A worthy tribute to Elgar’s birthday
Indeed, it was an evening of magic, a rare occasion for Ballet Manila to dance to live music. And with the musicians performing on stage with the dancers, it proved to be an exciting show.
The dance piece had a simple program, but given the talent involved in this production, the piece was more than satisfying. A boy and a girl look for love and find love, but only after so many distractions. Macuja-Elizalde and danseur Rudy de Dios were the lovers, while the BM corps of dancers provided the distractions.
The challenge of dancing to live music is obvious. With musicians performing live, dancers can never be sure whether the music will be as slow or as fast as when they practiced it. With musicians often depending on their mood when interpreting a piece of music, there may be quite a number of variations to the music.
Barroso’s choreography challenged the dancers in ways totally different from its usual program of classical ballet. The dancing here might not be as technically challenging as in the pas de deux of character dances in Swan Lake, Giselle or Don Quixote, but it offered much opportunity for the dancers to mine its possibilities in personality and drama.
This was another opportunity for Macuja-Elizalde to create a new role. Indeed, Barroso’s choreography was tailored to highlight her strengths as a dancer. Even more, it brought out the actress in her.
The same demands were asked of De Dios, and he didn’t disappoint. He was able to match Macuja-Elizalde in terms of presence on stage.
The Ballet Manila corps proved to be more than just ciphers to the unfolding drama on stage. They were necessary actors to the story of the dance, providing the setting to the drama unfolding on stage.
As an encore, Macuja-Elizalde returned for a truly ravishing solo. Atchison and Dudnik were joined on stage by the ballerina’s sister Gia Macuja in the now classic OPM song Sana’y Wala Nang Wakas. It was a tour de force performance, spontaneous and dramatic at the same time. Macuja-Elizalde took her cues from the music; the applause the audience lavished on her at the end was but proof that the country’s prima ballerina has again conquered not only the stage, but also the hearts of Manila’s ballet enthusiasts.
Preceding Sonata were performances by Atchison and Dudnik of popular pieces for the violin and piano. The duo opened the show with Beethoven’s “Spring” Sonata, followed by the virtuoso Tzigane by Ravel.
It was pleasant to see and hear two musicians who have respect for each other play together on stage. You would expect Atchison, being the violinist, to lord it over his partner. But no, there was none of that here. Atchison would match the sound of his instrument to that of the piano, so that there was equal give and take between both musicians.
In the Beethoven, where the succession of melodies flow one after another, you could hear how delicately the music develops, moving from one instrument to the other. In a sense, their performance was more a true sonata for violin and piano; violin and piano were on equal footing in this piece.
The Ravel Tzigane opens with a long solo for the violin, reminiscent of the Gypsy czardas. Indeed, it demanded from Atchison really deft fingers to bring out the flavor of this music. For a moment, you would think this was a violin solo, but when Dudnik started playing the piano accompaniment — the piece is more popularly known as a piece for violin and orchestra — then they were partners once more.
Not only did Atchison and Dudnik play well as partners. They have different voices for Beethoven and Ravel. It is rare to hear musicians able to tailor their instruments to the demands of the music. In the Beethoven, Atchison drew out a leaner and sparer tone for his instrument, while in the Ravel his tone was plush and indulgent. The same went for Dudnik’s piano — a more staccato sound for the Beethoven, a richer palette of sound for the Ravel.
Both musicians are members of the London Piano Trio. It would be interesting to hear the whole ensemble play together in Manila — and yes, maybe performing live music again for Ballet Manila to dance to.
