David Campos' fresh approach to Sleeping Beauty, Giselle / La Salle and other concerts

For decades, balletomanes have been seeing ‘Sleeping Beauty’ and ‘Giselle’ in their original and traditional versions. Recently, at the CCP main theater, dance lovers saw audacious, imaginative innovations introduced by choreographer David Campos into these two deeply-loved classic ballets.

In ‘Sleeping Beauty’, the original dances were retained although there were modern touches in the balletic steps, these executed with the highest degree of technical skill, many of the ballerinas displaying incredible extensions. Arresting dancing figures were simultaneously shown on the screen while Tchaikovsky’s music had extraneous strong accents and explosive sounds added to it.

In Campos’ aim to fuse fiction with fact, fairytale with reality, Princess Aurora, after the opening dance by her and the ensemble, lies awake on a couch. Dressed in ordinary daily wear, she kicks and restlessly moves from side to side. She then stands up and talks listlessly while a modern television set is showing Princess Aurora, in costume pirouetting rapidly, while the modern-day Princess Aurora and her Prince walk hither and thither. A traditional ballet scene with the dancers in elegant costumes followed, with the finale eliminating the wedding of Princess Aurora to the Prince, although the wedding is an integral part of the ballet. In this particular instance, did Campos go a bit overboard with his drastic departure from the basic story?

The cast consisted of very proficient, often excellent dancers: The slim, pretty Elline Damian as Princess Aurora her technique the epitomé of clarity; Vincent Gros as the Prince and Carabosse; Aileen Gallinera as the sparkling Lilac Fairy; Gallinera and Edmundo Espejo in the Blue Bird pas de deux. (Although Espejo lacks height, he did the pyro-technical steps extremely well. Eva Basulto and Jerome Peytou performed the Cats pas de deux; Karina Campos and Carlos Pires were sprightly as the False Aurora and the False Prince.

In ‘Giselle’, Campos again engaged in making drastic changes and in integrating images on the screen with dancing figures onstage. To the music of Adolph Adam was added, once more, overwhelming percussive effects; e.g., booming sounds and accents.

The dancing of the principals, the soloists and the ensemble was characterized by grace and precision and remarkable, spectacular feats by Jesus Pastor as Albrecht. Remarkably light, Aileen Gallinera as the disconsolate Giselle displayed a clean, pure technique.

The mad scene in ‘Giselle’ is the counterpart of the mad scene in the opera ‘Lucia’ and the mad scene of Lady Macbeth in theater. Again, Campos did away with the mad scene, an integral part of the ballet ‘Giselle’, being obsessed with a passion for fresh, radical approaches.

The finale showed on the screen a wizened old man reminiscing on the tragedy of Giselle. Whispered a member of the audience: “Why is not the old man handsome?” Observed another member: “Old men are never handsome!”

In sum, both ballets by David Campos contained enchanting and often exciting dance sequences. The lack of elaborate stage setting was a refreshing change because it drew more attention to these sequences wherein the costumed dancers were the major attraction. Overwhelming applause after each scene manifested that the majority in the audience approved Campos’ innovations.

Not to be overlooked: The David Campos Ballet Company, based in Barcelona, is a Phil-Spanish venture and adventure symbolized by Spanish choreographer-artistic director Campos and his Filipino wife, ballet mistress-repetiteur Irene Sabas, their Fil-Spanish demi-soloist daughter Karina, Filipino soloists Elline Damian, Aileen Gallinera and Eduardo Espejo, Spanish danseur Jesus Pastor and others, and many Filipino members of the ensemble.

On opening night, Spanish Ambassador Jorge Domecq and CCP President Raul Sunico paid tribute to the unique and worthy Phil-Spanish project.

*        *        *

Time and again, I have requested that invitations, announcements, etc. be sent to my Makati residence because I don’t report to The STAR office. Invitations sent to me through The STAR are delayed in transmission. For this reason, I was unable to attend the De La Salle University’s Cantata.

At other times, I cannot attend this or that concert owing to a previous commitment. In this regard a clearing house will minimize the holding of major events on the same date.

Regretfully, I missed the concert of baritone Joselito Logdat which was presented at Sta. Isabel College. Logdat’s rousing rendition of the Toreador aria from ‘Carmen’ at the UP Women Lawyers’ musicale was highly impressive.