This Month in BM History: May 2005
Sari’t Bahag fuses primal, earthly movements with pointe work. Photo by Ocs Alvarez
With the company headed for the United States anew for a performance tour and some of its dancers participating in an international competition, Ballet Manila Goes International on May 14 and 15 in 2005 served as a fitting send-off and on-stage preparation.
Ballet Manila Goes International featured a program of pieces bound for a competition abroad, as well as for the company’s US Tour in 2005. Program from the Ballet Manila Archives collection
Two pairs of dancers who were bound for the Helsinki International Ballet Competition – Gerardo Francisco Jr. and Marian Faustino and Francis Cascaño and Christine Rocas – performed their competition pieces in the show.
The first pair, featured on the cover of the show’s program, presented the Grand Pas Classique pas de deux and Paunjalay, a number set to traditional Filipino Music that Francisco himself choreographed.
The second pair took on the spider-themed Arachnida choreographed by Agnes Locsin as their contemporary fare and Black Swan pas de deux from Swan Lake for their classical entry.
Francis Cascaño and Christine Rocas perform the Black Swan pas de deux from Swan Lake. Photo by Ocs Alvarez
The members of the US Tour delegation – who had performances slated in Ohio, Texas, Louisiana, Illinois, Washington DC, Tennessee and Michigan – were featured in the company’s reliable show pieces: Tony Fabella’s Dalagang Pilipina, a mix of ballet and fashion that serves as a glamorous tribute to the contemporary Filipina; Jojo Lucila’s Sari’t Bahag, a narrative about an Igorot bride who loses her groom in a tribal war because of the curse of an Idaw bird; and Agnes Locsin’s Sayaw sa Pamlang, a suite of dances with Philippine Southern inspiration.
For the finale, Ballet Manila prepared Mga Awit at Sayaw, a set of dances with a classical touch choreographed to popular Filipino songs, capped by patriotic-themed Sabihin Mo which is also a showcase for the evolution of the Philippine flag.
The Grande Pas Classique pas de deux, featuring Gerardo Francisco and Marian Faustino, is a technical showcase in the refined Russian style. Photo by Ocs Alvarez
