Ballet Philippines will once again attempt to create something of relevance to our Filipino history and culture—this time through “PAGLALAKBAY: The Journey of the Sea People,” a work inspired by the Austronesian migration and the epic journey of seafaring ancestors to Batanes. The change in title—from Ivatans to Paglalakbay—is a safer, more inclusive choice. The information about what kind of Filipino story they want to flesh out is still somewhat vague at the moment, but if there’s any draw, it’s the videos and pictures that have been going around, which hint at the production’s aesthetic and movement vocabulary. Even with limited details, the ballet now reveals a clearer artistic backbone: a meditation on movement—not just as migration, but as identity, resilience, and expansion.
Choreographed by Mikhail Martynyuk with a libretto by Sheree Chua, the ballet will be performed entirely on flat shoes, promising athleticism in full display and a more grounded physicality.
Visually, the production is ambitious. Designed by Leeroy New, the stage aims to evoke the crashing waves, jagged coastlines, and relentless winds of Batanes. New explains, “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, eroding soil from cliffs. We heard the language and stories of the locals, and this only further stressed our responsibility to approximate, as best we could, that experience for our audiences. To share a glimpse of what remains of our early architectures, lifestyles, and crafts.”
The company’s commitment to cultural immersion is another key aspect. Kathleen Liechtenstein emphasizes, “Ending our 56th Season with ‘PAGLALAKBAY’ was a bold investment for the company. It meant the company would spend time on cultural immersion and dialogues with the Sea People’s elders and children. It reflects our belief that local indigenous stories deserve the grand scale and artistic rigor of the classical stage.”
To support this process, the production also consulted Prof. Edwin Valientes of the University of the Philippines Diliman. He explains, “My research is on the Archaeology of Batanes. Austronesian is a family of languages, including that of the Ivatans. They were the first Austronesian-speaking migrants who lived in Batanes from Taiwan.” Valientes also outlined the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) requirements for productions involving indigenous communities, ensuring the ballet’s approach is culturally responsible.
With such an investment, I'm hopeful that this will be a milestone performance by Ballet Philippines. Inviting everyone to watch this show and check if it will indeed deliver what it has promised.
“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
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