True love twirls onstage

Ballet Manila brings Russian dance couple to Aliw stage

TWO SUPERSTARS from the Mariinsky Ballet in Russia will be gracing the home stage of Ballet Manila, the Aliw Theater, for a restaging of the love story Giselle.

The ballet will be headlined by dancers and real-life couple Renata Shakirova and Alexei Timofeyev, who will be dancing Giselle together for the first time.

Ballet Manila’s principal dancers Abigail Oliveiro and Mark Sumaylo will headline the performance on Aug. 31 at 1 p.m. while Ms. Shakirova and Mr. Timofeyev will take on the title roles on Aug. 31 at 8 p.m. and Sept. 1 at 5 p.m.

Ballet Manila’s artistic director Lisa Macuja-Elizalde said at an Aug. 14 press conference that the collaboration came about from her close ties with the Mariinsky Ballet (formerly the Kirov Ballet), where she trained and became its first foreign soloist in the mid-1980s.

She invited them via e-mail earlier this year to come over, which they accepted.

“I think that Renata’s true romantic style of dancing and the fact that she is dancing with her real-life prince Alexei is going to transform Ballet Manila’s Giselle to a Giselle of another level,” said Ms. Macuja-Elizalde.

For Mr. Timofeyev, it was hard to say no to the seasoned ballerina, who is always “full of energy and life” about the ballet.

Ms. Shakirova added that they are taking the opportunity to try and connect with an unfamiliar audience through the universal language of dance.

“It means highlighting the small nuances in the performance, like the turn of the head or eye contact with your partner, so that the emotions of the story resonate,” she said.

Born in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, Ms. Shakirova joined the Mariinsky Ballet upon her graduation in 2015 and was immediately given her first principal role as Kitri in Don Quixote. In 2016, she competed in the Bolshoi Ballet Competition, where she won first prize.

Meanwhile, Leningrad-born Mr. Timofeyev joined the Mariinsky Ballet in 2004. As the current soloist of the dance company, he has won multiple ballet competitions over the years.

EXCITING MATCHUP
Mr. Timofeyev explained that, while the two of them have performed together before, this being their first time doing Giselle together makes it exciting

“It is one of my favorite ballets. Dancing it with my wife, Renata, is even more interesting as we get to find out what could happen,” said Mr. Timofeyev. “We are getting a good kind of jitters because we are also performing in front of an audience we don’t know.”

As the third offering of Ballet Manila’s 26^th performance season, Giselle is a classic love story revolving around the titular village girl who falls in love with Albrecht, not knowing he is already engaged. When she finds out, she dies of a broken heart and becomes a wili, joining the souls of girls who were wronged by their men. When Albrecht visits Giselle’s grave, she protects him from Myrtha, the vengeful wili queen.

“Giselle and Albrecht are such dynamic roles, both physically and mentally,” Ms. Shakirova said of the difficulty performing the ballet. “But it will be a great experience because we’re going to be holding each other. That kind of artistry with somebody you are close to will make the performance special.”

Ms. Macuja-Elizalde said that the recently rebuilt and upgraded Aliw Theater, which now has LED light projections, has resulted in an update of Giselle compared with Ballet Manila’s previous stagings of the ballet.

All performances will be staged at the Aliw Theater, CCP Complex, Pasay City. For tickets, visit www.ticketworld.com.ph. — Brontë H. Lacsamana