Breaking it Down : David Campos' Sleeping Beauty

Watching two ballets in a single weekend can be quite overwhelming. But because we are talking about David Campos ballets the word overwhelming is an understatement. Definitely Campos seemed quite involved in the creative process as both executions had an edgy touch. From the costumes, to the set, to the choreography there was always a distinct taste level that would consistently rule.

The performances were strategically scheduled with Sleeping Beauty being presented first followed by Giselle. While both productions had their own high and low points, most definitely Giselle reigned superior.

PRODUCTION

Sleeping Beauty was a visual feast. It began with  a perky epileptic looking fairy boureeing across the stage with a bit of quick fun footwork. Then the magic began when she started using her wand. Bibbidi bobbidee boo, and out comes a splash of beautiful colors in the transparent screen. After the first came another and another  and she transforms the stage into a beautiful   fantasy land. The whole stage reflected a painting of beauty. He maximized everything, the front screen, the backdrop even the wings.  Perfectly timed and choreographed, it was indeed a magical beginning. The fairy even began to write with her wand. Who says 3d cannot be applied to the theatre?! It certainly felt that way. The oos and aahhhs came after the thrill of something new done in Philippine Theatre and it set the mood for the the fairy tale evening. This would be how it was the whole evening, the set was  alive as it (literally) responded to each of the choreography. The   aesthetic concept along with the techniques used  definitely was strong. You can see that when David has a visual concept it would be carried out as he saw it in his head. The  unity of the  video, choreography and set design was definitely the biggest achievement of this production.

STORY LINE

 As it was advertised Sleeping Beauty, the show was supposed to show a different perspective of the the story. It did what it promised story wise. It showed the original story line of  a left out Carabosse  putting a spell on the royal baby. The Lilac Fairy then casts a spell to counter replacing death with a deep slumber. Princess Aurora  pricks her finger with PLENTY of needles and she falls asleep. Then comes in a new section created by Campos. He shows the audience the Princess' dream within a dream.At first she dreams that she wakes up in a condo and is magically swept up her feet by her Doctor Prince. A pas de deux of love is performed and ends with the princess  waking up to reality.  She  does find  her "Prince/Doctor" who apparently lives  in the modern times.But it was not quite as romantic as her dream.  He brings her to the theatre to watch "Sleeping Beauty ,The ballet" to show her that she now lives in a different time . She watches someone portray herself and goes berserk. From the audience, she runs to the stage and goes nuts and attacks the dancer and has everyone in a chaotic run for your life moment. Then everything dissipates and the original story continues. She is a awakened by her real Prince and they lived happily ever after.

There were flaws in how the storyline flowed. The inconsistency of the characterization,costumes and storyline was a bit bothersome.  Since it was kind of the original story with David's additional  point of view sandwiched in the middle, it was expected that the  the original roles would be portrayed faithfully. In the beginning when Carabosse and Lilac Fairy meets, Lilac shivers in fear. She runs with the baby carrier in all directions in an effort to escape her. When the do meet, choreography showed Lilac Fairy manipulated by his powers and even rollling on the floor. In the second act (dream within a dream) they show Lilac strong enough to fight with Carabosse head on. The Lilac fairy as I know her to be would never ever be scared of Carabosse. She was the leader of the fairies. And  it  seemed odd that she  went from  fearful to strong and powerful. Princess Aurora's  character also was quite unfaithful to the original characterization. When she was born, she was supposed to have been given great virtues,  but a good and proper princess would never have barged that way into a stage moreso  jump on somebody. Sleeping beauty  supposedly was pricked on her 16th birthday. In this production's version, when she wakes up she hooks up with a Doctor who looks beyond her age, ....awkward.  In the end, when the original story resumes and the Prince and Sleeping Beauty Dance away, what era were the costumes from? Ok fine, creative freedom. It must be noted that some of the costumes seemed distracting and unflattering.  

DANCERS

                

Before her departure, Elline Damian was a dependable star in the Philippines. Years have gone by and time did not take away any of her beautiful qualities. She was a breathtaking as Princess Aurora. Her extensions were effortless. Her energy was consistent  as she transitioned from classical to neo-classical pieces while maintaining  her assigned character. She was particularly commendable in her first variation in Act 1  and her first neo-classical pas de deux in Act 2 (dream within a dream). 

Vincent Gros was a good and refined Prince. He looks like an experienced dancer as he commanded the stage every time he was on it. Aileen Gallinera as the fairy was ever so delicate in her dancing.

CHOREOGRAPHY

David Campos is a seasoned choreographer. He is capable of creating pieces that involve you emotionally. Such is the case for the neo-classical pas de deux  of the princess and the doctor. It tickled the audience as he used a myriad of emotions packaged in one single pas de deux. Humor, check! Love, check! Technical Difficulty, check! 

As a choreographer,  he is able to create beautiful movement. I just wished that he re-choreographed everything instead of having his pieces almost compete with variations that have been tried and tested. Marius Petipa was a genius and there were times that the original choreography was just so nice to look at that the new choreography was overshadowed a bit. 

VERDICT

Overall, the production was a success. All the elements put together, was proof that change can be a beautiful thing. The dance audience has long been waiting for something new and exciting to happen. This old ballet did the trick. Inspiration is now in the air. Hopefully, the everyone gets a whiff of this new opium.

SHOW DETAILS :

MARCH 23, 2012

CULTURAL CENTER OF THE PHILIPPINES

BALLET DAVID CAMPOS

You learn from the best. Lisa Macuja

October 7, 2011

I have probably seen Lisa Macuja perform Swan Lake at the very least eight times. I have seen her perform the principal roles in Don Quixote, Les Corsaire, Carmen, Nutcracker, Swan Lake, Giselle and a whole lot more of other  productions.  Always, after watching her, I go home with an image of a strong bravura dancer. When I think of Lisa Macuja, I think of  speed of light fouettes, spirited dancing and legs that can be commanded to point and lift to any direction and linear degree. I think of a woman of confidence, a woman of determination and dedication. I would say a lot of people think the same way about her. But being in the dance world and being privy to  little stories and rumors and personal opinions here and there, it can make prima ballerinas like her hard to relate to. I have met and talked to her several times. Though we are no where near  "close" she has always been pleasant to me and my husband. In fact when I was pregnant she would share her own pregnancy stories.  But even then, being a prima has a price and despite the niceties, she remained to me a distant icon.

I bow down to the russians!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bztKXvCyeIc&list=UUIcmkOFFW8srPYwF6PXUhEw&index=16&feature=plcp 

I've been following petrova super in Youtube simply because her students have amazing technique. I can only wish to become as great a teacher as them. Truly amazing.

I will dance til my last moment on earth

Repertory Philippines' Leading Ladies led by MEN!

Mixed reviews on Leading Ladies reminds me of reviews of Adam Sandler’s Jack and Jill . That plus  the cross dressing puts the two forever meshed in my head. I’m not saying the two are artistically on equal ground . I do think however that  those who did not appreciate both performances completely missed the point.

The idea of Adam Sandler cross dressing to play  a girl role  was not meant to be REALISTIC. This is not a Mrs Doubtfire or Roderick Paulate  transformation. It was making fun of Adam Sandler, putting him in a dress and making him perform with flair and gusto. The idea was never to forget it was Adam Sandler. I feel that that was the real punchline. Yes, he was awkward. Yes he was hard to look at. Was he funny? Indeed. The audience was roaring in laughter.

Same goes for the lanky men in Leading Ladies.  James Stacey  and Topper Fabregas as the scheming  actors in drag were hilarious. They were real men  acting to be  contemporary ladies. They too were hard to look at. But that was again the whole point of it all. And overall, they sold the plot well.

I have watched Topper Fabregas in only two shows, Shakespeare in Hollywood and Leading Ladies. But already I am a big fan. His comedic timing is impeccable. In this play he would be the most consistent in performance.  James Stacey chose to  do a more straightforward  queenly performance.  He commanded the stage and demanded all eyes on him. Hard to forget a gigantic funny guy dressed in Cleopatra garb.  The good thing about this show was that every single one of the cast members were funny. Cris Villlonco as Meg , Gianina Ocampo as Audrey, Oliver Usison as Doc delivered distinct performances.

As always, there were areas that could have been  improved. Some members of the cast would be so into their performance  that accents would shift leaving one  wondering what side of the world you were in. The pace of the unravelling of events was also a bit dragging.  The ending also could have had more of a boom rather than a simple conclusion. As I said though in the beginning, what matters most is if the play was appreciated. It was, by me and the rest of the very small but very appreciative crowd who watched with me. Bravo Repertory Philippines 

Rivalry The Ateneo Lasalle Musical

It is not every day tickets magically fly and land on my hands.   As fate would have it, a timely invite for  “Rivalry  the Ateneo Lasalle  Musical” came. I hurriedly   zoomed to the theatre to catch it.  I came, I saw. . . . but did it conquer?

In my head, going original is always a plus plus plus multiplied to the tenth degree.  Our theatre needs to see new material .  Its the only way  artists and audiences can mature. However, the risk is always there as expectations are always kept  high .  Just like that critical shot in the last two minutes of a game, there is no middle ground, it’s either a hit or a miss. For me Rivalry, was a winning shot.

 The story of the this musical revolves  around  the historical 1968. It capitalizes on  the rift between  Ateneo and Lasalle , a rivalry that has survived decades. Being a LaSallite myself, I did have pre-conceived ideas of how the musical would play out . And boy am I glad it was Ed Gatchalian and Jaime Del Mundo who created this Musical. My version would have stunk  and sunk.  I’m glad it was not merely a collection of jokes, cliche’s and stereotypes.  Yes it did fabulously immortalize the “Puta Pare Im Conyo Lasallite” and the “ Dude, Eagles Soar Atenista” , but the musical was more than a glorified joke.  The story was quite simple two alpha male universities were drawn to the opium of competition. Eventually, everyone loses sight of what each university really did fight for in the beginning . Years pass and generations follow suit blindly fighting for that SOMETHING.  Two families representing years of rivalry  are on centerstage. The younger generation fighting for more than the ball , they fought for the girl too. Then comes the expected theme, battle of the colors.  Pulse quickens from the tug-0-war. People stand on their feet and cheer on  their heroes. Egos enlarge to gigantic proportions. But who wins? Who gets crushed? . . . . . In this musical everybody is crushed at one point but IDEALISM WINS.  The message of this musical (at least to me) is that sometimes egos crush the very essence of  people. They seize to become people and act as chickens without heads following the noise that commands them.  People lose sight of the BETTER WAY of doing things coz they keep on thinking how BETTER they are compared to everybody else.   I love how this message was perfectly package in such a fun musical.

I must admit that the opening scene did worry me a bit , because I thought i signed up for a boring history lesson . The scenes progressed and the musical quickly redeemed itself.  I  must make mention about how  en pointe the staging of both Lasalle and Atenista stereotypes were done. As I said I did imagine a  mush of conyo language . The characterization was quite distinct and consistent. Kudos to Maco Alonzo who represented the Archers as Tommy Basilio was convincingly slick and carefree  . OJ Mariano was  indeed a good match as the  high-almighty calm and cool atenista dude Paco Valencia.  Tone, diction was so accurate , it made all the scenes super relatable . The audience clearly responded warmly. Laughter filled the theatre all night simply because   the playing out of stereotypes was hilarious.  Particularly memorable was the kolehiyala scene. It was girl after girl delivering witty lines. I thought that scene could go on and on and people wouldn’t have minded.   Red Concepcion as Quito Valencia  nerdy brother of the hot shot atenista , was brilliant. I’ve seen Red several times perform  similar  characters and I know that comedy comes easy for him.  I was pleasantly surprised though  to find him digging deeper. He  dealt with this role with much sensitivity .   I don’t mean he cried like baby. I just found his performance real. I was always quite drawn to him in all of the scenes he was in. I felt (as an audience) that he involved me in his jokes during the punchlines and he shared his story during the emo moments. Just a beautiful performance overall by Red.   Ashley Imler who portrayed Rina San Jose the shy kolehiyala from Maryknoll. All I  can say is, she has a lovely voice. It doesn’t hurt that she’s quite pretty. But her voice alone made her memorable.   Though everybody did their parts well, undoubtedly the star of the show was theatre veteran Noel Trinidad with his musical dance number. It was a “This-is-how-its-done moment” .  No need to expound, he’s a star brighter than everybody in the cast combined.

Overall, the musical to me was a success. Not a flawless show ( there were dragging parts. It could have used a few more Ateneo Lasalle jokes) . Still,  Filipinos should be proud, we have brave artists who put  their art out there. Kudos to the cast of Rivalry. . . . . . . And thank you for the ticket. J