Movement as language
It was a weekend to dance, albeit in a dream. Neo-classical ballet, and pantomime and edgy, choreographed movement experienced a day apart became an invitation to flights of fancy.
It began with “Ang Panaginip,” the finale of a season danced with the lightness of being in storytelling set with colors and patterns of Philippine weaves. The 55th year of Ballet Philippines (BP) brought music, dance and fashion together both on stage and in the audience. During the cocktail reception preceding the gala performance, The Theatre at Solaire was a ramp for Filipiniana. Guests arrived wearing stylized versions of the national dress in keeping with the Philippine-themed staging.
The premier dance company of the country collaborated with designer Jor-el Espina, who designed costumes for the full-length ballet. Espina stitched vibrant visuals using local weaves from a cache collected over his 20-year career.
“In ballet, the emphasis is on the lines, movements, and silhouettes,” he said. “These are the same principles that are central to fashion design.”
Movement was one of his primary considerations as he layered commercial textiles with handwoven fabrics sourced from the regions. It was a marriage of theatricality and wearability enthralling an audience quite taken by the colors swirling in the pas de deux and the grand adagio. It was “relevé,” BP’s artistic director Mikhail Martynuk said, referencing a movement where dancers rise on the tips of their toes. “It signifies rising to new heights … [embodying] both ascent and transformation.”
“This production marks a new step for BP, a fresh challenge for our dancers, and a celebration of innovation,” he said in his message. “For the dancers, ‘Ang Panaginip’ is not just another performance. It is an opportunity to rise higher, to master intricate rhythms, shifting tempos, and the technical demands of small precise movements.”
Lake Sebu-inspired set
The concept for this original ballet was conveyed to Martynuk during an exchange with Kathleen Lior-Liechtenstein, president of BP. “During a Holy Week vacation with his family at the beach, I showed him a favorite classic illustrated comic book,” she said. “I thought it would be a great idea for a Filipiniana ballet. His mind started to spin and that same afternoon, he showed me his storyline inspired by the comic book. Overnight, he presented his music mapping, which Glenn Aquias used to compose original music with haunting sounds of Filipino instruments.”
The BP artistic director’s grasp of the concept led to an immersion in local culture, drawing from the country’s visual richness which was translated in the set designs. “I found inspiration in architecture, both human-made and natural,” he explained. “In the first act, for instance, I drew from the breathtaking beauty of the Seven Falls in Lake Sebu to create a picture of nature’s grandeur, blending imagination, and reality to transport audiences to a dreamlike world.”
Conjuring the dream began with music created by Aquias. New sounds played on the darkened stage before the curtains rose. As the story unfolded, so did an enchanting melody nuanced with indigenous impressions. It brought additional magic to the libretto of Maritess Fojas de Ocampo, who spun a tale of 18 princesses yearning for a life beyond the enclosures of their home. Their freedom is curtailed by an overprotective Queen Mother who confines her daughters within the palace walls. They are a nod to the country’s 18 regions, each embodying a unique strength and aspiration.
The dancers commanded the stage with lightness of air and an agility that belied the complication of unexpected movements. Motions were well-defined and executed with seeming effortlessness. It was new yet not unfamiliar and the spontaneous, enthusiastic applause was well deserved.
Edgy, raw art form
Two days later, there was another performance at Ayala Malls Circuit in Makati when multidisciplinary art studio Nude Floor staged their second version of The Gallery. It was movement at another end of the spectrum.
A highly conceptual art form, the choreography was edgy, raw and mesmerizing. The theme of “Temporality: Contours of the Present” explored “the layered quality of time, how it ebbs and flows, and its role as the silent architect.”
The Power Mac Center Spotlight Blackbox Theater provided the space for the live performances. A multi-level stage created by Clarence Chua stretched across the length of the darkened interior with light and installations breaking the expanse. It was an abstract landscape of elevated and descending platforms ignited by Mario Gonzales’ manipulation of luminescent beams. Movement artists essayed statements in nontraditional motions to music like Toosi’s “Favorite Song” and “How High” by Whatever Mike. Tautness emanating from the highly controlled body expressions was palpable, drawing spectators to wonder and gasp, dismiss or embrace an invitation to engage.
Artist Shayna Cua, founder and creative director of Nude Floor, who also leads The Gallery, reflected, “Between fading and becoming, there is both loss and possibility.” Her 11-minute performance infused street dance with studio techniques in a choreography expressing this abstract concept.
“In the silence between each brief touch or glance, there is a weight, an unspoken depth of lives that cross, if only for an instant. We move in passing as if caught between two worlds where connection and balance blur. There are moments of tension, trying to anchor the fleeting connection, but ultimately we still let go.”
Letting go was necessary to enter into the conversation of internationally recognized choreographer and dancer Nunoy Van Den Burgh. He strutted in knee-high stiletto boots, twisted and bent in unnatural positions, breaking away from everyday movements to question norms in his 10-minute performance.
Then there was that moment when his prostrated body became suspended above the floor, lying on air for a split second, repeated instantly to dismiss any notion that it had been an illusion. There was no trickery, only a mastery of body control and physical coordination, leveraging muscle strength to counter gravity.
Ten different performances and installation art were provoking sensibilities. It was a heart-to-heart, mind-to-mind synergy where words were not required. Movement was leading the conversation and telling stories in different, tantalizing ways.
