Christmas was fast approaching, and Manila was in its usual holiday frenzy. However, “Carmageddon” or bumper-to-bumper traffic did not stop ballet enthusiasts, art lovers, and the city’s well-heeled from attending Ballet Philippines’ gala night performance of CHRISTMAS FAIRYTALES on Friday, December 15. Guests donned their best “holiday formal” attire for an evening of art, dance and Christmas magic.

Two hours before the curtains went up, the lobby at The Theatre at Solaire was set up for BALLET IN PINTÔ, a once-in-a-lifetime exhibition honoring the everlasting relationship between art and dance. Ballet Philippines and Pintô Art Museum collaborated for the exhibition, which featured the paintings, photography and sculptural works of 30 contemporary Filipino artists. Pintô Art Museum Founder Dr. Joven Cuanang spearheaded the project, which was curated by celebrated artist Ferdie Montemayor.

Last July, Pintô invited the Ballet Philippine dancers to the museum’s Academy Room for a special sitting session. All the pieces displayed at the recent exhibition were borne from that afternoon, which had artists studying the ephemeral and fleeting movements of dance. “We asked the artists to attend and take photographs of the dancers as they rehearsed, practiced, and performed,” shared Montemayor. “I see this [collaboration] as two hearts beating as one. Two art forms are coming together as one—the performing arts and the visual arts”. The project served as a beautiful prelude to the show that was to debut at 8PM that evening.

Beyond the exhibition, the metro’s usual stylish set mingled with art aficionados and members of the diplomatic corps. Mothers and daughters wore matching outfits, as did young ballet friends who buzzed with excitement as the performance approached. Guests from the Ballet Philippines’ SHARE THE MAGIC program made the evening even more meaningful. The brave men and women of the Philippine army, navy, and air force were treated to a magical evening of dance. The following day, the children of Kalinga, who were a part of the company’s BALLET BRIGADE OUTREACH program, attended the show wearing their vibrant traditional dress.

As the bell rang to indicate the start of the show, guests made their way inside The Theatre at Solaire. A hushed silence fell over as Act One of Ballet Philippines’ CHRISTMAS FAIRYTALES began. The ballet follows the holiday adventure of Little Tala. On Christmas Eve, Tala awakens to a magical world where imagination knows no bounds. There, she meets the Wizard, who tells her that her beloved fairytale characters are in disarray. Little Tala has until the stroke of midnight to make everything right again. If she should fail to bring back the world’s most celebrated happy endings, she will never return home.

During her adventure, Tala is swept into iconic fairytales that have captured the imaginations of multiple generations. Among them is Alibaba whom she hides from the thieves, Cinderella who has lost her shoe, Prince Siegfriedsearch looking for the Black Swan, Sleeping Beauty under a magic spell, and the Rat King who continues to plot a vicious attack against the Nutcracker. Ballet Philippines’ Artistic Director Mikhail “Misha” Martynyuk wrote the original libretto for CHRISTMAS FAIRYTALES, in hopes of creating a distinctively unique story where good triumphs over evil.

That weekend when Ballet Philippines presented CHRISTMAS FAIRYTALES, the beautiful tradition of spending the holidays at the ballet was brought back to life. It was infused with art, good company, and a heart for advocacy.