A Gala Celebration: Fearless on stage

A COUPLE swirls and twirls and mimic each other in a calm and yet arresting manner. Called “Equanimity,” the pas de deux explores the facets and phases of romantic love: friendship, partnership, and marriage, and bouts of tension and disagreements in between stages. The dance ends in an embrace; a surrender.

In the dance that follows, three couples enter the stage, this time more energetic and lively. Unlike the first piece, it ends in animosity. Called “Minamahal, Sinasamba” (from Ryan Cayabyab’s orchestration), the dance depicts three couples as they quarrel, presenting the fine line between hate and love.

The two dances are part of Ballet Philippines’ A Gala Celebration which will be presented at the Cultural Center of the Philippines’ main theater on Aug. 18 to 20.

The gala production marks the return of Alice Reyes, National Artist for Dance and the ballet company’s founder, as Ballet Philippines’ (BP) artistic director. Ms. Reyes described her return to BP as her “apostolic” duty.

“It is bringing in old choreographic gems to show the range of our repertoire,” said Ms. Reyes on Aug. 9 during an open rehearsal for the media. She added that the presentation is also meant to showcase the younger generation of talents’ ability to dance classic choreography and put their own signatures on them.

The gala sets the tone of what BP’s future shows would be like until it marks its 50th anniversary two years from now, said Ms. Reyes. The goal is to highlight the company’s repertoire from the 1970s and 1980s, she added.

“Another generation always comes along. Twenty years ago was wonderful, but today is different, the energy is fearless,” she said, “When fear enters [a dancer], it takes away the energy.”

The open rehearsal featured the dances “Equanimity,” “Minamahal, Sinasamba,” and three more which present “energies” in different forms. In Agnes Locsin’s “Salome,” the passion is palpable in Salome, Elias’s sweetheart, who is left anxious, grief stricken, and lost when her lover leaves her to join the Revolution. In “Moon,” a young man who appears to be a spiritual leader of an ancient culture, pounds his feet and raises his arms in refined delicacy. Eight pairs of dancers take to the stage in George Balanchine’s “Raymonda Variations.”

A Gala Celebration also highlights Filipino talents who have gone abroad and have come home. Among the guest artists are Candice Adea (formerly of Ballet Met and Hong Kong Ballet), Marcelino Libao (Hamburg Ballet), Paul Ocampo and Chien-Ying Wang (OcampoWang Dance), and Jean Marc Cordero and Rita Angela Winder (Ballet Kiel).

Also part of the gala’s repertoire are Reyes’s “Bungkos Suite,” set to a collection of traditional folk songs that reflect Filipino humor and playfulness; “Grand Pas Classique,” which has a reputation for its difficult pas de deux routine; “Summer’s End,” which was part of BP’s 12th season, and which highlights the duet of two lovers; and “Vision of Fire,” featuring an ensemble of BP dancers.

The lineup in BP’s 48th season, entitled “Quintessence,” includes The Exemplars: The Best of Ballet Philippines in October, The Nutcracker in December, and Don Quixote next February. – Nickky Faustine P. de Guzman