Storybook ballet: Ang Palasyo ng mga Duwende

In this special series marking National Literature Month, we revisit in photos the three tales of distinguished Filipino author Severino Reyes, as retold by Christine Bellen, which were adapted into Ballet Manila’s Tatlong Pang Kuwento ni Lola Basyang in 2013.

Following its forerunner which premiered in 2008, the new trilogy translated into dance the folksy tales spun by Philippine literature’s most popular storytelling grandmother, Lola Basyang. That these narratives remain relatable and relevant decades after being written and now presented in a new medium is a tribute to their being classics, brimming with age-old values of love, hope, kindness and humor. 

Ang Palasyo ng mga Duwende

Illustrator: Albert Gamos

Choreographers: Gerardo Francisco Jr., Romeo Peralta, Naomi Jaena and Kris-Belle Paclibar-Mamangun

Composer/ musical arranger: Diwa De Leon 

Costume designer: Michael Miguel

Lighting designer: Jaime Villanueva

Production designer: Jonathan Janolo.

Stage director: Roxanne Lapus

Photos by Ocs Alvarez

The widower Lard has remarried and his daughter Yani (Joan Emery Sia) welcomes her stepmother Himpaya and stepsister Lotta (Jan Erika Basilio) wholeheartedly. They seem to warm up to her too. But soon, Himpaya and Lotta grow jealous of the beautiful and caring girl as she is loved dearly by her friends.

Himpaya (Eileen Lopez) pushes Lard off a cliff, making it look like an accident. She and Lotta then mistreat Yani with her father no longer around. It comes to a point where, blinded by envy, Lotta leads Yani to a cliff and pushes her off too. 

The frightened Yani falls into an unexpected destination – the palace of the dwarves! Doom and gloom are replaced by brightness and happiness as she dances with the boisterous dwarves and basks in the beauty of flowers surrounding her. 

Yani is surprised to learn that her father is not dead, after all, but is in a lingering slumber and is under the care of the spiritual being known as the Ada (Kyounglim Min). 

The dwarves tell Yani there could be a cure for her ailing father, but she must pluck out a feather from a magical bird (Romeo Peralta). True enough, once this is secured, Lard (Harold Salgado) finally wakes up and is reunited with Yani. 

The bird is apparently bewitched and removing the feather turns it back into its human self, Prince Hammad. He expresses his love for Yani who feels the same way for him.

Lard and Yani return to their home where they find the repentant Himpaya and Lotta, begging for their forgiveness. The compassionate Yani readily embraces them, thus reuniting their family.