PHL company stars own the stage as Dance.MNL wraps inaugural run

On the penultimate day of the Dance.MNL festival, Dance Diaspora featured works from major contemporary dance companies, notable soloists and guest artists.

Daloy Dance Company's Buboy Raquitico opened the show with a movement study by company artistic director Ea Torrado. He was followed by young Fil-Am medalist Jasmine Cruz, who charmed the audience in two abstract solos that highlighted her technical proficiency.

Joffrey Ballet's Christine Rocas performed Gerardo Francisco’s “Aspis”, a solo inspired by the movements of a snake, which fit Rocas’ long and lithe frame.

Ballet Philippines soloists Monica Gana and Garry Corpuz, both fresh from the Helsinki International Ballet Competition, performed their competition piece “2”, choreographed by Ronelson Yadao.

Freelance dancers Julie Alagde-Carretas and PJ Rebullida entertained the crowd with “Pasensya…”, a comedic and witty movement study on the dissonant interests of a man and a woman. Though the piece was subtle and relying more on the dancers' interaction than heavy technical dancing, audiences still appreciated its full story-telling and relatable context.

Jethro Pioquinto and Marah Arcilla performed “Mood Swings”, a quirky duet involving several costume changes that premiered that at Hong Kong International Choreography Festival early this year.

Airdance’s Mia Cabalfin, Rhosam Prudenciado Jr., Jed Amihan, and Christopher Chan performed an excerpt from "Monologo", an exploratory piece that was premiered in Japan last year. "Monologo" uses video and dance to delve into the mind of Noli Me Tangere's Sisa.

Ballet Philippines stars Candice Adea and Earl John Arisola also performed the sensual "El Sol Sueno" by Bam Damian, a neo-classical ballroom-inspired pas de deux taken from BP’s La Divina/Tango Filipino.

The UP Dance Company’s “On The Wings of 44’”, by Elena Laniog-Alvarez, was a unanimous favorite and a meaningful piece, inspired by our country’s fallen heroes, particularly the SAF 44. It was not, however, a sad or depressing piece, but a hopeful one, as the dancers’ light faces, upward gazes, and wing-like motions spoke of the heroes’ ascent to Heaven. The company’s definitive contemporary style and clear choreography ended the show on a high note, with a beautiful lasting image of the ensemble in one line as they let their arms fall softly downward one after the other.

Wrapping up the show after the interval was the dance film “Where the Light Settles,” telling the story of a ballerina dealing with mental illness, striving to keep her relationship together. Starring Ballet Philippines dancers Denise Parungao and Timothy Paul Cabrera, the short film was directed by AJ Orlina and recognized by the World Film Awards.

As the name implies, Dance Diaspora showed how far-reaching the roots of the Philippine contemporary dance scene has grown, defying age or style or country, as well as how our artists continue to experiment and explore new methods of dance and movement. All pieces may have been influenced by a variety of styles, but are eventually tied together by Filipino artistry.

Dance.MNL closes with Ballet Filipino

As they did for the opening of the festival, Ballet Philippines, Ballet Manila, and the Philippine Ballet Theater once again collaborated in full force on the CCP Main Theater stage for the festival's closing show, Ballet Filipino.

Starting off the show were the danseurs of Ballet Manila in Bam Damian’s "Reconfigured", an 18-man exhibition piece full of difficult jumps and turns. Also from Ballet Manila was the incredible partnering of Joan Sia and Romero Peralta in Agnes Locsin’s "Arachnida". The previous night’s Giselle and Albrecht traded in pink tights for sleek black ones, highlighting Sia’s flexibility and strength in the piece, which was inspired by the mating rituals of spiders.

Ballet Philippines’ Monica Gana and Earl John Arisola performed Brando Miranda’s "Duet", a neo-classical adagio to the music of Dvorak. Jasmine Cruz was joined by Ballet Manila’s Rudolph Capongcol in the Don Quixote Grand Pas de Deux, with the Ballet Manila corps for the entrada and coda. Cruz garnered cheers from the crowd for her fouettés with changing spot, and Capongcol for his clean à la seconde jumps.

The Philippine Ballet Theater performed a series of romantic duets to popular love ballads. Lobreza Pimentel was sultry and jazzy in her duet with fellow company member Matthew Davo to George Gershwin’s "Summertime". Regina Magbitang shone in her pas de deux with Ian Ocampo to Pink’s "Just Give Me A Reason", fearlessly jumping into her double tours, a step usually reserved for men. The PBT ensemble ended the first half of the show with an upbeat ballet-hiphop fusion of "I Want You Back" by the Jackson 5, with the full company present.

Ballet Philippines brought back George Birkadze’s "Farandole" from their Master Pieces show earlier in the festival, as well as Novy Bereber’s "To Whom It May Concern", a modern dance tribute to the Philippines’ “greatest export” – the artistic talent of the Filipino. They also performed Carlo Pacis’ "Shifting Wait", an ingenious pas de quatre that tells the story of an inauspicious love affair and uses corsets with handles to experiment with off center partnering and otherwise impossible lifts and supports.

Guest artists Christine Rocas, Candice Adea (Ballet Met), and Jared Tan (Atlanta Ballet) also lent their star power to Ballet Filipino. Rocas was joined by Alfren Salgado of Ballet Manila in Bam Damian’s interpretation of the Romeo and Juliet Balcony Scene, and Adea and Tan performed the Grand Pas de Deux from Coppelia.

In a rare performance on the CCP stage, Les Ballets Grandiva’s Imelda Hardtoes (also known as Carlos Garcia) danced the Le Corsaire Pas de Deux with Ballet Philippines’ Garry Corpuz, in a male-male version that garnered the loudest rounds of applause of the night. Without sacrificing technique for comedic timing, Garcia performed the variation as good as any female, all en pointe, with fouettés that would put the best ballerinas to shame.

For the last full performance of the night, Ballet Manila performed Tony Fabella’s "Dancing to Verdi", a grandiose yet playful piece that showed off the classical technique of the company dancers.

Ballet Filipino was a fantastic end to the first ever Dance MNL festival, bringing the three top ballet companies, international guest stars, contemporary and modern dance, fringe artists, and dance schools and students together for the first time. If the success of the festival is any indication, we can hope that the next Dance MNL will be bigger and better. — BM, GMA News

Dance.MNL ran from June 14 to 26 at the Cultural Center of the Philippines.

Mika Fabella was a company scholar at Ballet Philippines and is currently a graduating student at the University of the Philippines Diliman, majoring in Dance.