Ballet Philippines (BP) has a December surprise that should help bring added Christmas joy to this year’s holiday season. It’s a fun, entertaining classical ballet that showcases Filipino terpsichorean talent: Peter Pan, as conceptualized by BP’s artistic director, Misha Martynuk. 

Ballet Philippines President Kathleen Liechtenstein was ready to remind us that the Dec. 6-8 performances at Solaire will also be our chance to watch what they’ll be bringing, along with Limang Daan, to cities such as Athens and Vienna next March, as Ballet Philippines will embark on a European tour. 

As Misha Martynuk explained, this Peter Pan ballet is his version, inspired by the original JM Barrie story. It will be a ballet for children, but it will also be something adults will appreciate. There will be a classical ballet approach with classic discipline and technique. Still, he’ll (Peter) be flying - and they plan to use elements in the original story such as the crocodile, Tinkerbell, and NeverNeverLand.

A different cast for each performance is something new that Misha will employ for this Peter Pan. It stands to be one of the biggest productions mounted by Ballet Philippines, and the promise is to make each performance magical. 

In the interview portion of the media event, Misha was asked what his biggest challenge has been since he took over the reins of BP’s artistic direction. Without batting an eyelash, he immediately responded that it would have been Limang Daan, which was staged in March of this year. 

As a history of the 500-year struggle of the Filipina, and with an Igorot woman, an overseas Filipina nurse, and a non-binary shaman as the lead characters, this Filipiniana ballet had him researching to understand the context better and give justice to his dance direction. 

As for Kathleen, she fondly remembers how successful and inspirational Limang Daan was, and that’s precisely why it’ll be part of what will be performed when the company tours Europe and Japan next year. She mentioned how full-length Filipino ballets, inspired by folklore from Mindanao and Batanes, are presently on the proverbial drawing board. 

And for now, we have a new, exciting Peter Pan to look forward to this December!