisa, "Ecole" is doubly significant because it ushers in a new generation of local talent. "It will focus on the next generation of dancers. It will also show the future of Ballet Manila because it will feature our top students and scholars from both the BM School and Project Ballet Futures," she said.

Project Ballet Futures is a scholarship program created by Lisa in 2008. An alumnus of the said program will be part of Annabelle Lopez Ochoa's "Bloom".

BM 2.0 will have a two-day run: February 28, 7:30 p.m. and March 1, 3:00 p.m. at the Aliw Theater in Pasay City. For tickets and inquiries, visit www.ticketworld.com.ph or call 891 9999.