Don Q/IC’s duo recital
Despite the title, Don Quixote and his squire Sancho Panza have very minimal roles in the Don Quixote ballet which is primarily the story of lovers Basilio and Kitri. The divertissements and dances of the corps de ballet hinder plot progression, as they do in other traditional classic ballets, but they nevertheless give pleasure and delight to balletomanes.
Fil-Finnish guest artist Aarne Ruutu as Basilio and Faye Abigail Tan as Kitri shone brightly in the gala (at the CCP main theater) as staged and directed imaginatively and ingeniously by Russian ballet master Anatoli Panasyukov. The principals especially sparkled in the grand pas de deux, with Aarne conveying remarkable ballon (lightness) in his dazzling turns and leaps. Further, he was a consistently dependable partner throughout the ballet as he skillfully lifted and turned Faye in her tours. Aarne, a tremendous asset to any company, would have made greater impact had he exuded a bit more virility.
Slim as a reed, her shapely legs the envy of many ballerinas, Faye as Kitri exhibited beauty of line and incredible extension. (in the arabesques, her legs formed a perpendicular line; in her leaps, a horizontal one.) Clean, precise and rapid, her fouettes and double tours in the solo variations exceeded expectations. A brilliant dancer now taking her place among our leading ballerinas, Faye tends to focus more on technique and less on characterization. In due time, she will surely combine both in equal degrees to stun the audience even more.
Peter San Juan, portraying the bullfighter Espada, electrified with his dizzying cape work. Joan Ayap as Mercedes and Dryad Queen exhibited strong technique and élan. Tracey Castillo, who was Kitri in the matinees, presumably fared extremely well.
Panasyukov was an endearing Lorenzo, Kitri’s father who favors Gacameche, here spiritedly interpreted by Stanley Cañete. Likewise talented delineators were Joel Matias, Don Quixote;
The impressive matadors were from the Silangan Dance Troupe headed by Genera Caringal, remarkable artistic director of Philippine Ballet Theater. Brisk, animated and vibrant, the corps de ballet was generally disciplined.
The comic scenes, e.g., Basilio’s “suicide”, were cleverly handled, and the miming helped to further the story. The windmills and the grand ballroom considerably established and enhanced ambiance, as did the colorful costumes.
PBT is steadily working toward uncompromising international standards — to the genuine admiration of dance lovers.
The latest IC recital was of singular appeal because one rarely hears a cello-guitar duo, and even more rarely a British cellist and a Spanish guitarist playing together. Cellist Michael Jones and guitarist Agustin Maruri once performed jointly in
The program opened with a four-movement sonata (arr. Maruri) by Vivaldi — known as the Paganini of the 18th century — and Schubert’s romantic Sonate Arpeggione, its poignant lyricism marked occasionally by prosaic content. In both pieces, Maruri was a virtual accompanist but an excellent one.
Canto del Pajaro by former Ambassador Delfin Colomé did not in any way evoke bird song with its innovative and alternate devices of plucking and strumming, and its rhythmic verve.
There was an almost even interplay in the Spanish compositions, Jones and Maruri each conveying, in varying degrees, the fire, passion and color of Spain: Elegance and stately grace, melodic flow, rhythmic nuances and dance movements in Granados; exquisite melancholy in Albeniz; arresting rhythms, sensuous melodies, poetic beauty in De Falla. The eloquent dialogue was a magnificent tribute to
Present were IC Director Jose Rodriguez, Jose Ma. Fons and Clarissa Lukban.
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