Living la vida Edna

MANILA, Philippines -  A stellar cast of dance artists  yesteryears’ golden boys and belles of the stage and today’s ensemble of stars  will gather Saturday evening (Jan. 29) at the Aliw Theater to celebrate one woman’s works, one dancer’s life and an achievement of a lifetime.

You’ve got to believe Ricky Martin’s once famous lines: “Dancin’ in the rain, she’ll make you live her crazy life, she’ll take away your pain, a bullet through your brain.” Upside, inside out, it’s “Livin’ la Vida Edna” on Saturday night because as an anonymous author once wrote: Dance isn’t a form, it’s a way of life.

That it would take three of the country’s most renowned dance companies  Ballet Philippines, Ballet Manila and Philippine Ballet Theater  to perform the works and roles essayed on stage by one of the country’s leading dance artists is something in itself.

“I am overwhelmed. It is the biggest honor and gift that an artist can receive. I wish all artists will have the chance to receive such a gift. It is not about deserving it, it is about knowing how much you are loved as a fellow artist, a fellow human being,” says Edna Vida-Froilan, dancer and choreographer par excellance.

The voyage of her life and passion begins and ends with a memory. If you had “sprinkled some pixie dust” in Ballet Philippines’ restaging of the children’s classic “Peter Pan” last Christimas, you’re onto one of Edna’s most enduring choreographies. For 27 years now, the flying man-boy who wouldn’t grow up has been sweeping theater audiences off their feet, maybe without properly getting to know the artist behind its creation.

Edna and Nonoy Froilan in Ballet Philippines’ Firebird (1979).

In aid of memory and remembrance, it probably helps tracing the history of the so-called golden era of dance knowing that some of the costumes used in the very early productions are still used today.

“Andun pa iyong pawis ni Nonoy (Froilan) sa costume ng Captain Hook (Nonoy’s sweat is still in the Captain Hook costume),” she jokes. But that is only to show that dance in this country has roots, very deep roots. And presenting Edna’s works in a one-night show is really going back to a very valuable heritage that needs to be passed on to the next generation.

“I’m not the only one,” she says. “There were other artists, perhaps greater than me whose works should be remembered and passed on. I feel sad that the new generation hardly knows them. We should really continue the legacy.”

Edna has served as artistic and associate director of Ballet Philippines and director of the CCP Dance School in the 1980s. Aside from Peter Pan, her full-length ballets include “Nutcracker,” “Alice in Wonderland,” “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” “The Taming of the Shrew” and “Ibong Adarna.” She has danced and choreographed for many productions of the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP), including international productions, musicals, films, television shows. Her works have been performed worldwide to critical acclaim.

But beyond the acclaim and applause, it’s the memories, all precious and golden, that now define these works to be showcased in the tribute concert.

I was pregnant with my first child when I was doing ‘Vision of Fire’ around 1983,” she shares. “I was afraid that listening to the drums, way too much and too often, would affect the little one in my womb.”

The baby is now a lady, lives in New York and likes classical music. No memory at all of the drums.

“I just came back from New York when I did ‘Ensalada’ around 1982,” she continues. “Fresh from watching a show, I told myself I’m going to do something similar.” There were other influences, inspirations. “Thatness, Thereness,” a work inspired by the music of a Japanese composer, was an exploration of the soul of the Filipino at work in any art form.

“I was then questioning my sense of of nationalism. As an artist I realized I was very Western because that was my training. But do I need to pretend? A Filipino is really a blending of the east and west. We have Muslim, Chinese, America, Spanish influences in our culture. No matter what we do or how we do it, it is the soul of the Filipino at work,” she says.

Edna shares that she also did some works for Ballet Manila, which are departures from the purely classical ballet tradition that the company espouses. “Flux,” which went on tour lots of times, was a cross between classical and modern or a neoclassic.

“I was one of the first modern choreographers in this country and it is very challenging. I hate breaking the classical lines and I think I broke the body of Osias Barosso,” she recalls now with a lot of laughter.

The memories will continue as new generations get to interact with the works of our dance artists, viewing them with new eyes, new interpretations.

In watching her life’s work unfold on stage, Edna admits that she is always scared stiff. “I hate them all,” she laughs. “Seriously, I am a very passionate, very intense person. I was never satisfied with what I’ve done. There is always room for improvement. But when I look back I also tell myself: Ang ganda pala (They’re good).”

Admittedly, she says dancers and choreographers now are technically better. They have that advantage. Yet, they also need to go back to their roots, the gems of the past, the treasures of their heritage.

Edna says the concert, whose proceeds will go to the Artists’ Welfare Project (AWPI)which seeks to uplift the welfare of Filipino artists, is going to be a reunion, not only of her fellow artists and dancers, but her extended family and friends, even from way back as grade school, her doctors at the Medical City  Dr. Aldine Basa, Dr. Yen Asidillo, Dr. Trixie Jayme-Tiangco  where she is currently undergoing chemotherapy for recently diagnosed cancer.

It is also a coming together of humanity united for yet another cause, of the past being interwoven into the present, and of art imitating life, and life imitating art.

For tickets to Livin’ La Vida Edna, call AWPI (Jen) at 0908-8939701 or the Aliw Theater box office.