Heart 2 Heart: Ballet & Ballads

Ballet Manila ends its 18th performance season on a high note with the latest installment of its popular Ballet & Ballads series, this time titled Heart 2 Heart. The London-based musical theater group, West End Mamas and Papas, is the featured guest.

Heart 2 Heart: Ballet & Ballads is presented by Ballet Manila, Aliw Theater, Star City and Manila Broadcasting Company, with ACS Manufacturing (Shield Bath Soap), First United Travel Inc. and SEAir as major sponsors, with the support of Ralph’s Wines and Spirits, Island Rose and Ticketworld.

Heart 2 Heart features the special participation of prima ballerina Lisa Macuja-Elizalde, who is also Ballet Manila’s artistic director. She dances opposite principal dancer Rudy De Dios in The Last Poem, choreographed by Augustus “Bam” Damian III, which tells the story of a man and his dying beloved.

Three choreographies are being premiered: Ernest Mandap’s Lune, Francis Jaena’s Shutter and Gerardo Francisco’s Corvus. Lune is a short, witty take on the 1920s era of the Charleston dance and the two-step. Shutter is characterized by jazz-like movements. Corvus, the Latin word for crow, combines fast movements and defined showmanship to articulate the powerful image of the bird it is named after.

Ballet Manila staples like the all-male Aramica and the romantic MAZN, as well as the classical pas de deux Harlequinade, are likewise featured.

After making their debut in last year’s Ballet & Ballads, for which they won an Aliw Award as Best New Artist, the West End Mamas this time brings with them the “West End Papas.” Gia Macuja-Atchison, Cez Campos-Bonner and Maya Barredo-Duffy are joined by their respective husbands – violinist/ conductor Robert Atchison, and singer/actors Nick Bonner and Gerard Duffy. All six are seasoned performers whose careers boast various engagements in London’s famed theater row.

There will be songs from Les Miserables and Starlight Express, OPM tunes and a Disney/ Frozen medley. Rousing numbers like Eto Na-Doobidoo and In The Mood will have the audience clapping and humming along. Jammin’ – a jamming session featuring a violinist, a surprise guest trumpet player and 16 ballerinas on pointe – is also something to watch out for.

Ballet & Ballads was conceptualized by Manila Broadcasting Company chairman Fred J. Elizalde, Macuja-Elizalde’s husband. Combining the resources of MBC and Ballet Manila, it has sought to popularize ballet all over the country which is in line with the dance company’s mission of bringing ballet to the people.

Launched in 1998, the series has been presented in major venues in Metro Manila and has been taken on numerous provincial tours. Previous editions of the series have featured such pop stars as Ariel Rivera, Janno Gibbs, Jaya, Nyoy Volante, Lani Misalucha, Toni Gonzaga, Kyla and Freestyle.

Explaining the broad appeal of the long-running Ballet & Ballads series, Macuja-Elizalde notes, “It combines the musical appeal of a concert and the visual delight of the ballet, that’s why it’s always fun.” (Source: www.ticketworld.com.ph)

Date of Performances: 
February 21, 2014
Friday
7:30 PM

March 1, 2014
Saturday
7:30 PM 

Venue: 
Aliw Theater
CCP Complex, Roxas Blvd.
Pasay City 

Ticket Prices:
Diamond - P1,545
Gold - P1,030

Tickets can be purchased at:
www.ticketworld.com.ph and
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