DanceLink Performing Arts presents Ballet Manila, one of Southeast Asia’s leading ballet companies, as it returns to Malaysia in September for a double-bill showcasing the opera-ballet La Traviata and a mix of classical, modern, neo-classical and contemporary choreographies.
The event is set to coincide with the 60th year of the diplomatic relationship between the Republic of the Philippines and Malaysia, and will also showcase Malaysian performing artists as a celebration of cultures, with fifteen dancers from various local ballet schools who passed the auditions held in Kuala Lumpur being part of the cast.
DanceLink first worked with Ballet Manila in 2019 when the latter made its debut in Malaysia in its Tour de Force shows at the Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Centre, marking the company’s last performance tour before the COVID pandemic.
Ballet Manila artistic director Lisa Macuja-Elizalde said it seemed fitting that Ballet Manila will go back to Malaysia for another performance series after emerging from the global crisis that shut down dance schools, ballet companies and performing arts venues.
Macuja-Elizalde also shared her excitement to collaborate anew with DanceLink, particularly because the school is run by two artists and former members of her company—Alfren Salgado and Violet Hong—a Filipino and Malaysian who got married, adding another layer to the upcoming event’s cross-cultural focus.
“Ballet Manila’s Greatests Hits will be another opportunity for audiences in Malaysia to experience the diverse repertoire of the company which is anchored on the Russian Vaganova method,” added Macuja Elizalde.
She is also thrilled that her own choreography of La Traviata, inspired by the tragic opera of Giuseppe Verdi, will be making its Malaysian premiere after its Philippine debut in 2020. Being an opera-ballet, La Traviata will also feature Filipino classical singers – soprano Anna Migallos, baritone Roby Malubay and tenor Nohmer Nival.
The second half of Ballet Manila’s Greatest Hits will be comprised of: Augustus Damian III’s Reconfigured, an all-male modern dance piece highlighting the intensity and power of the company’s danseurs, and Sotto Voce, a piece performed practically in full on pointes; Alexander Gorsky’s Don Quixote Grand Pas de Deux, the wedding dance of Kitri and Basilio from the full-length Russian classic; National Artist for Dance Agnes Locsin’s Sayao sa Pamlang, a suite of dances inspired by the culture of the Philippine South, and Arachnida, a pas de deux about spiders mating; and Tony Fabella’s Dancing to Verdi, focusing on the technical and artistic proficiencies of the dancers.
Macuja-Elizalde, who graduated at the top of her class from the Leningrad Choreographic Insitute in St. Petersburg, was the first non-Russian dancer to be invited to join the centuries-old Kirov Ballet in 1984. As a soloist with the Kirov, she performed the female principal roles in the full-length classics Giselle and Don Quixote.
In 1986, she went home to become a Philippine-based classical dancer while also being an international guest artist. In 1995, already recognized as the country’s prima ballerina, she co-founded Ballet Manila together with perennial partner Osias Barroso Jr. and ten other young dancers with the aim of “bringing ballet to the people and people to the ballet.”
The group – which turns 30 in 2025 – has since grown and become the foremost classical ballet company in the Philippines, acclaimed as the “Storytellers on Toes,” with a full schedule that includes an annual performance season, a Christmas series, outreach tours, and corporate shows.
Ballet Manila’s Greatest Hits in Malaysia will be held at the Stage 1 Theatre of the Petaling Jaya Performing Arts Centre in Selangor, Malaysia on September 6, 8:30 p.m.; September 7, 3 p.m. and 8:30 p.m.; and September 8, 3 p.m.
The show is supported by The Embassy of the Republic of the Philippines in Kuala Lumpur, Pudu Ria Florists, Sonata Danceworld, 3thirds Inc, Infoscreen, RedBerry Cinema and Digital, Thumbprints, and C Dance Academy. Visit onetix.com.my for tickets or call +60377324988.
SEA Wave Pop Culture Magazine is the official media partner of DanceLink and Ballet Manila’s Greatest Hits. Learn more about the event on the official Facebook group.