Ballet Manila's Romeo + Juliet to be staged at Areté Ateneo

Ballet Manila will be restaging Martin Lawrence’s Romeo + Juliet at the Hyundai Hall, Areté of Ateneo de Manila University on September 16, Saturday, 3pm and 8pm and September 17, Sunday, at 3pm.

The ballet ran at the Aliw Theater last February starring Joshua Enciso as Romeo and Pearl Dames as Juliet. Martin Lawrence’s modern and Filipino adaptation of the Shakespearean tragedy incorporated OPM music and Sergei Prokofiev’s score, with elements from Baz Luhrmann’s 1996 Romeo + Juliet movie and Broadway’s West Side Story.

The production marks the beginning of Ballet Manila’s collaboration with Areté. Ballet Manila Artistic Director and Chief Executive Officer Lisa Macuja says they are hoping to expand their audience through the newfound partnership. “We are hoping to build a new audience that will go to the ballet and we are hopefully able to expand this, not just to make it a performance season of Ballet Manila here in Areté but to also make it a more immersive experience with ballet workshops, ballet classes, and lecture demonstrations,” Macuja shared.

Areté Artistic Director Dr Ricardo G. Abad added that he hopes the partnership will help ignite interest in the performing arts among more Filipinos. “I've been dreaming of a partnership like this for Areté, and I was thrilled to know that Liza had a similar vision for Ballet Manila. This partnership will strengthen our creative and social missions as we strive to reach out to diverse publics and communities."

Tickets to Romeo + Juliet are available through Ticketworld. Ticket prices range from P1,030 to P2,060.