Ballet Appreciation: Romeo & Juliet by Ballet Manila, The 2nd Offerring From Their Page to Stage Series

Part of their From Page to Stage season, this October Ballet Manila has brought to life in Manila a classic piece both in the literary and ballet world – Romeo & Juliet.

Paul Vasterling’s Romeo & Juliet, is more than a ballet adaptation of the Shakespearean piece that we are all familiar of; it is an intimate storytelling of love that transcends time and space.  This is a work of art that can and will stand alone, regardless of the time period it is set on stage.  It has humor, drama and definitely romance.

This 3 Acts ballet masterpiece rendition of Ballet Manila is a show stopper!

The Angel of Verona

Act 1 is divided into 5 scenes that showed all the important characters of the ballet: the Capulets and the Montegues.  The music is light and the whole stage is decked in colors, from the costumes, making it vibrant, alive and festive.  Despite the light placements, there were shadows on some edges and in between, the dancers were able to fill-up the stage and make it truly Verona.

Act 2 is divided into 3 key scenes; the nurse acting as the bridge, the exchange of vows between Romeo (Montague) and Juliet (Capulet) and the death of Mercutio and Tybalt, leading to Romeo’s exile.

Act 3, divided into 4 scenes, is what I would describe as the drama act; the death of the lovers.

Each act is well played-out that you will be spellbound unto your seats.  The choreography made by Paul Vasterling is well thought off that all the jumps, leaps and turns are executed to tell a story and not just show the capability of the dancer/s.  This is a piece that you will fall in love with, not because of the technical marvel of the movements but because of the storytelling process that each movement has, the artistic reasoning behind each dip, dives, turns, lifts and extension.  It is like opening a book minus the words.  No small thanks to the Manila Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Maestro Alexander Vikulov.  The music tied well with the storytelling prowess of Paul Vasterling, that one cannot tell a story alone.

Lisa Macuja-Elizalde as Lady Capulet

It is always a wonder and a delight to see prima ballerina Lisa Macuja-Elizalde perform on stage.   Sad to say but it is true, the first time that I got to see Lisa perform on stage was when the Theatre@Solaire opened last year.  Seeing her do Lady Capulet is a pleasure!  Her movements were simple yet elegant.  Nonoy Froilan was also a delight to see again onstage as Lord Capulet.  Last time I saw him on stage was during the staging of Giselle last 2014.  There is something with the way that he presented himself on stage that truly showed the year’s behind his craft.  That simple lift truly showed his experience and why he is called the premier danseur for nearly 3 decades in the Philippines, for me.

Nonoy Froilan as Lord Capulet

Brian James Williamson as Romeo

Brian James Williamson as Romeo created a mix reaction for me.  Mix because there were scenes that he was truly effective and there were some wherein he was trying to blend in – visually speaking.  Think of it as a 90/10 visual results – more on the positive for me.  He is tall which makes him truly stand-out during the crowd scenes and easy to follow.  I somehow feel the effort of blending in despite the fact that he is blended in the crowd.  Despite the height difference between him and his Juliet, he was able to make me feel that they were a good match – a good Romeo to his Juliet. One thing that I noticed is the fact that he barely makes any loud sounds on stage whenever he lands from a jump.  Such control and discipline! (I just hate that thudding sound resulting from a jump – male and female dancers included!)

For Katherine Oliveiro, I would like to commend her on her effort to stretch herself to the fullest just to visually match the height of Brian James and for bagging a medal in the last Asian Grand Prix-Senior Division.  Need I say more as to why she was chosen to be one of the Juliet’s?      

As a whole, Ballet Manila truly gave a wonderful presentation of a classic!  Paul Vasterling’s choreography truly came to front in this night of dance.  There was no upstaging among the dancers (the I can do better than you attitude), all the jumps were of the same height (not an easy thing to do), true that there were some lapses (one pair nearly overlapped with another during a transition scene, nearly breaking the fluidity of the choreography; a piece of crimson/gold cloth peeking out from behind – mourning gown of the lady) but there is no perfect production.  It is how you casually brush away those lapses making them unnoticeable as you do your production that counts.

This second offering for their 20^th season, From Page to Stage, was a success!  Can’t wait for the rest of their offerings.

Photos:

(All photos used were personally taken by me during the show as permitted by Ballet Manila)