Beauty begets beauty in Ballet Philippines gala
A lady visiting from Australia stood next to me and exclaimed, “Your Filipiniana gowns are so exquisite that they simply blow me away.” She was right. There was this lady wearing a gown with a serpentina train made of natural, hand-woven fiber with a matching panuelo and accentuated by a suite of fine rubies. Soon, the lobby was bustling with guests and patrons dressed at their finest. This was Ballet Philippines’ (BP) fundraising gala to introduce the second program of the season dubbed as “New Beginnings.”
BP president Ma-an Hontiveros introduced the honorary chairperson, Elizabeth Roxas-Dobrish, who was delighted to stir old memories. “As a child,” she said, “I ran around with Max Luna III on this very stage and we both dreamed of being dancers sharing a passion that grew steadily through the years.”
When BP’s artistic directors, Alex Luna III and Alan Hineline, appeared on stage, the audience laughed to see them exchange “high fives” like precocious youngsters. Their hearts were in the right places.
Alan defined dance as to “leap, to soar and if only for a moment, to fly.” He said, “Like ballet, it was a little of pageantry, a ‘chorégraphie’ of spirit, a richness of soul and a sanctuary that embraced fervor and discipline.” There was also the unavoidable obligation of managerial work and fund-raising that demanded equal time and attention from the artists. Fortunately, the company found an untiring advocate in Sofia Zobel-Elizalde, a former alumnus herself and now, the company’s gala chairperson. She would strike a good balance between the artistic and the business side of running the company.
For Alex, dance shaped his ideals even when he was the youngest member of the company; returning to his artistic roots has provided him a unique opportunity to share the experience of “celebrating all the quality of what’s best in the Filipino.”
The program opened with Alvin Ailey’s Night Creatures with music by jazz legend, Duke Ellington. The stage was awash in blue, as blue as the “blues,” in jazz parlance. The dancers moved to the pulse of the music, which I thought was sensual and flirtatious. The main dancers, Georgette Sanchez and Patrick Rebullida, led the entire ballet corps to the “point-your-toes-wiggle-your-shoulders-and-bump-your-hips” routine making jazz look so easy and sinuous on stage. Art patroness, Imelda O. Cojuangco, sponsored this performance.
Max Luna’s The Hurt We Embrace featured a huge gilded frame as the backdrop with two giant lamps that illuminated a man and a woman sitting on separate chairs. The woman moved with pure lamentation consumed by anguish. Whenever she approached the man (danced by Biag Gaongen) seeking comfort, he carried her back to her chair as if to say, “You cannot escape from this torment.” Inno Sotto designed a black, slinky dress for dancer Camille Ordinario with a second skirt in deep red. Clearly, it was unreciprocated passion heightened by the mournful sound of the cello and the piano.
The third program featured Max Luna’s Mga Awit with music by Michael Dadap and performed by a full ensemble featuring tenor Pablo Molina, pianist J Greg Zuniega, and cellist Ed Pasamba. The stage was set with panels of different layers of sheer nets and the men wore full-length black satin pleated skirts similar to those worn by the Japanese samurai. It was a “men rule” choreography that showed the strength and the agility of the male dancers. The conspicuous absence of their female counterparts proved that male dancers could hold the stage on their own; it was their moment of glory. Max, I miss the male dancer opening the door for his ballerina, so don’t make this a habit, okay?
Alan Hineline’s Thresholds II served as the finalé with music by US composer Jerome Begin. This ballet and score had its debut at the Dayton Ballet Ohio shortly before Alan moved to Manila, therefore fresh and hot from Alan’s repertory. I noticed that at the left side of the stage, a row of engines or machinery of some sort stuck out in full view of the audience. Was this part of the stage design? The dancers wore elastic spandex similar to those worn in aquatic sports. Not wanting to plough through a multitude of interpretations, I decided to go straight to the “source.” Alan said, “I like to challenge the audience” (...and keep them alert?). He also wanted to leave lots of room on stage for the dancers and strip the formality of scenery and props; thus, no attempt was made to hide the theatre’s belly. So much for curiosity. I focussed on the dance and I entertained vicarious images of “winging” high with BP’s “esprit de corps.” Now who wouldn’t feel good about this evening?
Elizabeth Roxas-Dobrish mentioned that in order for art to flourish, it would need the support of people who could pass on this vision of beauty. The four works that were presented at the gala were clear examples of beauty begetting beauty.
Pass it on.
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“New Beginnings” is the second presentation of Ballet Philippines on its 39th season. Call Ballet Philippines at 551-0221/1003; 832-3689/6011, e-mail info@balletphilippines.org, or visit www.balletphilippines.org
