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Monday, October 13, 2008

Dance, do or die as a Filipino

Ballet Philippines’ La Revolucion Filipina 

By Joey B. Ting, Contributor
 

How much do you love your country? Do we settle for what we have in today’s governance? Do we all agree on the obvious divisiveness we have as a nation? Do we really have to scorn and betray each other?

Ballet Philippines’ (BP) La Revolucion Filipina raises these questions once more at it performed Agnes Locsin’s vintage choreography once more at the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) Main Theater on September 18 to 21.

La Revolucion premiered in 1997. The latest staging proves once again its importance in dance and theater performance. Established dancers Biag Gaongen (Apolinario Mabini), Patrick Rebullida (Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo), Ronelson Yadao (Andres Bonifacio), Camille Ordinario-Joson / Georgette Sanchez / Christine Santillan (Trio), Angel Gabriel (Oppressor) with the BP ensemble completed the list of artists included under the new artistic directions of Alan Hineline and Max Luna III with Executive Director Sandy Hontiveros and resident choreographer Alden Lugnasin. Original music composition is credited to world-class artist Ryan Cayabyab.

La Rev tells the historical account on the lives and relationships of Apolinario Mabini, Emilio Aguinaldo and Andres Bonifacio and how Philippine Independence came to be during the Spanish-American war. It also narrates the slow division among fellow Filipinos as an independent nation that is also very apt in today’s faction. Mabini helps Aguinaldo in the Cabinet but also marks personal attacks with each other. Prior to Aguinaldo’s becoming the first Republican president, Bonifacio purged out and led a revolutionary act through KKK (Kagalanggalang Kataas-taasang Katipunan ng mga anak ng bayan) secret society with Aguinaldo as one of the members. After the bloody revolution and the deliberate death of Bonifacio, Mabini blamed Aguinaldo for all the incidents that had happened. In the end, the falselessness and disloyalty among fellow Filipinos also became the downfall of its holistic independence in our nation.

Gaongen, Rebullida and Ordinario-Joson were standouts in the performance. Their senses even made the whole masterpiece intense and dramatically moving. Their bodies created a lot of clear images making the production’s plot well-enunciated. Generally, the BP ensemble helped each other to promote what a true ensemble means in this particular production. Other theatrical elements that were remarkable were Locsin’s choreography and Cayabyab’s music. In addition, Mio Infante’s well-thought of set design, Victor Ursabia’s fabulous neo-ethnic costume design and Katsch SJ Catoy’s rhythmical lighting truly gave the production an almost excellent job to date.

What makes BP worthy as the resident dance company of the CCP is that the company makes it a point to clearly translate dance into an expressive tool for communication. Hineline and Luna III together with its board must have been proud in continuously giving the audience a high standard in Philippine ballet as a dance form. Moreover, BP uses theater artists to collaborate with them. Inviting established designers and work with them is truly a development in both the present state of dance and theater in the country.