A spectacular dynamism in Ballet Manila's Alamat

Consistent with the environmental theme of Ed Maranan’s “Alamat: Si Sibol at si Gunaw”, the audience saw at Aliw Theater, prior to Ballet Manila’s presentation, a film clip of a running waterfall, birds on the wing, dried leaves overhead, a parrot and another bird hanging from the twigs. Curtains opened to lush greenery all over the stage, criss-crossing bamboo poles and huge colorful, eye-catching baskets of native fruits symbolizing nature’s bounty.

Central to Maranan’s legend is Luningning, a goddess captured by the warrior-king Kapuy. An unwilling captive, Luningning gives birth to twins Sibol and Gunaw. Gentle and sweet-tempered, Sibol is all for saving the environment; a ruffian, Gunaw is hell bent on destroying it. Kapuy is on Gunaw’s side; Luningning, on Sibol’s.

Inevitably, a war of attrition ensues between the two feuding factions and their respective followers. Missing her extraterrestial abode, Luningning momentarily flies to it in a startling ascent, leaving mother earth to even greater destruction. She eventually returns in a similarly startling descent, and with her persuasive power, establishes peace and harmony, the earth regaining its pristine, verdant glory.

As the goddess Luningning, Lisa Macuja Elizalde danced with filigree refinement and ethereal grace while conveying her characteristic sparkle, beauty of phrasing and purity of style. How she depicted all these qualities with a brilliant technique that belied her years! The lifts by her partners were breathtaking.

Nazer Salgado as the tyrannical, cruel, arrogant Kapuy, struck fear in the hearts of the viewers, as did Francis Castaño as the grown-up Gunaw and, to a lesser extent, Anselmo Dictado as the boy Gunaw.

A ballerina in progress, Missy Macuja Elizalde portrayed the young Sibol with charming delicacy, her assurance and winsome grace obviously suggesting her following in her mother’s footsteps. Yanti Marduli as the adult Sibol movingly appealed for mercy from her twin brother and father, her dancing fresh and crisp.

The choreography of ballet master Osias Barroso and seasoned dancer Gerardo Francisco, with conceptualization by artistic director Lisa, combined widely diverse, disparate styles. Missy and especially Lisa engaged in classic (toe) dancing, Lisa’s port de bras (arm movements) revealing Oriental influences. The Muslim royal dance, highly stylized, was rendered sensational by very elongated bamboo poles. Martial arts were exemplified by the exultant Kantaos leaping with elan and brio (while wreaking havoc on the environment). There were also touches of gymnastics and acrobatics.

The ensembles shifting from classic to stylized folk and other dances were enhanced by eloquent miming that helped unravel and develop the plot.

Surprisingly and strangely enough, despite the fusion of diverse, disparate styles, the choreographers’ ingenuity produced a cohesive, unified ballet performed to the predominantly ethnic and overwhelmingly percussive accompaniment of Edru Abraham’s music group Kontra-Gapi.

Spectacular is the word that best describes the overall production of Alamat. The dynamic dancing with its electrifying velocity and energy, its sweeping, driving vitality — the ballerinas exhibiting fluid grace and high extensions; the danseurs, arresting ballon - was spectacular and will remain unmatched for some time.

There were over a hundred dancers, ranging from the seasoned to beginners and tiny tots. Each had a part, and no one missed a cue, not the young ballerinas with over-sized flower petals serving as their headdresses, not even the toddlers prancing about as butterflies and bees — all dramatizing the greening and the flowering of Mother Nature.

Spectacular, too, were the fanciful, elegant costumes designed by Michael A. Albay, the imaginative sets and props, these including a huge, black, motorized elephant and the elaborate golden throne of the warrior-king. Among the outstanding ballerinas were Mylene Aggabao, Sofia S. Peralta, Czarina Villegas, Stephanie Cabral, Seihee Hong, Joan E. Sia and Jennifer Rose Olayvar. The virile, buoyant danseurs included Rudy de Dios, Niño Guevarra, Harold and Alfren Salgado, Arnulfo Andrade, Marcus Tolentino, Elpidio Magat, Alvin Santos, Romeo Peralta and Kenneth del Rosario.

The staging of Alamat was a formidable, awesome commitment to the legend as well as to the unequalled dancing. A corollary to Ballet Manila’s aim of bringing ballet to the people is its Project Ballet Futures which provides children living in dumpsites with free ballet lessons, toe shoes — even meals! There seems no end to Lisa amazing the public not only with her company’s productions but also with its humanitarian-artistic concerns.

Please send invitations, press releases, printed photos to my home address, not The STAR. RLO