"Dancing La Vida Edna" Business World Article by Sam. L. Marcelo

Posted on January 27, 2011 06:10:13 PM

BY SAM L. MARCELO, Senior Reporter

Viva la Vida


DANCE

Dancing La Vida Edna

Jan. 29, 8 p.m.
Aliw Theater, CCP Complex, Roxas Blvd., Pasay City


History will be made on Saturday night when the country’s three leading dance companies will share the stage for the first time. Ballet Philippines (BP), Ballet Manila (BM) and the Philippine Ballet Theater are performing together in a fund-raiser that will benefit dancer and choreographer Edna Vida and Artists Welfare Project, Inc. (AWPI). The event, Dancing La Vida Edna, features excerpts from Ms. Vida’s signature roles and choreography.


"I’m so glad they decided to dance together at last to bring back our attention to the bewildering world of dance. People forget that the theater feeds the soul," said Ms. Vida in an e-mail interview with BusinessWorld. "Filipino dancers are considered to be among the most beautiful in the world and here they are, right in our own backyard."


The night is set to be a nostalgic one for Ms. Vida, who will see, among other things, reprises of two classical pas de deux from Black Swan and Diana and Acteon. "[These] are very difficult roles that I still can’t believe I managed to dance. But that’s the joy of performing, you never know what you can do until you huff and puff and try it, after which there is so much fulfillment like giving birth to a baby," she said. "In dance, nothing is impossible when you want it so bad. So to be able to do these difficult roles you have to want them bad."


As one of BP’s principal dancers, Ms. Vida is best remembered in Armin Wild and Denisa Reyes’s Firebird; Alice Reyes’s Carmen, Amada and Itim-Asu; Norman Walker’s Songs of a Wayfarer and Season of Flight.


Each role and work in Ms. Vida’s celebrated career has a story behind it. The excerpts from her choreography reflect particular stages in her life as an artist: passionate, introspective, rebellious, or just plain crazy. BP’s repertoire includes her Filipino Nutcracker, Ensalada, Pagsamba and Peter Pan.


"Working with each company was most significant because the dancers brought out something inside me that was unique," said Ms. Vida. "Their bodies, their style of dancing were all different and so very challenging to mold and create from. Working with them made me grow as a choreographer."


BM founder and artistic director Lisa Macuja-Elizalde is dancing Summer’s End, which, until 1988, she performed with Nonoy Froilan (Ms. Vida’s life partner). This concert will see Ms. Macuja-Elizalde dancing with Rudy De Dios, who will be coached by Mr. Froilan.


"I think it’s amazing that more than 20 years later, this beautiful pas de deux by Norman Walker is being revived," said Ms. Macuja-Elizalde, who added that the ballet is made "extra special" since Mr. Froilan and Ms. Vida also danced in it together in the past.


BP artistic director Paul Alexander Morales, meanwhile, is looking forward to the finale -- a scene from Ms. Vida’s Peter Pan involving all three companies. "She is a master of creating works that survive the passage of time," he said of Ms. Vida, adding that he was "star struck" when he saw her as Sisa in Cora Inigo’s ballet.


The praise goes both ways. Ms. Vida admitted that dancers can do much more now than they did during their time. "When I watch these dancers I am awed by their technique and artistry. This is the way I expected it to go and I’m seeing them evolve right before my very eyes," Ms. Vida said. "Dance in the Philippines used to be more of a hobby, something a young person tried for fun or because their parents forced them to. Now it’s a full-blown profession, a career."


Still human


Dancing La Vida Edna is not just a celebration of Ms. Vida, although her achievements are many. Ms. Macuja-Elizalde describes her as brilliant, while Mr. Morales calls her an icon and a member of true Filipino dance royalty.


The gala is a reminder that Ms. Vida, despite these accolades, is still human, as are all other artists. Aside from supplementing Ms. Vida’s medical funds, the proceeds from the gala will go to AWPI, an organization that assists artists with health care, housing and financial management.


"Artists are always too busy to think of things other than their art. The pressure is just too immense and there is hardly time to think of [these things] until it’s too late. Very few of us save enough money to buy basic needs, much less have funds for old age and retirement," said Ms. Vida. "We are usually at the lowest rung of the ladder in government allocations and programs."


The AWPI, she added, helps them plan ahead and think 50 years from now instead of just next year.

"It’s about time someone brought together all three ballet companies for a great cause," said Ms. Macuja-Elizalde. "To quote Edna during our telephone conversation about the concept of Dancing La Vida Edna: ‘If my getting sick will bring all three ballet companies together, then it’s all worth it.’"



(Tickets to Dancing La Vida Edna range from P500 to P2,000. For more information, call 832-3661 and 832-1125 loc. 1620/1621 or e-mail ccptanghalan@yahoo.)