Ballet Manila's Deux: A lot more than just Chopin and The Beatles ballets

Ballet Manila's Deux

Even before the first step was made on stage, Ballet Manila's CEO and Co-Artistic Director Lisa Macuja-Elizalde explained that their season ender Deux is more than just a pairing of the classical and the contemporary. Deux also means a pair of dancers in a Pas de deux which also the show features, the two sexes highlighted in their respective numbers, and as a side note, a birthday celebration of the company's very own Dames twins.

Joshua Enciso and Akari Ida in La Bayadere

The show got off to a good start with La Bayadere that showcased danseur Joshua Enciso who showed more maturity with greater control since I saw him last. As Solor, he danced with more polish and kept his tendency to go wild in check. His presence on stage is still so dominant that it takes an effort to keep an eye on his partner Akari Ida. There is a certain comfort and flair in her dancing as Gamzatti that makes me feel at ease, but sometimes she was dwarfed figuratively by her very imposing partner.

Sayaka Ishibashi and Rafael Perez in Flames of Paris

Such an opener was a tough act to follow that Sayaka Ishibashi and Rafael Perez had to step up to keep the momentum with their Flames of Paris Pas de deux. While the two managed to execute the steps, the polish and the character still need to be developed. I just have to remind myself that this is a young pair and that Ballet Manila has always shown guts by letting their junior/new company members do demanding numbers such as this that is usually reserved for more seasoned members.

The next couple of variations were an odd insertion. While it was great to see more of Hyuma as a rather haughty Ali in his variation from Le Corsaire, I wished that Alvin Dictado had more exposure since before I knew it, his Albrecht variation from Giselle is already done and over with.

Elpidio Magat as the Poet in Chopiniana

The main anchor of the first part was Chopiniana, a picturesque showcase that had the corps holding such unusual and intricate angles with their necks, arms, and torso and making them look easy in the process. It made me wonder how groundbreaking these unusual alignments were, in contrast to the classical vein of being always up and vertical, around a century ago when this ballet premiered This was also a showcase for Elpidio Magat as the sensitive poet, and the lead muses composed of Joan Sia, Nanami Hasegawa, and Rissa May Camaclang.

Gerardo Francisco as the soloist in Aramica

The second, contemporary half of the show began with Bam Damian III's Aramica, a slow crescendo that had the male company members parade on to the stage with music from Aram Khachaturian's Spartacus that surged into a powerful display of testosterone exemplified by Gerardo Francisco, who was the soloist for this signature piece. Ballet Manila is distinct for the number of its danseurs it has and it knows how to highlight them.

Pia Dames and Hyuma Kiyosawa in Diane et Acteon

Guest danseur and winner of the silver medal in the Junior Category of the USA International Ballet Competition in Jackson, Mississippi, Hyuma Kiyosawa returns for the Diane et Acteon Pas de deux with one of the night's birthday twins, Pia Dames. Pia showed character, spunk and grit not allowing a slight misstep towards the end of her fouettés dampen her disposition. While she looked diminutive besides the tall and technically impressive Hyuma, she proved that she was a match in intensity.

The Winding Road

The show reached its climax with the world premiere of Martin Lawrance's The Winding Road, a fun ballet set to the music of legendary band, The Beatles. Once again, this highlighted the strength of the danseurs especially the quartet of principals namely Rudy de Dios, Gerardo Francisco, Romeo Peralta, and Elpidio Magat. I admit that I never really gravitated towards The Beatles and was never really crazy about their music. But seeing how Lawrence (who admits to be a huge fan of the Fab Four) choreographed the selection of songs gave me an opportunity to appreciate the music in ways that I never thought possible. Seeing how he told the story visually through dance made me notice elements of The Beatles music like the song structure, rhythms, arrangement, and influences (I was caught off guard with the Greek music in Girl) that I sadly never took notice if before. It was a revelation for me to sit there watching the dancers go through the highs and lows of life while scrutinizing and deconstructing the music and that pleased me a lot.

It pleased some audience members too since more than a few were eager to hit the dance floor to The Beatles' tunes right after the company took their bows. And having dancing audiences leaving the Aliw Theater is a fine way to cap a season.

Catch the final weekend of Deux this March 9, 2019, 6:00 PM and March 10, 2019, 3:00 PM at the Aliw Theater.