Koreans join Ballet Manila / Concerts at Mandarin, Ritz

Dance aficionados recently saw a performance of Ballet Manila and Korea’s Choi So Bin Company at the Star Theater.

In the opening “Les Syylphides”, danseurs in white shorts had tuttus attached to them to suggest sylph costumes. With the men representing female creatures yet dancing as men, the spectacle seemed rather odd and unconvincing. In any case, their highly developed technique was to be admired. Augustus Damian III choreographed to Chopin’s music.

Ballet Manila’s pas de deux (balcony scene) was from “Romeo and Juliet”. Lisa Macuja enthralled as she conveyed young, innocent, enduring love for Romeo, here portrayed by Rudy de Dios who, in turn, reciprocated it. The interpretation, exquisite and radiant, again displayed Lisa’s strong, flawless technique, her partner showing her off in awesome lifts.

“Dulce”, to a Filipino medley, was sizzling jazz on pointes, fused with ballet and modern dance. The ballerinas were in ravishing costumes, and the fusion was electrifying.

“Fire. Butterfly. Dream.” was the contribution of Korea’s Choi So Bin Company named after its choreographer. As the number began, a female figure in stunning, dazzling head-dress and costume suggesting royalty, had the huge cast behind her representing Korean hierarchies: royalty, aristocracy, the affluent society, the middle class represented by a clown and a clutch of women admirers.

The dancers, superbly trained, executed balletic steps with Oriental touches to dominantly Oriental music embellished with choral singing. The countless entrances and exits of each group of dancers were swift and brisk the male soloists shining as they turned, jumped and soared. Two pretty, little ballerinas engaged in neat, delicate, graceful dancing, enchanting the audience.

The company and its choreographer garnered thunderous applause. Publicly recognized were the Korean ambassador and his wife, Sen. Miriam Defensor Santiago and cultural personality Carmen D. Padilla.

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The season’s merriest sounds rang at the Captain’s Bar of Mandarin Oriental Hotel where Josefino “Chino” Toledo’s Metro Manila Concert Orchestra played familiar foreign carols with the exception of Cayabyab’s Kumukutikutitap. Toledo, a highly imaginative composer, arranged many of the selections with orchestral sounds ranging from soft and gentle to rousing.

I was seated beside the percussion section from where bells tinkled and drums thundered. Although the songs were light, several contained tricky and complex passages, especially for the woodwinds and brasses.

GM Mark Bradford, who welcomed the guests along with Communications Director Charisse Chuidian, announced that the concert raised a substantial amount for its beneficiary, the Child Protection Network. Guests included Eduardo Jarque, Amando Doronila, Bambi Harper, Marivic Rufino, Evelyn R. Garcia and Glenn Gale.

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Cultural entrepreneur Martin Lopez presented his annual benefit concert “Come to the Stable” at the Ritz Towers lobby. The program featured the excellent Sta. Isabel Guitar Quartet consisting of Ericson Malelang, Crisbert Austria, Juan Miguel Abella and Dong de Dios who made up a highly cohesive, disciplined group. Similarly outstanding was cellist Ivan Jenzer.

The Quartet played Mozart’s “German Dance”; cellist Jenzer and guitarist Austria rendered Cuenco’s Nahap. The Quartet rendered the popular “Tico-Tico”, and with the cellist, interpreted “Fantasia on Greensleeves” by Ralph Vaughan Williams.

Canada-based soprano Lilac Cana, who has gone on international concert tours, sang classics, popular, native and Christmas songs culled from her wide repertoire. Her expressive voice, ringing loudly and clearly, was marked by vibratos.

Listeners were generous in their applause of Cana and the instrumentalists who included pianist Sheryl Ann de Dios, admirably accompanying artist for Cana along with the guitarists and the cellist.

In the audience were Minerva Tanseco, Chloe Periquet, Alice Briones, Lulu Castañeda, Nenuca Blardony, Maurice Lim of BDO, Evelyn R. Garcia, Helen O. del Rosario, Chit Pedrosa and Boysie Villavicencio.