By Brontë H. Lacsamana, Reporter
Ballet ReviewGiselleBy Ballet Manila
FOR the final production of Ballet Manila’s 26th performance season, the ballet company welcomed renowned Russian dance couple Renata Shakirova and Alexei Timofeyevin a moving restaging of the love story Giselle.
“There are some ballets that one can watch again and again with many different casts and still not get enough of. I think Giselle is one of them,” said Ballet Manila Chief Executive Officer and artistic director Lisa Macuja-Elizalde in her opening notes at the Sept. 1 show.
“In presenting Renata and Alexei to the Philippine audience, I feel like a proud big sister — as we both consider our teacher at the Russian Ballet Academy, Tatiana Udalenkova, as our mentor and second mother,” she said.
While the season saw Ballet Manila successfully take on the classic Le Corsaire in February,and short stories by Lola Basyang in May, it is with Giselle that the company shines amid its gradual post-pandemic resurgence.
The two superstars from the Mariinsky Ballet bring their strong connection as a real-life couple to the charming attraction and eventual drama of Giselle and Albrecht’s story. It is a wonder to think that it is their first time performing it together (and what a privilege it is the Philippines that witnesses the result).
Giselle is a technically challenging ballet, requiring a high level of artistry and technique as the dancers perform numerous jumps and lifts, often at speed. In terms of stage and costume design, it is a full production but does not really require elaborate visuals — though the recently updated LED projections installed at Aliw Theater do give it a boost.
Ms. Shakirova is a true romantic ballerina, her movements full of poise and grace as the kind village girl Giselle’s heart is won by a dashing peasant man. Mr. Timofeyev as Albrecht conveys the sense of nobility that he is trying to hide, and when his identity as a count and betrothal to another lady is revealed, he quickly embodies remorse and sorrow.
As for Giselle, who dies of a broken heart, the Mariinsky Ballet prima ballerina fills the role with rueful madness, driving home the story’s tragic nature. Act 1, full of life and song and dance, has a jarring shift in tone as Act 2 opens at the graveyard where Giselle is buried.
The entire corps de ballet similarly undergoes a shift in atmosphere, as the colorful and lively villagers are replaced by a haunting horde of Wilis—ghosts of maidens who were betrayed by their lovers — decked in radiant white dresses. The entire stage, from the set to the costumes to the people themselves, suddenly appear to be pulled from a horror movie — a treat for fans of the gothic and macabre.
Stephanie Santiago as the Willisqueen Myrtha adds an interesting dimension to the narrative. She plays up the harsh look on her face in contrast to the way she gracefully dances, as one would expect of a vengeful queen of maiden spirits. It is later announced that she is Ballet Manila’s newest soloist — deservedly so.
As Giselle and Albrecht are locked in a deadly pas de deux, their lovely dance from Act 1 now morphed into a somber yet moving conclusion in Act 2, one gets the impression that Ms. Shakirova and Mr. Timofeyev’s interpretation is likely one of the best put to stage.
Giselle is truly a fitting finale to Ballet Manila’s performance season, with superstar guests weaving their own romantic feelings into the powerful story. It’s a haunting production that leaves one wondering where Ballet Manila will go in its upcoming 30th year as a company.
