Ballet Philippines gives a twist to ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’

MANILA, Philippines - After the critical and box-office success of Rama, Hari, Ballet Philippines once again takes on an old-time favorite and gives it a new twist in A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

Running for one weekend only from Feb. 15 to 17 at the CCP Main Theater, A Midsummer Night’s Dream is a new ballet adaptation choreographed by Hong Kong-based award-winning Filipino choreographer Carlo Pacis. Based on the timeless romantic comedy of William Shakespeare and the music of Felix Mendelssohn, A Midsummer Night’s Dream is a world premiere, and is Pacis’ first full-length ballet for Ballet Philippines.

A Midsummer Night’s Dream weaves together the lives of mortals and fairies. Oberon, the King of the Fairies, and his Queen, Titania, are fighting over an Indian changeling. To punish her, Oberon instructs the mischievous Puck to place the juice of the Love-in-Idleness flower on her eyes so she falls in love with the first living thing she sees. Oberon also instructs Puck to place the juice on a young mortal man, whom he sees spurning a young woman.

But Puck makes a mistake and his folly creates madness and mayhem in the forest. He puts the juice on Lysander, in love with Hermia, instead of Demetrius, who spurns Helena’s love because he pines for Hermia. Lysander awakens, sees Helena and falls in love with her. To correct his mistake, Puck places the juice on Demetrius’ eyes, who also sees Helena when he awakens. Meantime, Titania, after getting juice on her eyes, awakens and sets her eyes on a man with a donkey’s head. The result is an unforgettable romantic comedy of errors between man and magical beings.

While Rama, Hari is heroic and epic in scale, centered on a prince who is an avatar of a god, A Midsummer Night’s Dream is fun and youthful. It is the interplay of humans and fairies, with mischief-maker Puck at its focal point.

“Fairies have no morals, they want it, they want it now,” says Pacis, whose short work for Ballet Philippines, Shifting Wait, won Outstanding Choreography at the Philstage Gawad Buhay Awards.

“The youthful energy of the company will be perfect,” he says. With this, he builds his characters, and uses it to bring out the “fun” and “comedic” nature of the ballet.

While Rama, Hari showcased the dancers’ strength in modern dance, A Midsummer Night’s Dream will let the dancers’ classical ballet technique shine. But Pacis wants to go beyond ballet and infuses more modern, contemporary and non-ballet elements to the dancing. He wants to “push the envelope as far as pas de deux work, musicality and all that.”

Pacis also wants to tell the story with multimedia, sets (by Ricardo Cruz) and costumes (by fashion designer Eric Pineda).

“For me, the underlying theme is love, and I think that being a universal experience to us all, the audience can hopefully understand the story,” Pacis says.

The premiere of Carlo Pacis’ A Midsummer Night’s Dream runs at the CCP Main Theater on Feb. 15, (3 and 8 p.m.); Feb. 16 to 17 (2 and 6 p.m.).

Bulk and group sales are also available for schools, classes, organizations and corporations.

For tickets, call Ballet Philippines at 551-1003 and 551-7919, or Ticketworld at 891-9999.