Assumption’s Broadway I

As I perused the printed program prior to the Assumption College presentation of “Broadway 1”, I saw graders listed as participants. Their inclusion somewhat dismayed me, causing me to assume rushly how sloppy and amateurish the show would be. I was utterly wrong. The graders, along with the high school and college students, faculty members, parents and alumnae (of all sizes and shapes) strongly suggested hours of grueling and disciplined rehearsals in the cast’s precision dancing which nearly matched that of the New York Rockettes and the Paris Folies Bergere.

Staged in the Mother Rose Auditorium were excerpts from the musicals “Annie” and “The Chorus Line”, and a re-enactment of selected songs by Cole Porter. Writer/director Pablo O’Hara and artistic director Ana Valdes Lim, between them, came up with dance-and-song episodes brimming with zest and verve, brought together in a unified, cohesive and rapid fashion. An invisible thread wove the acts into a compact whole which left the audience thoroughly entertained.

With no space for the cast of hundreds, I shall single out only the marvelous graders in “Annie”: Mala Salazar and Kylie Subia (“Maybe”), Alyanna Wijangco as Annie, Cang Angeles and Analou Carreon Guco/Cecille (“I’m Gonna Like It Here”), Sam Bello as Annie, Sari Valenzuela, Frankie Lichauco and Alyanna Wijangco as orphan singers (“It’s  the Hard-Knock Life”).

The youngsters, and the grown-ups did not suffer at all in comparison with the following professionals who, of course, added greater dramatic and comic dimension to the show: guest artists Diana Alferez, Gilbert Onida, JV Katipunan, Randy Villarama and Corina Vallejos; Guess male dancers Philip Adiao, Nikki Camasura, Richard Herves, and Lou Jalapa.

Times have really changed. Remember the ballet ban during which convent girls took up ballet under threat of expulsion? I recall dancing on toes, as a geisha — to the choreography of my late sister Leonor Orosa Goquingco — dressed virtually like a nun! In the elegant ballroom scene of “Broadway 1”, Corina Vallejos, whose skirt had a long, revealing slit, danced a sultry, sensuous, seductive sequence with her partner. The excellent pair presumably raised no eyebrows, thus evincing more laxed convent standards. Presumably, likewise, inventive choreographer John “Batche” Tan did not work under any constraints in the rest of the numbers.

“The Chorus Line” finale and stunning climax demonstrated again the entire cast’s admirable precision dancing and singing infused with the git-up-and-go spirit of Broadway.

The rivalry between St. Scholastica and Assumption has been existing for as long as the rivalry between Ateneo and De La Salle. However, although I am a Scholastican, I must say without any hesitation that “Broadway 1” is a remarkable milestone and should be followed by “Broadway II, III, IV, ad infinitum. This year’s show coincided with the canonization of Assumption foundress St. Marie Eugenie whose dictum “Discover and develop the talent of each student” is being assiduously practised by her nuns.

Elielle Viaje Recital

The outstanding 16-year old pianist Elielle Viaje was specially invited to perform in Belgrade’s “Joy of Europe” international festival (Oct. 1-6). She played Liszt’s Etude in D Flat on opening night; Chopin’s Fantasie Impromptu on gala night at the Serva Centrum where Pavarotti once performed before an audience of 20,000.

Elielle, momentarily home for the holidays, is on her second year at the Vienna Conservatory under Prof. Christoph Eggner. It was because of her brilliant work at the Conservatory that she was invited to the Belgrade festival.

On Jan. 12 at 7 p.m. Elielle will give a recital in Pasig for the benefit of the Word Community Church, playing Bach, Haydn, Schubert, Brahms, Chopin, Liszt and Prokofieff.

For her studies in Vienna, Elielle has received financial help from philanthropist Pinky Tobiano, and Julia and Carlito Javier. To buttress Elielle’s resources, checks may be sent to Lt. Col. Mike Viaje, Rm. 18, TOQ, Camacho St., Camp Aguinaldo, QC, tel. 09175070139, or Mrs. Wina Viaje, tel. 9122365.