Phl dance company to perform at Dali exhibit in Singapore

MANILA, Philippines - For one night only this September, a Philippine dance company pays tribute to the late surrealist painter Salvador Dalí at the newly opened ArtScience Museum in Singapore through an interactive performance titled “Jamming with Dalí.”

“It’s very promising and exciting because it’s crazy. Surrealism allows us to juxtapose incongruous elements to give us a fresh view on life,” says Ballet Philippines artistic director Paul Morales.

Inspired by the success of Van Gogh Alive – The Exhibition, the ArtScience Museum mounts “Dalí: Mind of a Genius” until Oct. 30 to showcase over 250 works by the Spanish artist.

Dalí, known for his eccentric behavior in his lifetime, also experimented with modern sculpture and installation art, with equally bizarre results, the most famous of which are the Lobster Telephone and the now iconic Mae West Lips Sofa, which is included in the exhibit.

“We will follow the theme of the exhibit, latching on several particular pieces,” says Morales, who describes the pieces as “dance sketches.”

The performance features Ballet Philippines’ rising stars Jean Marc Cordero, who received a special award in the First Boston International Ballet Competition held in May; and fellow principal dancers Carissa Adea and Katherine Trofeo.

To be used in the performance is the song “Singapore Sling,” a modern piece of music for orchestra , composed by the late former Spanish Ambassador to Manila and Singapore Delfin Colomé.

Colomé, who was also former director of the Asia Europe Foundation based in Singapore, succumbed to liver cancer in 2008, leaving works in jazz and chamber music, as well as books on modern dance. His wife Elena offered his music to be used by Ballet Philippines in the upcoming show “Inamorata,” slated for September at the CCP Main Theater. For Inamorata BP will premiere a new work that features the late ambassador’’s “Amar Como El Mar” (Love Like the Sea), which has him playing in the recording. “It is because of the serendipitous association of the former ambassador with Singapore that we have also included his work for this show,” Morales added.

On Sept. 3 at 7 p.m., go to Marina Bay Sands and find the building shaped like a giant hand, or a lotus flower – however you want to see it – and time may just pleasantly melt away like a DalÌ clock.

And on Sept. 4 at the Singapore Airlines Theater at La Salle-SIA, Singapore, catch the Singapore leg of Ballet Philippines’ original dance production “Crisostomo Ibarra,” a retelling of the travails of Rizal’s hero in his debut novel “Noli Me Tangere” as he transforms from a complacent aristocrat to a revolutionary. Morales choreographed the contemporary ballet to the music of Jed Balsamo. Set and costume design are by Jose Melencio. Ballet Philippines partners with the Philippine Embassy in Singapore and Air Asia for the overseas tour of Ibarra which was awarded “Outstanding Dance Production of 2010” by the Philstage Gawad Buhay! Awards.