Ballet Philippines (BP) continues to break away from traditional repertoire and explore new ground with their latest production, PAGLALAKBAY: The Journey of the Sea People. A full-length original Filipino ballet, it celebrates heritage while making a powerful statement about the company’s direction: championing local narratives on the classical stage. Its world premiere gala takes place on April 10, 2026, followed by four additional performances from April 11 to 12, 2026, at the Theatre at Solaire.
Photo: Ballet Philippines
Pushing the boundaries of classical ballet, the piece is a cultural journey brought to life on stage. Choreographed by BP Artistic Director Mikhail Martynyuk, with a libretto by Sheree Chua, it is inspired by the Austronesian migration and tells the story of the sea people and their epic paglalakbay (journey) to their ancestral homeland in Batanes, the northernmost islands of the Philippines. The musical score, composed by emerging Filipino talent Ronald Vincenzo Khaw de Leon, artfully blends the traditional beats of the kalusan with the strong rhythmic foundations of ballet.
A tale of migration, the ballet pays homage to people who never stopped moving despite harsh conditions. Movement—and what emerges from it—is the heartbeat of the ballet. This encompasses not only the migration that shaped islands but also the physical grace of dance and the emotional, transformative energy of a new generation of audiences discovering ballet for the first time.
“Migration is often framed as displacement, but my mother showed me that movement can also be expansion—a widening of self without losing origin. In her life, I witnessed resilience, adaptability, and a deep, unshakeable sense of identity. Those same qualities underpin the Austronesian migration story that informs this work,” says Sheree Chua, librettist of the ballet.
“My mother is the emotional architecture of the piece. Through her, I understood that heritage is not static—it breathes, shifts, evolves—yet remains anchored in something internal and enduring. This ballet becomes both historical and intimate: a large-scale narrative of seafaring peoples and a personal tribute to the woman who first taught me how to move through the world.”
Photo: Ballet Philippines
While classical technique provides the skeleton of the performance, the history of the sea people and the Austronesian migration forms a unique choreography.
“I rely on vertical alignment, purity of line, and variation in form—pas de deux, ensemble, and solo work. However, academic technique is a form, not a style,” says Martynyuk. “Batanes is wind, rocks, and ocean. As the scenery changes, the quality of movement changes as well. In ‘PAGLALAKBAY’, choreographic language becomes the main narrator: a low center of gravity, steady in the wind; wide, grounded steps moving against resistance; the body tilting forward, always in dialogue with the elements; the hands not decorative, but functional, like a sailor’s. All of this makes the choreography more complex, yet at the same time clear and accessible to the audience.”
Movement also played a central role in the production design.
“We wanted the stage design to emulate the key visuals and movement of the Batanes landscape—waves crashing on the shore, jagged rock beaches, wild winds hitting the grass, and soil eroding from cliffs,” says Filipino contemporary fine artist Leeroy New, production designer of the ballet. “When I visited Batanes with my assistant designer, Arvie Santos, we experienced firsthand the primal energy of the terrain, heard the language and stories of the locals, and this only further emphasized our responsibility to approximate that experience for our audiences—to share a glimpse of what remains of our early architectures, lifestyles, and crafts.”
In a time when movement defines so much of Filipino life—from the OFW experience to personal reinvention—Ballet Philippines’ PAGLALAKBAY: The Journey of the Sea People comes alive as both an artistic and cultural commitment. It signals that Filipino stories are not peripheral; they are central.
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PAGLALAKBAY was conceived and created in direct response to BP’s Ballet Brigade outreach program in Batanes. In May 2024, the Ballet Brigade gathered with over 200 locals, including community officials, revered elders, and students, at Batanes National Science High School to exchange cultures, perform dances, and share in each other’s rich heritages. The experience was a testament to how dance can bridge cultures, unite communities, and provide momentum for both personal and collective journeys. This also served as the momentous inspiration behind Sheree Chua’s libretto.
The ballet itself was a special journey.
“Ending our 56th season with PAGLALAKBAY was a bold investment for the company. It meant spending time on cultural immersion and dialogues with the sea people’s elders and children,” says Kathleen Liechtenstein, BP President. “It reflects our belief that local indigenous stories deserve the grand scale and artistic rigor of the classical stage. We hope audiences leave with a deeper appreciation of the sea people’s journey— the massive migration of Austronesian language-speaking people in 3,000 BCE—and a renewed sense of pride in Filipino identity. Our stories are epic, resilient, profoundly human, and universally interconnected.”
Photo: Ballet Philippines
PAGLALAKBAY: The Journey of the Sea People runs from April 10 to 12, 2026, at the Theatre at Solaire. Tickets are available via www.ticketworld.com.ph, www.ballet.ph, and the Solaire Box Office.
Ballet Philippines is the country’s leading professional classical and contemporary dance institution and the first resident company of the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP), founded in 1969 alongside the CCP at a pivotal moment in the nation’s cultural history. For over five decades, BP has shaped contemporary Filipino identity through innovative productions that blend classical rigor with distinctly Filipino movement and storytelling.
With a repertoire of 400 works, Ballet Philippines continues to bring Filipino narratives to the global stage. As a cultural ambassador of the Philippines, BP embodies its 56th season theme, “Our Stage, The World”—championing homegrown artistry while engaging audiences across borders.
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