Ballet Philippine’s Masterworks opens Aug 14, Friday

In celebration of Ballet Philippines' 40th year, the company will be opening the season with Masterworks, a showcase presenting significant works that have established Ballet Philippines as the flagship company in ballet and contemporary dance. From its treasure trove of over 400 works in classical and contemporary works, Masterworks will feature gems including Agnes Locsin's neo-ethnic Igorot; Edna Vida's Ensalada to the music of Ryan Cayabyab's "Mamang Kutsero," "Bakya Mo Neneng" and "Limang Dipang Tao"; Bam Damian's athletic pas de deux Evacuation; Gaano Kadalas..., created by the late Tony Fabella; Swimming the Ilog Pasig by Alden Lugnasin; William Carter's neo-classical ballet, Bach Concerto; BP Founding Artistic Director Alice Reyes' Romeo and Juliet; and Denisa Reyes' timely Te Deum created in 1985 before the EDSA Revolution portraying through dance the struggles and aspirations of the Filipino people.

For this landmark work, Ballet Philippines will be accompanied live by the Manila Symphony Orchestra. For its musical premier in the Philippines, Te Deum will be performed with the special participation of the UP Concert Chorus and the Greenhills Christian Fellowship Chancel Choir with soloists Janet Sabas Aracama, Raymond Roldan and Jeannelle Bihag-Roldan. Pianist Greg Zuniega will be performing Bach’s Piano Concerto No. 5 in F minor in Bach Concerto, also with the MSO.

Masterworks is the first production under Ballet Philippines’ new Artistic Director, Paul Alexander Morales and new BP Foundation President, Margie Moran Floirendo. It is showing at the CCP Main Theater on Aug 14, Friday 3pm and 8pm, Aug 15, Saturday 3pm and 8pm, and on Aug 16, Sunday 10am and 3pm.

For tickets, call 551-1003 or 551-0221. All BP Alumni, former collaborators and the press are invited to Masterworks opening night on Aug 14, Friday 8pm and are requested to call Ballet Philippines for their complimentary tickets (limited tickets available).

Did you know that ... Gerald & Katrina Mercado revived the E-Dance Theater?

They are such a cute couple.

I first met Gerald in the 90’s when I was about to hang my feet (not shoes since I was barefoot in modern dance) and say, Goodbye Dance World.

He was just saying hello to it.

Denisa Reyes, then artistic director of Ballet Philippines, was putting up a show that had choreographer Agnes Locsin and myself doing sumo-wrestling. So there I was wrestling with Agnes and this young dancer catches my eye. Gerald. He was watching us with intensity and, true enough, he was to become one of the more intense dancers of BP. I eyed his career with gusto shortly after.

Gerald got the lead role in Agnes’ Elias alright, plus her other neo-ethnic pieces and bagged awards with her at the Japan International Choreography Competition. He also joined Denisa’s Realizing Rama, an all Asian production that toured Europe and Asia.

The shy young man – no less inspired by our sumo wrestling – broke out of his shell and made a mark in the dance world.

It wasn’t surprising that when he hung his shoes many years after, he founded the E-Dance Theater with co-dancers Dwight Rodrigazo, Orland de Leon and Katrina Santos. Paul Morales later joined them as choreographer. It was a fascinating group that did contemporary work with a fresh oomph. They were captivating the elusive young audiences too, the hi-tech youth we had a hard time pinning down. Go guys!

But, as in all pioneering endeavors, things went awry and they separated ways. Okay lang, that happens all the time to artists who are young and full of dynamism. What was sad though was they were already getting attention and funding from established organizations. E-Dance thus went into a coma.

Katrina (Kets) Santos is one beautiful ballerina. I worked with her in a piece I did for the Philippine Ballet Theater. She is musical. Intelligent. Sensitive. No doubt she gave her distinct luster in major ballerina roles. I was pretty shocked when she romped off to Ballet Philippines that was doing ground-breaking contemporary pieces. Daring.

It was in BP where she met Gerald. Uhmmm … a sexy male dancer enchanting an exquisite ballerina … or say it was the other way around. There was a marriage. In church, on stage and in the malls. Romantic. Way to go! They now have a handsome 9 year old Elijah who will hip hop his way to stardom. Sorry BP.

One day I get a call from Kets. Would we mind being interviewed for their coming project? Not at all! … not until Nonoy and I found out we will be shown on screen during the performance. My face on screen annoys me – but okay … for dance education.

It turns out their idea is gallant. The concert titled, Platforms, A Performance Insight on Classical and Modern Dance aimed to present dance and educate audiences. People never really know the roots of ballet and how it evolved. What in the 1400’s opened the door to dance as it is now? And who really are the dancers clad in those shimmering tutus and unitards? Are they even human???

BP’s Noordin Jumalon, Tita Radaic (the grand dame and mentor of ballerinas), Nonoy and I were tasked to describe the journey of dance. What better way to rouse minds to theater than with an understanding of mime, court dances, ballet variations and contemporary movement? It’s pretty clever way to stir up curiosity in what people think is nothing but glitter and glamour. Really, not everything is beautiful at the ballet.

The present crop of E-Dancers, particularly Gilliane Gequinto, Jerrica Marasigan and Veronica Ylagan have a special sparkle, a gullible kind of dancing that’s nice to watch. Gullible meaning a blend of inhibition and composure. Trusting the muses. It was nice to watch these young girls overcome fear with a feisty I’m-just-gonna-do-it transparency. It roused stirrings of the past in me when, as a young dancer, I cared a lot but didn’t care to death. When push comes to shove, just dance. It will always be beautiful anyway. And they were.

In Gerald’s A Woman’s Soliloquiy, Kets mesmerized with her own gullibility, fluffing up vulnerability and assurance in a whisk.

With her it was I’m-just-gonna-do-it-because-I’m-good. A finely chiseled face on top of an articulate body is powerful. She was breath-taking. And Gerald, as choreographer, is inching his way to a new dance lingo, one veering away from his French/ethnic background in BP. He is saying hello to a new horizon and I find myself eyeing his creative career with gusto all over again.

Although the program needs more tightening and research, I hand it to the two for their heroism. The path is still murky and narrow and, fueled by nothing but purpose, they are on a mission that deserves backing in every respect.

Seated beside me during the show at the UP Aldaba Hall, Tita Radaic voiced out motherly concern for Gerald and Kets; funding, salaries, marketing, training hitches and glitches; the long and arduous path the couple has just begun to tread. I laughed it off with, “Never mind, Tita. They’re still young and full of dreams. Tayo, gising na gising na …”

And so another door opens to the future. What in 2008 will boost the evolution of Philippine dance? Young Gerald and Kets are still dreaming it up the way Leonor Goquingco, Rosalia Merino-Santos, Alice Reyes, Julie Borromeo, Tita Radaic, Steve Villaruz, Eddie Elejar did in the past. Tony Fabella, Agnes Locsin and Denisa Reyes are still doing it. Alden Lugnasin, Osias Barroso, Dwight Rodrigazo, Paul Morales and dozens others have joined the dream. And Gerald and Kets. Buti na lang they don’t know what’s coming but honestly? They do know. They’re just brave and this is the reason why art progresses.

Way to go, Gerald and Kets. Keep talking ‘experiment, unconventional dance spaces, dialogue, approaches and explorations’. This is the vocabulary of evolution. Keep dreaming. E-Dance is roused from its coma and when it is gising na gising na (wide awake) you can heave a sigh of relief.

That means you’ve done it, you can rest on your laurels and it would be your turn to worry about the next generation.

Review, Part 3: CCP Wi Fi 3 New Choreographers Competition

Review, Part 3: CCP Wi Fi 3 New Choreographers Competition
Set 2

Which Way? – choreography and performance by Rhosam Prudencio

The motto is: Start with what is closest to your heart. Add to that good sincere dancing and the Second Place prize is bagged. After basking in this glory, Sam, move away from the weathered where-am-i-where-will-i-go-i-am-confused dance theme. Use that talent to explore untried ideas. Keep discovering yourself. The way may have been well paved for you and, given that, take the many new and winding roads out there.

Subside – choreography by Madonna Louise Vitales, performed by Nicollete Arcaire Agunday

Faint and subdued. I wanted to see more impact and creative confidence. I sensed a holding back, a kind of hesitance in creativity and performance.

Go girls. You took the risky first steps, traipse on, boogie, float, spin, even schlep towards growth. Be more unconventional and assertive next time.

The Spark Within – choreography and performance by Jed Amihan

Another darkie with a bit of spark. Jed contained
illumination in one palm and the spark flickered from without. I wondered, if he placed the light in his mouth … more interesting?

Like Johnny in his Mananggit … guys … utilize the prop. Abuse and misuse it – let it come from your guts. Nice movements, Jed, but give me surprising peaks next time. The light in the palm is so safe. Put it somewhere else but not as a gimmick. Let all the stage lights whoosh then black out on the spark. Something striking like that would’ve made a more memorable ending.

Temperature – choreography by John Philip Martir, performed by Carlos Deriada

and John Philip Martir

Good compositional structure (like the next duet, Blank It). I find duets interesting because there is more room for return thrusts and bounce-offs. This, John did with ample success. Not enough Umph though. Something, something more electrifying should’ve struck me hard I know but it just didn’t come.

It’s a sizzling physical duet but the temperature didn’t exactly rise and fall. Make it hotter and colder.

Blank It – choreography by Chantal Primero, performed by Chantal Primero and Nicole Primero

Delightful and charming girlie duet. Good structure. Good concept. This piece held my attention because I kept wondering where it will go.

Chantal cleverly sets the journey and takes us on a flight to … well, a blanket. Well that’s rare enough! So I was thinking, are they sisters? Lesbians? Friends? Good work, Chantal – you made your audience think.

Manoy – choreography by Julius Legare, performed by Julius Legare and Deejay De Vera

First Place winner and rightly so. It was the most finished product. Message clear. Music and choreography funny. Different. A dance about two basketball wannabes getting too close for comfort, with sensitive nuances of ‘gayhood’ that’s not overdone. Their discomfort is felt intimately – rare in a gay subject – and quaintly portrayed by the two males.

Just one problem. The synopsis read: “Manoy explores relationships of bodies as they relate in the four realms of human experience: the physical, the historical/social, the symbolic/mythical and finally the integrative realms.”

Huh??? Just say it’s about two men who are attracted to one another and there is no closure! This was the winning piece because it was strikingly distinct from the rest.

Mind & Eye – choreography and performance by Joel Simbulan

A bandaged hands. Death in the end? You’ll need to rethink and restructure your message and make it scream. Or maybe do a piece about how your little finger can scratch the hell out of your body. I’d remember that.

Keep going though. Nice try. Don’t lose hope. Slap me a winning piece next year. You’re a fabulous dancer.

Review, Part 2: CCP Wi Fi 3 New Choreographers Competition

Review, Part 2: CCP Wi Fi 3 New Choreographers Competition
Set 1

Mananggiti (Coconut Sap Gatherer) – choreography and performance by Johnny Amar

Interesting movements, peculiar and out of the ordinary. Johnny starts off well with bamboo kawits but the minute he strips them off his Mananggiti becomes just another dance. He should have explored his unusual props and told a fascinating story about sap gatherers.

He started on the right track but veered to a safe detour, practically saying, “sandali lang, let me get rid of this gear because I want to dance” then, “oh yeah, gotta put the kawit back on …” Sayang.

Tubig-Ulan – choreography and performance by Mia Cabalfin

One of my favorites. Intelligent piece, beautifully danced by Mia. Only thing is, the concept is too broad and hazy.

She writes: “Tubig-ulan ‘di ko mayakap” (You are rainwater that I cannot embrace). A person, an idea, a dream, anything desired – something that seems so close, but that one can never really tangibly grasp – a vocabulary of the body translates this simple phrase.”

Duh? Good solo piece but not award-winning with thirteen others in the running. Mia, next time, try being crazier. I think you have it in you.

Bounce – choreography by Cristine Crame, performed by Richardson Yadao and Jairo

Ibarrientos

Audience Winner Prize. Crowd favorite. Researched and executed well. Too bad we saw Manoy (by Julius Lagare) first, another

basketball piece with a clearer concept. Cristine had a portion with the dancers on the floor. How I wished they stayed there. Playing basketball lying down would have made an impact – really out of the box. The minute they stood up … No! Christine! Don’t!

My advise is, use your exposure in Ballet Philippines – working with all those choreographers and their styles – and find your own Cristine Crame signature. Almost there with more idiosyncratic daring.

The Overture – choreography and perfomormance by Ea Torrado

The most charming and honest piece, very lovely indeed. It revolves around a ballerina’s edgy thoughts before a show. Surprisingly, with a background in ballet, Ea delved into contemporary movement with yawning passion.

She was a moving sculpture with a clear testimonial. Her body was eloquent. She knew what she wanted to say and said it well. This piece should have been one of the winners. It was a stand-out.

Battery Meter – choreography by Billy Sotillo, performed by Leodegario Demafiliz and Billy Sotillo

Good idea for a duet – soul versus machine – but Billy, you needed to nail it more. Active/Passive is different-complicated and you almost had it in the bag. Engaging and straightforward dancing by the two dancers. Brave and sincere.

You’re on the right track to self-expression. Keep going.

Sugilanon ng Awit sa Kahapunon (Stories and Songs in the Afternoon) –

choreography and performance by Deejay De Vera

Oh no another drag queen sob story!

The piece is a curious tale about an imprisoned lover-slayer who sends letters to a radio program. The protagonist Rogie’s liberated gay life ends in the morbid confines of a jail cell. Fortunately, this was stirringly illustrated in movement by Deejay. The Visayan radio voice relating the story adds intensity to the drama and there is poignancy lingering in the air.

Well-said and well-danced. Design can be improved. It was a tad too stretched. Shorter would’ve been stronger.

Moving Thoughts – choreography by Marius Centino, performed by Ian Nick Tiba

What captured me was the essence of the piece but it wasn’t enough. Let’s see … moving thoughts … thoughts moving … that can be a spectacle … so many different reflections … varying dynamics … funny, sad, angry,wild, limp, young, old … I can go on and on.

The problem is, Marius, the title gave you so much potential for movement but you lingered in a few similar thoughts. Next time, explore the idea to the fullest and it’ll be a smash.