When Ballet Philippines announced that they were to having
an event called the Blue Moon Series – which comprises of the Giselle Gala, Blue Moon Gala and
the Homecoming
Gala- I was on my toes marking the days and hoping to be a witness of
this once in a lifetime moment. It was a
2-weeks celebration of dance, dance and dance.
Being a former dancer during my collegiate years and onstage, this was
something I shouldn’t and mustn’t miss.
The Giselle Gala was a blast! Despite the weather conditions at that time,
I still attended the event and marveled on the spectacle of this classic ballet
piece on stage (to read on my Giselle experience, go to http://icemagehigh.blogspot.com/2014/09/giselle-ballet-about-love-till-after-life.html). It ran from September 19th till
the 21st, and was able to watch the performance wherein the guest
performers from the American Ballet Theater, namely Soloist Stella Abrera and
Principal Dancer James Whiteside, took the roles of Giselle and Albrecht
respectively.
The Friday and Saturday a week after was the Blue
Moon Gala. It was a two days
presentation of various dance master pieces in line with the company’s sapphire
milestone. Unfortunately, I was only
able to catch the Saturday night performance, missing the afternoon show that
featured some dance pieces that will be part of their tour in the U.S. and Canada
this year. The night performance was
still a wonder to behold despite the slight change from the original repertoire
(to see the list of performances during
the Blue Moon Gala, read my blog
entry – a press release provided by Mr. Toots Tolentino – http://icemagehigh.blogspot.com/2014/09/pr-blue-moon-gala-all-set-on-september.html ).
To be honest, I was dying to see how some pieces are to be set on stage since
I saw it during its rehearsal phase, namely Farandole
and R/J- dance pieces created by
George Birkadze (to know about this ‘a
day in the rehearsal hall’ experience, read my blog entry: http://icemagehigh.blogspot.com/2014/08/an-afternoon-at-rehearsal-hall-with.html ); and heard good things about some of
it – namely Song of the Wayfarer and Salome.
Since the Friday and the Saturday evening show was near identical
in dance repertoire, I would say that the 1st dance piece was perfect for an opener. Je Tu Elle(by RedhaBenteifour) es una
piesa muy dramatica! It is a dance depicting the different phases of a woman;
her strengths, her desires, her passion and her gentleness. Performed by 5 female dancers, simply dressed
in black and with strategically placed non-colored lights, this piece will move
you by the edge of your seat because of the music and the story it gives.
I truly enjoyed the 3rd piece which was named Bungkos Suite (by Alice Reyes)! It was light, fun and visually colorful! The ballet was set using songs such as Dahil sa Iyo, Chichiritchit, Dadansoy,
Manang Biday and Telebong. I know
it is not impossible to do a folk themed ballet but it was my first time to see
one and it was wonderful! That energy of
fun and joy clearly radiated from the stage to the audience as this number was
presented.
In the course of watching, I just can’t refrain from digging
into my theater background to give reference to some of the dance pieces. Such can be truer when I was watching Coldsong – by Max Luna III. The piece started with simply movements, no
music what-so-ever. If Je Tu Elle has drama, Coldsong is drama! It is like a soliloquy . . . an aria . . . a
story within a story . . .it was that rich and complex but at the same time
simple because of the emotion. Then the
music came in. And when you think all is
done because the music has ended and the dancer was on hold in space for a
breath, then it was back to where it started – plain movements. The dancer was able to show the creative and
complex mind of the choreographer in the span of less than 5 minutes because of
this piece.
 |
| R/J |
R/J and Farandole were pieces that I was able to
have a preview a month before the said event.
Farandole was a spectacle to
behold despite some shakes on some parts.
The athletic prowess of the dancers truly showed in the leaps and
sequence of steps of this piece.
Regarding R/J, one would truly
be tickled with the concept of Romeo and
Juliet simply presented in a 7-minutes pas
de deux. I was expecting some
blossoming moments in this piece, similar to the one I saw during its
rehearsal, but somehow it wasn’t there but the steps were there. Nonetheless, both pieces were still worth
watching.
I did mention that there were some small changes from the
original repertoire that night and it came out in the performance of the
Portland Festival Ballet. Originally, I
thought it would be an all Filipino performance that night but lo and behold!
The stage is set for guest performers too!
Initially, the slot was for the piece For The Gods by Denisa Reyes but this small change didn’t cause a
fuss but rather was a treat to us audience that night. They opened the 2nd half of the
show that night.
 |
| Salome |
The 2nd half was truly building that climax and
ending on that high note. Salome by Agnes Locsin is one female
dancer’s piece! There is no way that you
won’t be captivated by the movements of the dancer. Performed by Kris-belle Paclibar-Mamangun,
Agnes’ creation showed both drama and technicality. The emotional demand of this piece is a
challenge to any dancer and Kris-belle answered that call and delivered it.
The night ended with Song
of the Wayfarer – by Norman Walker, a piece truly worthy to cap the night
of the Blue Moon Gala. Song of the Wayfarer is a light tragedy; how it was staged was a spectacle. The fluidity, the grace, the emotion - grand!
 |
| Song of the Wayfarer |
The following day was the Homecoming Gala (to know what the Homecoming Gala is all about, read my blog entry – http://icemagehigh.blogspot.com/2014/09/pr-ballet-philippines-homecoming-gala.html - press release courtesy of Mr. Toots
Tolentino).
There were 2 Homecoming shows that Sunday, a matinee and a
gala, and I opted to watch the matinee.
It was a good choice for I get to watch 4 more invited groups. The Homecoming Gala was indeed a
celebration by and for the alumni’s of Ballet Philippines. It showed history and where
they are right now, plus highlighting the future generation of ballerinas and
ballerinos here in the Philippines. Let
me simply give you highlights of those groups that truly got me hook, line and
sinker with their moves.
 |
| Derek Drilon (image courtesy of the net) |
Dichotomy is a piece created by Jennifer Livingstone and
performed that day by Derek Drilon, son of Maricar Drilon. He was fantastic! His height gave him length and lines that are
a beauty to behold as he dances. His
training came into play with his flexibility and strength as he maintains
certain poses and forms. He is also one
of the few male dancers that I have seen that day that was able to make minimal
noise as he lands from his leaps and jumps.
Derek also has a certain grace that is so enchanting, that he keeps you
under his spell as he dances. No wonder he is to be part of BP’s production
of Cinderella this season.
The Urban Concerto
– performed by the students of the CCP Dance School, is a medley of
movements. Of ballet principles crossing
into modern dance and hip-hop, of young dancers showing discipline and sheer
enjoyment in dancing. And we are talking of young performers!
Magkaugnay is a
piece performed by the Locsin Dance
Workshop with music, of the same title, by Joey Ayala. It was a fun piece to watch! It was light, colorful and well-made. The leg movements were precise and the blocking was designed to fit regardless of the size of the performance area. This group of dancers filled the stage with
their movements and presence.
The Maquiling Balletof the Philippine High
School for the Arts piece entitled Daloy,
was clean and smooth. Their movements
were precise and clear but still giving the right curves at the right
spot. This 2-part piece showed the clear
discipline being drilled unto them.
Tapak, Utak,
Sangkatutak is one energetic dance
piece that day! Performed by the Quezon City Performing Arts Development
Foundation, Inc., this group of kids and young adults truly showed that
there is hope in the dance art here in the Philippines. Their costumes were simple but very apt onstage based on the colors that was used - canary yellow, orange and pink. The sequence of movements will leave you
holding your breath; from leaps to fast foot works, from sequence jumps to turns - and this was performed by kids age 8 or 9 till young adults. I for one cannot
believe that they were able to sustain that high energy from the start of their
dance till the end. Talk about good
training instilled to this group of performers.
It only shows that Filipino’s are artist by nature and if guided
accordingly, we will reach new heights.
The whole celebration ended with a dance participated by all
the guest performers that day and a recognition to those who were part of
Ballet Philippines 45 years of history and tradition. A fitting closing number for a celebration
that tells of history and a bright future.
**All images used were
courtesy of Ballet Philippines - (no images available for the Homecoming Gala)
Walang komento:
Mag-post ng isang Komento