The Glamour And The Gala

GALA conjures up images of men and women dressed in their finest, mingling in the theater lobby under chandelier light, the anticipation of what waits behind the closed theater doors palpable amidst the polite, pre-concert chatter. Going to the theater or concert hall for a Gala or opening night was an anticipated event, looked forward to and prepared for – and well it should be, for the unveiling of a new artistic piece – be it a symphony, a ballet, an opera or a play – is indeed a major event.

In Manila, the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) has seen many a glittering gala, even as its thrust has been to democratize and popularize the arts. This week, Ballet Philippines, the resident dance company of the CCP, together with Philippine Tatler magazine, will bring back the glamour days of Philippine theater with a fund-raising black-tie Gala entitled New Beginnings on Thursday, Oct. 16 at the CCP Main Theater.

Co-hosted by Ballet Philippines alumni dancers Sofia Zobel-Elizalde (also a trustee of the Ballet Philippines Foundation) and Elizabeth Roxas-Dobrish, the New Beginnings Gala features an electrifying work, Alvin Ailey’s Night Creature, to music by jazz legend Duke Ellington. The work is restaged for BP by Dobrish, who was one of the Ailey company’s best and most famous dancers.

First staged in 1974 for his own company, the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, this internationally acclaimed work has been described by The New York Times as “one of Mr. Ailey’s happiest works. It has a joyful pulse, a sophisticated entente with its sophisticated music that carries on the best of the Ellington tradition.” 

Night Creature is one Ailey’s most classically choreographed ballets juxtaposed within Duke Ellington’s jazz idiom. Evoking instinctive animal movements, the dance captivates with Ailey’s sexy nocturnal rituals, propelling the movement into a fast-paced climactic catharsis using slow jazz walks, boogie woogie and ballet arabesques to create prowling patterns and communal configurations.

“Night creatures, unlike stars, do not come OUT at night - they come ON, each thinking that before the night is out he or she will be the star,” Duke Ellington once said.

Also in the program are new works by BP’s new artistic directors, Max Luna III and Alan Hineline. Luna premieres Mga Awit and The Hurt We Embrace, while Hineline presents Thresholds II.

Regular season performances of New Beginnings will be on October 17, 18 and 19 with matinee and evening shows. For tickets to the Gala and regular shows, call Ballet Philippines at tel 551-0221 or TicketWorld at tel 891-9999.