A dancer whose feet sing, a mural that looks better when lighted and other holiday thrills

Last Friday, I passed through that Greenbelt 3 tunnel where there is always a major artwork or photograph that is perhaps meant to comfort your eyes from the urban blight in other parts of the metro. Then I remembered the story that  Jaime Zobel de Ayala (JZA) told the audience during the  lunch at Peninsula Manila last Thursday to launch Ayala Malls’ 2014 Christmas celebration.

On his way to the Swatch event on Arnaiz Avenue the other day, JZA said he saw a man intently gazing at the mural, and then arguing with a security guard. So JZA  decided to step down from his car and approach the man who identified himself as a tourist from China.

 JZA: Hmm, you like this mural?

Tourist: Yes, I want to take a photo of it and I am asking that guard to turn on the lights.

JZA: Why?

Tourist: Because the mural will look better with the lights on.

(JZA asks the guard to turn the lights on).

JZA: So the lights are on. Will you take a photo now? 

Tourist: Yes.

JZA: Would you like to take a photo of the mural with me?

Tourist: NO !!!

 JZA: Oh, okay.

Tourist: Why should I take the photo with you?’

JZA: Well, I made this mural...

Tourist: Ah, okay, (And he quickly focuses his camera on the mural— with JZA — and clicks once).

JZA: Okay.

Tourist: So now, can I take a photo of the mural?

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Don Jaime told this story in such a self-deprecating manner — I swear he had those puppy eyes towards the end — it just made us laugh doubly loud. It is stories like this one that make this business patriarch more human and more lovable. And make Ayala Malls’ press lunches more interesting. 

The presence of heartthrobs Piolo Pascual and Xian Lim provided the kilig factor for the ladies. The two stars are performing  in the malls together with Sofia Zobel-Elizalde’s Steps Dance Project talents. Another star is the famous tap dancer Omar Edwards (who flew in from New York to perform at Ayala Malls), who fascinated Don Jaime because he gave sample performances to the tune of classical songs à la Frank Sinatra .

 “Are we going retro?” Don Jaime asked. And then the two artists exchanged notes on music dance and cinema. 

“Everything comes from the heart,” Omar explained, when asked if tap dancing is something that runs in his genes.(He has a cousin who is also a famous performer.) His three kids are obviously blessed with artistic genes as well — one of them, Eboni, has been performing in Billy Elliot on Broadway since 2008. His wife, Dormeshia Sumbry-Edwards, is a tap dancer too, and she worked with the late Michael Jackson.

“I was born in Brooklyn, and I’ve been dancing since I was 12,” said Omar who is reportedly the first of his generation to release an album where the tap dancer is the leader of the band as well as the lead instrumentalist. “Fred Astaire could play 10 different instruments and tap dancing was actually his main talent. But he knew that audiences would not really look at a small dancer per se, so he teamed up with Ginger Rogers, and together they looked good.”

Omar certainly doesn’t need a partner for he obviously has that edgy beat. “My feet sing, recite poetry, they groove and they tell stories.”

And his feet light up — literally. “He himself invented those shoes that light up,” explained Sofia. 

Ayala Malls’ Christmas concert called “Frankly Speaking” features other performers Sam Milby, guest singers George Schulze and JC Santos, Mel Villena and his AMP Band. It started yesterday at Glorietta and continues on Nov. 15 and 16 at Alabang Town Center; Nov.22 and 23 at TriNoma; Nov.29 and 30 at Fairview Terraces; Dec.6 and 7 at Ayala Center Cebu; and Dec. 13 and 14 at Market! Market!.

To complete the Christmas celebration, Ayala Malls is setting up Christmas Corners featuring gift ideas and delicious gourmet choices. For every P5 donation to any of the charities chosen by Ayala Malls, every customer gets a free shopping bag and an access pass to all of the Christmas concerts.

Frankly speaking, I give a damn.

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