BALLET PHILIPPINES' ROMEO AND JULIET

I just love it when all the elements of a ballet come together to deliver a marvelous performance. It's like the universe aligned and made sure the Saturday evening show came out near perfect . I'm not biased. I just think Ballet Philippines' valentine offering had the makings for a great date night. 

Teacher Perry Sevidal, National Artist for Dance Alice Reyes and myself

How can you not watch? With choreography by National Artist for Dance Alice Reyes, Set and costumes by National Artist for Theater Design Salvador Bernal,  music  by Sergei Prokofiev as played by the Manila Symphony Orchestra, and lighting design by Katsch Catoy; Romeo and Juliet's classic love story comes alive in dance form. 

Denise Parunga and Joseph Gatti (photo from Joanne Ko dela Calsada*)

Prokofiev's music can be over powering as it is. One can literally just close one's eyes and listen to its haunting theme completely ignoring the artists onstage. But you see, the choreography enhances every peak and valley of the score that you sit glued to your chair until the curtains are drawn for intermission. It helps that lead stars Denise Parungao and guest artist Joseph Gatti are so engrossed in their characterization added to their strong technique. Gatti's leaps and pirouettes are immaculate and his lifts are so secure, he can do a pressage (overhead lift) with one arm. Denise Parungao delivers as the tragic Juliet; a young lady in the throes of womanhood. She has come a long way in her dancing. Her pirouettes come without hesitation and she lands ever so softly in her leaps  you can barely hear the clik-clak of her pointe shoes. Maybe it helps that she is engaged and she has much emotion to draw from. Whatever it is, the two leads have a chemistry that was evident in their past partnering in Don Quixote that is as strong as it is now in Romeo and Juliet.

Lady Capulet * photo from Joanne Ko dela Calsada

Perry Sevidal, Liza dela Fuente as the nanny< and myself

Good friends Liza dela Fuente (as the nanny), Butch Esperanza (as Lord Capulet) and Joanne Ko dela Calsada (as Lady Capulet) add able support in portraying integral characters to the ballet. Joanne's stately disposition as the prim and proper, if overbearing mother to Juliet is the perfect foil to Liza's nanny character- a comedic and clumsy role that isn't easy to pull off. I'm glad they accepted the roles assigned to them. Butch Esperanza was quite a revelation. Except for his kayumanggi skin, he was convincing as the lord of the Capulets. He was able to move me as the grieving father who finds his lovely daughter lifeless in her bed egging me to rib my seatmate Perry Sevidal with a joke : '"marunong pala umarte si Butch?" (Butch can act?) He needs to lighten his skin tone, though... The Juliets are fair skinned and Gatti is pale as evidenced while dancing sans shirt in the bedroom scene.

Curtain call photo by Willie Aquino*

The young corps de ballet, I think, needs more classes in mime and acting for ballet. I barely sense the tension among the Montague and Capulet followers in the sword fights among the men and cat fights among the women. They almost seemed like kids attending a children's party on their way to the ballroom scene. They have to have adapt a more elegant characterization. Meanwhile, Mercutio (EJ Arisola), Benvolio (Victor Maguad) and Tybalt (Eugene Obile) rose to the occasion as friends and rivals. EJ delivered good acting prowess as the jokester that laughs his way to his death. Victor's curly mop head is a little distracting to his clean dancing. Eugene is the arrogant Tybalt who towers over everyone else. The Tybalt character requires seething passion to portray a hatred for the rival clan and a longing desire for Lady Capulet's amorous attention.  Their dancing was none the less great. The dancing and the mindset have to gel into one character.  I have yet to see the alternate cast perform, though. Let's see who does it better...

maquette of Badong Bernal's mausoleum set

Badong Bernal's set is as imposing as ever. This is his gift. He can make the CCP stage as grand as he wants it to be. I somehow remember his sets for this ballet a little darker, more somber than this version. The set, on its own, had a sense of foreboding. This one, taken from original plans has a lighter pallet and then the rafters in the market scenes was too flat. It lacked  the texture and grain of heavy wood. Katsch's lighting saves it with amber tones and we like the well lit ballroom and bedroom scenes. The faces and expressions could be clearly seen and the mausoleum lighting enhanced the looming candelabras and statues. 

Denis Parungao and Joseph Gatti at curtain call photo by Willie Aquino*

I have yet to watch the alternate cast of Jemima Reyes and Monica Gana and Victor Maguad and Ronelson Yadao essay the lead roles. I wonder what else they could bring to the table. Thankfully, they have another series of shows this coming weekend. Go catch it! You might fall in love all over again...