Ballet meets ballroom

Take the ultra-strict discipline demanded by ballet, add in the free-spirited, energetic movements of contemporary dance, then season with the sassiness and sensuality of Latin and ballroom dancing, and you have the perfect recipe: Tango Filipino/La Divina, which will ignite the stage of the Main Theater of the Cultural Center of the Philippines on March 17 and 18 as Ballet Philippines closes its 36th season.

The company that has through the years stretched the boundaries of dance once again pushes the bodies of its formidable dancers and adds new meaning to the vocabulary of dance.

Artistic director Bam Damian reinvents the tango according to his artistic vision, formed by two decades of experience in different European dance companies and colored by almost a year back in the Philippines.

Resident choreographer Alden Lugnasin, who has plumbed the deep pool of possibilities before in such landmark pieces as "Flippers" (where dancers performed with swimming fins), "Swimming" (which simulated swimming the Pasig River on a set of risers, a dance which captivated world audiences) and a definitive deconstruction of "Swan Lake", explores yet newer territory by turning old familiar ballads inside out.

Tony Fabella of the wildly successful "Tambol at Padyak" which launched the Quezon City Performing Arts Foundation kids to national and international stardom once again tweaks the imagination in pieces that–insiders promise–will surely surprise, maybe even shock!

From the Blackpool (England) dance competition comes ballroom diva Edna Ledesma, who found she had to introduce her way of moving to a crop of seasoned dancers. But she admits to being pleasantly surprised at how their bodies and muscles responded and adapted to her style. "Where it would sometimes take months for some of my students to learn and get the feel of how they should move, these dancers...after one session, kuha na nila!" she enthused after one rehearsal. So it will be a treat to see how ballet dancers transform into ballroom dancers.

The gala night audience will get an added treat with television dance show ("Shall We Dance?") host and certified celebrity Lucy Torres-Gomez making her formal stage debut in a special number.

So even if your pliés are palpak and your tango moves more tangled than anything else, make it a point to catch "Tango Filipino/La Divina" at the CCP. Who knows? It may just inspire you to put on those red dancing shoes and start steppin’ and sliding your way to the middle of the dance floor!

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Tango Filipino/La Divina has shows on March 17 and 18 at 8 pm, and a matinee on March 18 at 3 pm at the Cultural Center. For ticket information, call Ballet Philippines at tel 551-1003 or 832-6011.