Lisa Macuja-Elizalde bids farewell to ‘Swan Lake’?

Lisa Macuja-Elizalde, Ballet Manila artistic director, must have been reading my mind when I silently asked myself "Another Swan Lake?"

While it is one of the most popular in the ballet canon, Swan Lake is not that easy to stage.

"Why… yet another Swan Lake?" Macuja-Elizalde writes in her director’s notes. "The answer lies in the demands of this ballet – and in the artistic growth that dancers achieve from dancing it. When 24 swans have to dance as one unit, when a ballerina has to transform from the epitome of good to evil in a span of three immense acts, when 12 corps couples have to adapt to the strictest form of this enduring (and endearing) Russian choreography, the results of this production in the form of skill, knowledge and experience are felt within the company for years to come. Dancers grow onstage in the classics. Why stop a creative process that has worked for more than 200 years?"

There was another reason for Ballet Manila’s latest staging, its sixth full staging since the company was founded in 1995: "As prima ballerina, this Ballet Manila production may very well be my last Swan Lake," she explains. "I really do not think I will be up for another round at tackling Odette/Odile in the future. With mixed emotions, I bid this ballet goodbye."

For years, the roles of Odette and Odile have been Macuja-Elizalde’s. They are her grandest roles. Her ability to switch characters from the good Odette to the evil Odile, as well as her matchless dancing of these roles, made any production of Swan Lake that featured her truly dramatic occasions.

If this Swan Lake was really Macuja-Elizalde’s farewell to this role, it was also the first time Ballet Manila soloist Cristine Rocas was assuming the role in its full four-act entirety. Fresh from her triumph at the Eighth New York International Ballet Competition, where she won the silver medal and the Arpino Award, which gives her a one-year contract with the Joffrey Ballet in Chicago, Rocas took on the twin roles of Odette/Odile after previous stints with the Black Swan pas de deux in past performances.

The differences between the Odette/Odile of Macuja-Elizalde and Rocas were obvious. The BM artistic director took to the roles like second skin. She can dance this ballet with her eyes closed, such is her mastery of the dramatic and technical demands of the ballet. On the other hand, Rocas’ assumption was freshly minted. For a first-timer, she survived the rigors of dancing these difficult roles effortlessly.

Macuja-Elizalde never fails to impress. There was much to thrill any balletomane with her dancing, as well as her acting. Her Odette is more than just a suffering princess; hers is a tragic woman who puts up a fight every night to evade her transformation into a swan with the break of dawn. Her Odile is a willing accomplice to Rothbart’s schemes, using her winning smile and her lithe body to tempt Siegfried. She never fails to miss a gesture in her characterization, creating an Odette that is unique from her Odile. And in this, her final assumption of these twin roles, she proved that her Odette/Odile are the benchmark for these roles among local ballerinas.

It was a delight to watch Rocas as Odette/Odile. Her Odette/Odile might have been dramatically two-dimensional, but her dancing was not. Her Odette had only one face, a sad face; her Odile had a smiling one, a pretty yet naughty face. But never mind that, she will eventually grow into the role and make it her own. On the other hand, her dancing was energetic and on the mark. There might have been slight hesitations in her dancing – you could see her face tense for a second before executing a difficult step – but she never wavered, plunging into the demands of the dance with aplomb. The fact she survived the two-and-a-half-hour ballet was proof she could dance this role.

BM assistant ballet master Jonathan Janolo in the role of Prince Siegfried partnered Macuja-Elizalde. On opening night, Janolo danced his best, adopting a princely attitude that made him perfect for the role. But there was a heaviness to his dancing that made his performance earthbound, which was in contrast to the Prince Siegfried of Francis Cascaño, Rocas’ partner. Not only was he in character for the role – he was younger and slimmer – he was also fleeter in his dancing, moving lightly on the stage.

The absence of physically strong and athletic male danseurs should now be BM’s biggest concern. With most of its experienced male dancers leaving the country for opportunities abroad, it is hard pressed to find dancers with the bravura to partner Macuja-Elizalde. It is not unwise for Ballet Manila to consider importing male guest artists for future productions were the male roles are crucial. Such interaction with non-company members will be good for the company, too.

BM’s strongest male dancer now is Gerardo Francisco, who takes on the role of the Jester in Acts I and III. However, his short stature makes him unsuitable for the princely roles of many ballets. As the court jester, he stole the show from the Prince Siegfried in both ballets. What many dismiss as mere pantomime in these two acts became opportunities for athletic dancing, thanks to Francisco.

The menacing role of Rothbart was assumed by company apprentice Nazer Salgado, a newcomer to the company. Act I also featured the pas de trois of Jerome Espejo, Marian Faustino and Mylene Aggabao, and in Act III, the corps took on the character dances that prepare the audience for the Black Swan pas de deux.

Ballet Manila has drawn up a program of classic ballets for its 2005-2006 season. After its run of Swan Lake this month, it mounts La Fille Mal Gardee this September, The Nutcracker this November and December, and Coppelia on February 2006. This enchanting program of favorites should convince many dance enthusiasts to drop by the Star City complex for their regular dose of ballet, courtesy of Ballet Manila.