This Month in BM History: December 2009
A review in the Philippine Daily Inquirer hails the production for its native themes and timely message. Clipping from the Ballet Manila Archives collection
A fusion of movement, color and pageantry is unraveled in Alamat: Si Sibol at Si Gunaw. Photo by Ocs Alvarez
For its Christmas offering in 2009, Ballet Manila unwrapped a production that combined a colorful spectacle and a timely message.
Alamat: Si Sibol at Si Gunaw, based on the children’s story by Ed Maranan, imagined the blending of two realms – earth and the sky world. The unlikely union between the mortal king Kapuy and the nature goddess Luningning produces the twins Sibol, the nurturer, and Gunaw, the destroyer. The question is, who will win between the two siblings as they battle over the environment – the former for its protection or the latter for its ruin?
A promotional photograph for the world premiere of Alamat: Si Sibol at Si Gunaw features the lead cast (from left): Lisa Macuja-Elizalde as Luningning, Francis Cascaño as Gunaw, Nazer Salgado as Kapuy and (foreground) Yanti Marduli as Sibol. Photo by Ocs Alvarez
No stranger to mounting extravaganzas, Ballet Manila made sure Alamat would particularly capture the fancy of the holiday crowds by creating a setting laden with giant flowers and filled with enchanting creatures. The choreography put together by Osias Barroso and Gerardo Francisco Jr. was at the fore, notably with Philippine folk and Southern influences, set to music by George Canseco and Willy Cruz as arranged by Mon Faustino and Noel Zarate. Edru Abraham and his Kontra-Gapi ensemble added fittingly to the pulsating rhythm threading this ballet fable.
In a review for the Philippine Daily Inquirer, Pablo Tariman wrote: “The big surprise is that after years of watching swans and snowflakes, one gets a bigger thrill seeing tribal handmaidens and malong-garbed corps de ballet executing what looks like the Philippine answer to Aurora’s wedding in Sleeping Beauty, and perhaps a more exotic version of the Kingdom of the Shades.
“If there is one pro-climate change ballet that should be toured to widen consciousness on the need to preserve the environment, it would be Alamat.”
Critic Rosalinda Orosa describes Alamat as a choreographic gem created by Osias Barroso and Gerado Francisco. Clipping from the Ballet Manila Archives collection