The Dawn of Ballet

 The Dawn collaborates with Ballet Manila for band’s Ruby anniversary

By Earl D.C. Bracamonte

The Manila Broadcasting Corp. (MBC) presents The Dawn, in collaboration with Ballet Manila (BM), in a two-day free post-Valentine show dubbed “The Dawn of Ballet” at the Aliw Theater.

The show is a special edition of BM’s “Ballet and Ballads” series, and is a part of The Dawn’s 40th anniversary as a band. It also celebrates Lisa Macuja’s homecoming from Russia.

“Each of The Dawn songs is a stand alone number. The dances here are free interpretations, as against the difficulty of performing classical ballet. This highlights the versatility of Ballet Manila” observed company president Liza Macuja-Elizalde.

Ballet Manila gave a preview to one of the numbers in the forthcoming show. Martin Lawrence choreographed the band’s 2000 hit “I Saw You Coming” with a modern interpretation featuring a duet, trio, and quartet segments.

 Now on his 11th year, Martin has choreographed 12 beautiful pieces for the company. For the show, he will be writing the movement to four of the band’s songs written in English.

“Dancers come in, dancers mature. Then new dancers come in. It’s interesting to see the journey of the dance,” quoted Martin.

On the other hand, Gerardo Francisco Jr. will be choreographing four other songs of the band that’s written in Tagalog (Pilipino). There will be a script in between to connect all featured songs.

“We chose the songs from our biggest hits and a new one we recorded, “Saan Ka Pupunta” in 2025. Ballet Manila’s choreography will make our music a spectacle. As part of our Ruby Anniversary, we will be touring Australia and New Zealand in April and May. We will also have an anniversary concert on June 27th.

“We will be performing based on our gigs but, this time, we will provide space for the dancers to move. It’s a collaboration. We have a show!” shared The Dawn‘s lead vocalist, Jett Pangan.

In the past, Ballet Manila has collaborated with other music artists like Luke Mijares, Lani Misalucha, Basil Valdez, Jaya, Ariel Rivera, West End Mamas & West End Papas, and Christian Bautista, to name a few.

“Thirty one years of ballet has given rise to a lot of collaborations. BM wants to reach out to the audiences of The Dawn, so as to do away with the stigma that ballet is only for the elite," Macuja-Elizalde added.

The Dawn of Ballet unfolds at the Aliw Theater on Feb 20 and 21 at 7:30 pm. For free tickets, simply visit Ballet Manila’s page on Facebook to book seats for the show.