How to watch a modern concert

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KnX76ZfN-Yw&sns=fb

A friend shared this link in facebook ! Sooooo funny :) To say the least I was amused . It brought me back memories of CCP Dance School. If you were a scholar, you had to take all the classes in the curriculum, ballet, modern, creative movement , and even jazz :)

Funny Memories of  things we did in the past.

Advanced Creative movement  (Teacher: "The" Agnes Locsin )
Exercise 1  : Hold up a Newspaper and act out whatever you see in the page .
Exercise 2 : Pick a random thing you do in the bathroom or bedroom and don an improv performance

Children's Creative Movement  (Teacher: Christine Maranan )
Exercise 1 : Spell your name with your body
Exercise 2 : Mirror your partner

Modern Ballet  (Teacher : too many to mention)
Exercise 1 : Cartwheel across the floor
Exercise 2 : Do the following consecutively : Pretzel roll,  back roll front roll .. . and repeat .

Ramblings of a Sayaw Groupie

No I'm not a filmmaker. No I'm not an art critic. And no I'm not a frustrated actress ( though maybe  i am a little bit of the latter ) . I'll tell you what I am though .  I am a lover of art .  I just haaaaaaddddd to write about my newest discovery.

So many artworks exist nowadays and I feel that fusion of different expressions have indeed been trending . You have collaborations of multimedia art and theater, dance and visual arts, poetry and visual arts . The list goes on . But the reality is , rarely is there a perfect blend . Simply understandable because its like  finding two people with exactly the same perspective .( If that were an easy feat then we'd all be getting along perfectly right ?!!!!! )  So when I went to CCP for Cinemalaya's " Ang Sayaw ng Dalawang Kaliwang Paa ", in my head was  this film was either going to be good or really really bad .The Film had the task of integrating   Filipino poetry , film and dance.

And the verdict is . . .

The story translated to film was seamless from start to finish .

It was beautifully written . It was a story of love,  not people but love. It immortalized the essence of loving. You can't choose love it chooses you .  It doesn't bind ,it embraces . Moreover,  it showed that love really transcends boundaries. With the story line that it had , it could have been cheaply interpreted  . It could have been kabaduyan and or snooze button boring scenes   but instead it communicated its point  with simple but absolutely BEAUTIFUL dialogue. The poetry in the film was so cleverly used . It drew people ( or me )  in because as the student and the teacher  engaged in conversation about what it was about , .. . . . I too wanted to know what it was about . Not that Im an idiot (though the subtitles helped) but it was the intensity in the scenes that made you quiet your mind and listen and understand so  i too could feel. And the poetry was complimented by blunt direct to the point relate-able dialogue . The contrast was commendable. 

With  a good script  comes a big challenge . Thankfully its actors delivered.  Most memorable to me  was Jean Garcia's  scene where she watches her two students audition . Her scene had no words but boy did she translate eons of memories  in her ten seconds of nothingness. In her eyes were the stories of pain, regret, longing, pride  and so much more. Gone are days when you had to have a crazed woman scene to translate all of these emotions. Here was a scene where the actress was allowed to just be, allowed to just feel. And indeed she was remarkable. She told the story of a learned experienced woman.

Another favorite would be Rocco Naccino's scene. It was the scene where he was being paid by his friend for the tutoring session. And again with no words or even gestures he glances up and the flush of hurt is plastered in his face.  And as the audiences  sighed , I too knew he was hurt because he  felt demoted from a friend to a nobody.He among everybody was actually the biggest revelation to me.  He went from one scene to another effortlessly  portraying a gay role with none of the excessive  treatment as most actors would have leaned towards.

Paolo did quite a good job too. The way he made his character evolve from an innocent young boy to a compassionate and caring person was commendable. He was funny when he needed to be. He was endearing when he needed to be .

( I actually have too many FAVORITE scenes :)

And of course I must I just must say something about the dancing . It was just genius .Two boys dancing ? first impression would be wth?!!! awkward !!! But if you watch them go through the scenes you dont even think of the  gay theme. You end up just  appreciating the scene along with the poetry, the music and the depth of emotion that  came with the  dancing.  Im a dancer  and I could have dwelled on   how the choreography was danced by the dancers  but I didn't. The choreography itself was a scene telling a story. It was sensitive. It was poetry. It didn't distract the audience from the story. It took them a step further . And seeing  Rocco and Paolo in the last scene I knew they too felt it . They were taking the scene and their performance to another level.

The cinematography of this film was uuuuhhhh-mazing. Each scene was like picture in an album, gentle to the eyes. The flow was in itself like a dance , graceful and elegant . Never abrupt, never excessive  just simply beautiful. 

All in all, the film's elements just blended together. It just worked . Everything was carefully orchestrated and   from each glance to every dance step to every camera shift.  Needless to say I say YES it was a total succes.  A heartwarming message went viral  through Sayaw. I praise the director for leading and inspiring the team towards his vision. But thats not the only reason I now have the highest of respect for him.  Not only did he end up making a good movie that touched the hearts of many. He   elevated the art of different people and immortalized it in film. In the end , they made ART. And I love ART.

So to TEAM SAYAW . . . CHEERS :)  and guys di ko kamaganak ang producer. hehehehe. 

DISCLAIMER :

But if anybody asked me what I could have improved about the film  (SEEING AS NO FILM IS EVER PERFECT ) I would say  the following forgivable small details . (Maybe im just oay)

1. I wish they used a dancer  for Jean Garcia's " caressing the foot"  scene coz it was a bit distracting to see an uarched foot since she was supposed to be a dance teacher . 

2. Seemed like nauubusan ng  diallogue Rocco's classmates in the assignment scene . That scene was kind of funny :p 

3.When Jean Garcia  goes home and takes off her make up. . . . I didn't quite get why she cleaned her whole face except her eyes. And why did she even take it off . At first I thought i was a scene to show how she has aged and been through a lot but after a while i was like . . . did she plan on seducing them ? ;p 

4. With the exception of a few strong dancers , . . .some were not in unison  in parts of the choreography.  

PROJECT RNJ

For some reason or another,  I’ve often been tasked to lead the prayer for PBT productions) So here comes opening night ,  I was walking towards the stage for Green Room  and i was faced with the possibility of having to pray . On a normal day I would  not have minded , Im a fairly confident person .  But this time I  had pre-greenroom-prayer leader jitters.  Though I did have a bit of pre-show jitters , the thought of praying for opening night’s performance overwhelmed me more.  I was silent, fidgety  and clammy , all because Ms. Maniya Barredo whom I have idolized all my life was going to be there and I didn’t want to look like a total idiot. As fate would have it Ms. Maniya led us  in prayer for each show that we did.  Saved I was . 

I will remember the prayers , the greenroom  pep talks on that stage forever.   I am certain that the words said were the words that needed to be said  . However thankful I was of having been saved of possible humiliation , i do have a little ounce of regret in my heart. I would never have the chance to show her how grateful we are for the blessing that is Ms. Maniya Barredo.  To share with my friends and family   had I been given a chance my prayer would have been something like this. ......

Dear Lord,

Tonight as we again join hands as a family, we thank you for the blessings you have trusted us with .

We thank you for gifting us with yet another beautiful ballet to perform .But more importantly we thank you for the journey that  led us to  today .

We thank you for the new friendships that you have blessed us with. Our new friends  have given us nothing but good memories of laughter and joy .

We thank you most especially for sending or rather lending us  Ms. Maniya  Barredo who was an angel to the company .  She has lifted us up in so many ways that we feel empowered and ready to be worthy to be called dancers.   She was there for us as a mother who nurtured us emotionally   with her kindness and love. She was there for us as a teacher who firmly but graciously  taught us what it means to be a real artist . She was there for us as a leader who kept us strong despite the challenges that went our way . Most  especially she was there to show us what we should aspire to become,  a prima ballerina who inspires with her humility and generosity as an artist.   As she has often shared with us . . . . everyone has a role to play.  Dear lord thank you for allowing her to play her role perfectly . 

For the complete experience that has changed us all we thank you. Our gratitude will fuel our bodies with the energy and the passion to make our show our prayer of thanksgiving to you oh lord who has given us so much .

We offer up our performances for the glory of your name. And as we dance our hearts out may we give life to the rich story of love and touch the audience as you graciousness and blessings have touched us.

Amen

Clearly , the journey  to RNJ was worth all the time, blisters, exhaustion  we all endured. It was PBT reborn. True, technique improvement hardly come quickly but surely PBT showed itself reborn in spirit. Even the most delinquent  of dancers shaped up in fear that they would disappoint not just Ms. Maniya but the company and themselves .   Same company , new  outlook.

I don’t think words can encapsulate how rich our experience was this production but I trust that the audience felt  it . The dancers had four shows , four of which with standing ovations , a trademark for all Maniya  Barredo performances .    I can only hope  that this is just the beginning.I close by quoting Ms. Maniya  " Its time to soar "

 Pahabol . . . . .  "Less is more" but could somebody ask her if maybe we could have a little bit more of her  ?  :p.

the theater is my home