PBT opens new season with 'Swan Lake'

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine Ballet Theater, the resident ballet company of the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP), restages the beloved full-length classical ballet, Tchaikovksy’s Swan Lake, at the CCP Main Theater beginning July 1.

To perform the lead role of Prince Siegfried is a special guest artist from the US, Linnar Looris, one of the stars of The Houston Ballet. To perform the roles of the Swan Queen Odette and Odile are two rising stars of PBT, Tiffany Mangulabnan and Bianca Trocino

First performed in Moscow in 1877, Swan Lake has ever since been an indispensable, enduring, and beloved part of the classical ballet repertoire. As the country’s premier classical ballet company, the PBT has made it its mission to preserve the rich and elegant classical-story ballet while launching cutting-edge contemporary works. It also commissions Filipino masterpieces that bring to the fore Filipino artists’ extraordinary talents. 

Since its founding in 1986, the PBT has been at the forefront of developing local dancers as inspired by its principal movers that include veteran artists like Julie Borromeo, Tita Radaic, and Eddie Elejar. Some of the country’s top ballet dancers had trained with the PBT, among them Lisa Macuja, Osias Barroso, Lea Baduria Abigail and Jared Tan some of whom have since gained international prominence as dancers for eminent ballet companies in Europe and the US.

With Ronilo Jaynario as artistic director and Anatoly Panasyukov as ballet master, PBT’s new season promises a fresh burst of creative genius.

Swan Lake playdates are July 1, 8 p.m. (gala night); July 2, 8 p.m.; July 3, 3.pm. and 8 p.m., and July 4 at 3.pm. For tickets and inquiries, call PBT at 632-8848, or visit www.philippineballettheatre.ph or www.culturalcenter.gov.ph.