French Spring opens with fantastic fusions

Naughty, witty and very French. These are the first words that come to my mind in attempting to describe Le Cabaret Kuya, the performance which opened French Spring in Manila 2003 at the fully-packed Mandarin Oriental Ballroom last Tuesday.

Kuya (older brother), the Filipino dancers’ way of referring to French choreographer Guillaume Compain, instantly implied a Franco-Fil collaborative spectacle – with "white and brown bodies" moving to Compain’s imaginative and startingly original choreography. Compain and his assistant Sandra Falcon-Agostin constituted the white bodies dancing with the brown.

In tutus and wigs of outlandish colors – green, orange and pink – ballerinas mimicked dolls popping out of music boxes, their steps sharp, angular, precise and accented as they jumped and twirled. Finally, in a lampoon, they twisted and contorted their bodies, hitting and falling over each other in a dizzying, disjointed manner. What gales of laughter they drew!

The number and, indeed the entire production represented a fantastic fusion of styles – balletic, acrobatic, modern and way beyond the vocabulary of modern dance – as well as themes generating a wide gamut of emotions. A tiny pert ballerina shifting roles from doll to circus entertainer, a nimbly tumbled through cartwheels and handstands in the best tradition of the Big Tent, while earning lusty applause for her élan and grace.

Behind a screen, a man and woman (both French) boldly engaged in a shadow play, their spoken dialogue and sensuous movements presenting a risqué interlude. They were later to emerge from behind the screen for a ballroom pas de deux which, with its eclectic, semi-acrobatic posturings, was far removed from the suave, elegant Argentine tango.

The riotous spoof and satire of fashion shows brought the house down with – thunderous applause, just as it brought the Houses of Givenchy, Chanel, Dior, YSL, Balmain, etc. down the drain. Never was haute couture ridiculed with such wit, impertinence and audacity!

Rounding off the fascinating fusions, which might be described further as utterly charming, whimsical and unpredictable, Compain plunged the audience into deep thought and gloom with a battle of the sexes and its daunting gender relationships. Cleverly manipulating chairs as props, the dancers went into taut, gripping, highly symbolic movements that mirrored the continuing clash of opposites. Steadily gaining ground as they, with grim determination blindfolded the men, the women emerged triumphant. Victorious.

Le Cabaret Kuya dancers, limber and most versatile, were – besides Guillaume and Sandra — Sherwin Casepe, Marc Angel Gabriel, Grace Amante, Julie Alagde, Vinia Pamplona and Ryan Bautista.

Exemplifying Ambassador Renee Veyret’s observation, Guillaume’s inexhaustible creativity provided a marvelous vehicle for the Filipino’s incredible talent the choreographic fusions expressing that talent to the full.

Outstanding young concertist J. Greg Zuniega, who has honed his skills at the Moscow Conservatory and London‘s Royal College, opened the program with Debussy’s Claire de Lune, Schumann’s Dedication, F. Buencamino’s Ang Larawan, Rachmaninov’s Vocalise and Chopin’s Spianato and Polonaise Brillante. Springing a surprise to the listeners’ immense delight, Greg played his own exquisite arrangement of the French pop song Autumn Leaves, his runs limpid and delicate, like a river smoothly flowing.

Behind French Spring’s auspicious augury of resounding success were Ambassador Veyret and her indispensable colleagues: Counselor Franck Hebert, Press Attaché Benedicte Meysson, PRO Martin Macalintal (emcee), AF Director Philippe Normand and Deputy Philippe Bousquet. Underscoring the joint venture was the prefatory exchange of toasts between Mme. Veyret and DFA Undersecretary Frank Ebdalin.