New crop of Ballet Manila dancers shine in ‘Giselle’

The mark of any good dancer is if he can command your attention no matter what else is happening around him. He might be competing with a street rally on stage, but if he manages to catch your focus and force you to concentrate on what he is doing, then he is successful in his craft.

With the recent farewell by Ballet Manila premier danseur Osias Barroso from the dance stage, the ballet company is grooming its pool of young danseurs to take over the responsibilities Barroso has left behind. Its recent staging of the dance classic, Giselle, is an example. Taking Barroso’s place as Lisa Macuja-Elizalde’s partner is BM alumnus Christopher Mohnani, who was supposed to have paired BM senior soloist Sandra Lynn Huang in some performances. BM senior soloist Jerome Espejo took over Mohnani’s duties as Huang’s dancing partner.

Ballet lovers consider Giselle to be a difficult ballet because it requires a ballerina who can act. The ballet has two acts, and the varying demands of each act are at the crux of any performance. The first act exposition requires her to act, not just mime the story’s plot but pour her heart out on stage. In the final 20 minutes of Act I, Giselle goes insane, and at the last moment, before she breathes her last, becomes lucid. This is where a ballerina’s dramatic prowess is tested. Then in the second act, a dancer is required to dance nonstop like a spirit, which Giselle is at this point in the story.

The demands on the danseur in Giselle are not as strenuous as those of the ballerina. However, they are just as formidable, requiring him to dance just as much as the female lead in Act 2.

The attraction of any Ballet Manila production is the opportunity to see Macuja-Elizalde perform her roles in her prime. You are sure to get your money’s worth at any of her performances because she gives 100 percent of her time and talent to anything she dances.

In this staging of Giselle, she performed as expected: Consummate as an actress, ideal as a dancer. In her nth outing as Giselle, her dancing was as newly minted as the last time we saw her dance this role. Everything was in place in Act 1, wide-eyed and blushing when she discovers Albrecht’s love, distraught at her discovery of Albrecht’s betrayal, moving in her moment of insanity. In Act 2, she was as riveting, executing her leaps and pirouettes perfectly. At the end of the ballet, you have become witness to another moment of artistic wonder.

As Albrecht, Mohnani brought a sense of youthfulness to his assumption of the role, in contrast to memories of Barroso’s carefully measured maturity. It wasn’t surprising that this Albrecht betrayed Giselle’s trust because of his immaturity. In Act 1, when Albrecht is torn between his fancy for Giselle and his duties to his family with his pre-ordained marriage to the countess Bathilde, it was easy to feel his hesitancy. And in Act 2, when Albrecht is commanded by Myrtha to dance to his death, he came to his own, dancing just as quickly and nimbly as all corps of wilis.

As partners, Macuja-Elizalde and Mohnani proved to be a perfect pair, although the danseur looked a little bit too big for the ballerina. Other than that, it was as if they have been dancing for years. Mohnani was a worthy partner to Macuja-Elizalde.

While Macuja-Elizalde is the main attraction in Ballet Manila’s productions, its younger dancers are also coming to their own, dancing the repertory in many of the alternate roles. Huang took over some of the matinee shows and treated a mainly teen crowd to dazzling dancing. She didn’t have to act young, because she is young. Her youth made her assumption as Giselle successful.

This Giselle was like a breath of fresh mountain air, as Huang started her mastery of a role that every ballerina would covet in an instant. Her performance was not as perfectly limned as Macuja-Elizalde’s, especially when it came to the acting. It would be refreshing to see her mature into this role in future stagings.

Espejo brought to his Albrecht youth and energy. In Act 2, when Albrecht is forced to dance by the wilis, his strength never wavered, even though he was supposed to be reduced to a mass of exhaustion. But it was committed dancing, showing the young man’s capacities as a danseur.

Taking over the role of Hilarion for both couples was BM demi soloist Marcus Tolentino, while there were two sets of Myrthas and lead wilis: Eileen Lopez and Jennifer Olayvar and Alexa Sayson, and Gabrielle Quinto and Christine Rocas and Gabriella Galvez. It has been the hallmark of all BM productions that even supporting roles are assigned to its best dancers, giving the whole company an opportunity to learn the different roles in its different productions. In this staging of Giselle, they added their talent to the show to offer the audience a complete theatrical experience.

Ballet Manila’s decision to farm roles for some of its shows to its young dancers is an indication that the dance company is producing enough talent for future productions. Indeed, the number of young danseurs who have been working under Barroso in the past year, and their assumption of many of his roles is testament to the efficiency of the company’s training. Now that many of its young ballerinas are also assuming leads and acquitting themselves are tributes to the sound and effective training Macuja-Elizalde and Barroso have been offering. It is not surprising that the dance company can continually offer repertory ballets without running out of enough dancers to assume the roles. It is an assertion of Ballet Manila’s lead role among the country’s prestigious dance companies.