What might seem to others like an annus horribilis for Lisa Macuja Elizalde, CEO and artistic director of Ballet Manila (BM), she now sees as just a year of adapting to unexpected changes.
On Oct. 2, 2019, the eve of her birthday, a fire razed the Star City Complex and damaged Aliw Theater, BM’s home. The company had been all set to perform “Giselle”—which it thankfully got to do after securing a one-night venue grant at the Cultural Center of the Philippines.
Elizalde was thus determined to celebrate her company’s 25th anniversary season with pomp. BM would restage Gerardo Francisco’s award-winning “Ibong Adarna” in Ateneo’s Hyundai Hall, and follow it up with a three-month …
Keep on reading: A season of silver linings for Lisa Macuja Elizalde