A dazzling partnership lights up the stage

INTERNATIONAL BALLET STARS from Russia’s Mariinsky Ballet will be bringing fresh fire to the home stage of Ballet Manila for a restaging of the energetic Don Quixote.

- Brontë H. Lacsamana

The three-night affair, set for Aug. 22 to 24 at the Aliw Theater, will be headlined by renowned ballet dancers Renata Shakirova and Kimin Kim, who have danced Don Quixote together at the Mariinsky countless times.

Ballet Manila’s artistic director Lisa Macuja-Elizalde said at an Aug. 15 press conference that they chose Don Quixote to close the season for Ballet Manila’s 30th year following Ms. Shakirova’s guesting in Giselle last year.

Faced with the possibility of her and Mr. Kim starring together, the obvious choice was a ballet that they had already mastered together.

“When Kimin became available, then we could finally do this dream collaboration. For the two, this is their ‘king ballet,” said Ms. Macuja-Elizalde, referencing the equivalent Russian term korolevsky spektakl, which refers to a ballet that best represents a dancer’s artistry.

For Mr. Kim, it was easy to say yes due to the artistic director’s close ties with his mentors back in Mariinsky. It is his first time in the Philippines, and his first time dancing with Ballet Manila.