What God has willed, a dancer will follow

From the moment we heard that the classic Disney story A Christmas Carol was being staged with Nonoy Froilan in the role of Ebenezer Scrooge, we knew we just had to watch the ballet offering from Ballet Philippines.

Our thoughts travel several decades back in time, when Alice Reyes and Eddie Elejar were the lead dancers audiences admired for their supreme artistry; when the company was the CCP Dance Company; when dedicated photographer Rudy Vidad who became our friend expertly recorded every event for documentation; when Rafael “Nonoy” Froilan and his girlfriend Edna Vida, younger sister of Alice, were the rising stars of the season.

Today, Alice lives abroad. Edna, now Nonoy’s wife, is still active in choreography despite bouts with cancer, and Nonoy, known for years as the country’s premier danseur, had busied himself with being choreographer, mentor in master classes, judge in festival competitions, holder of workshops and seminars.

We are told that Edna already had the idea of reworking A Christmas Carol as a new ballet for some time now. It was to combine Christmas carols with modern elements of video imagery, laser lighting, video titling in a music mix of classical, new age, alternative rock and contemporary. It sounded like a tough assignment but the artist in Edna prevailed until she got to the part of casting and needed to assign hundreds of roles from young dancers to middle aged to older ones in their 70s whose bones could withstand the pressure of dancing.

Edna looked to guest artists from STEPS, the Quezon City of Performing Arts and others. They all came, eager to share their passion in the valedictory retelling of the age-old tale where a cruel miser would transform himself to regain his humanity. It is a lesson so important to the times we now live in, where man should learn to share of himself, be it Christmas or any other time of the year.

We believe that the lead role of Scrooge fell on the laps of the three alternate guest artists Butch Esperanza, Marc Angel Gabriel and most especially, Nonoy, at this time in their lives simply because it was meant to be. The gods have willed it and man must follow. Nonoy, now pushing 70, had no choice but to don his dancing shoes and start re-training for the role. It mattered not that he hadn’t danced in years, even if he was perfect age-wise for the role. He had a problem in his left knee that must have ached tremendously with every dance step he took. But the audience watching from the front way up to the gallery wouldn’t be able to tell. 

A Christmas Carol, therefore, must be viewed as a parable of redemption, and how God sent to Earth Judas in the person of Jacob Marley and the Ghosts of Past, Present and Future. They effect a change in Scrooge as God had planned. And everyone lives happily ever after. Tiny Tim has learned to walk; “Bah, Humbug” has become simply an expression like “Whatever!” It is also hoped that the new ballet has engaged its audience enough to read beneath the dancing, to discover the subtext of God’s message to the world and to the Philippines.

We are wildly happy to have watched the production and hope that Ballet Philippines with Margie Moran-Floirendo as president and Paul Alexander Morales as artistic director will manage a re-showing.  After all, A Christmas Carol need not be restricted to December showings alone. Christmas should be in the heart the whole year long as it is said.

(Share your comments via e-mail at [email protected] or text them to 0917-8991835. Those who wish to contact Ballet Philippines, call 551-0221 local 1125.)