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Last Monday evening, thanks to Bahrain Summer Festival and The Embassy of the Philippines, those of us lucky enough to attend the event at The National Theatre in Manama, were treated to a fiesta of ethnic ballet care of Manila’s Premier Ballet Company, Ballet Philippines.
I freely admit I had to throw my long-held ideals of what to expect from a ballet dancer - never ending extensions, mind bogglingly high leaps and lifts from the male leads and disdainful and wooden facial expressions had to go out of the window, as these dancers were much shorter, more energetic and simply glowed with joie de vivre and passion.
The opening address by their esteemed artistic director, Paul Alexander Morales, set the tone for the entire evening. He was so patently proud of his troupe, and they, to judge by the look on their faces when they caught his attention on them as they danced, were just as proud of him. It set the tone for the entire performance.
The initial routines, which all came from the 45-year accumulated repertoire of the troupe, featured the diverse culture of different regions of the Philippines - the dance routines acting as cultural ambassadors for the country. Indeed, they reflected the strong Spanish influences and traditions that make up a large part of the culture of the Philippines - with that distinctly Philippine-style flair thrown in.
The programme was divided into two parts and included not just ethnic dances, but contemporary works and traditional European ballet. ‘Halik’ which had a powerful story of love and forgiveness to tell, was so moving and so beautifully danced, that I wanted to reach out to comfort the female lead.
The delightful ‘Lahat ng Araw’ which displayed the talents and physiques of four of the male dancers, in what can best be described as red flamenco half skirts and with them carrying red fans, was almost disturbingly beautiful. The fans became weapon-like when manipulated by the dancers and their moves owed more than a little something to martial arts; yet so breathtakingly choreographed were they, that they made it impossible to focus on just one dancer. They melded as one.
The classical piece was again absolutely riveting and all the better for seeing it performed by a passionate duo, rather than say, more stylised Russian Ballet performers, for example.
As the evening drew to a close, and believe me the two hours just zipped past, we were treated to a superb piece of artistry whereby all the performers were dancing in traditional wooden flip flops (Bakya), which were a cross between the flip flops we all see here and Dutch wooden clogs or old style British patterns. They must have been incredibly hard to keep on, yet the dancers not only managed it, but looked elegant as they clacked their way around the stage.
All in all it was a delightful evening. I for one would be thrilled, were they to bring their version of the ballet Peter Pan to Bahrain in the future.
– Christine Hasan
