Wednesday, September 4, 2013

Giselle is not for the faint of heart






Giselle the ballet is not a fairy tale. Neither is it a simple story of  tragedy. It is a complex story of human frailty in the face of love and pain.   Anybody who has loved can relate to Giselle. As the story unfolds, the realities of how a woman is completely changed by love is delicately revealed. And contrary to how others feel about the story, I feel that it doesn’t show the woman's weaknesses. It shows how a woman with so much love in her  can be strong enough to forgive any sin. It shows how a woman can look past mistakes and dig deep and allow herself to move mountains   just  to be able to love. 
The romanticism, the sensitive music and the ingenious choreography of this white ballet  has made it one of my all time favorites. It's a ballet that has spoken to me in so many levels as person and as a dancer. You can just imagine my anticipation when I heard that Ballet Philippines was  doing Giselle. Excitement doesn't quite paint the picture.

The first time I saw Giselle, it was portrayed by prima ballerina Maniya Barredo. She was then partnered by my all time crush Nonoy Froilan. This was the singular moment that I realized  I wanted to be a performer. She pushed me to tears. She pushed the audience to stand up and give the show  8 curtain calls. The next time I saw it was when I was part of the cast of Ballet Philippines in 1998. I saw three principals take on the lead role, Cecile Sicangco, Toni Lopez Gonzales and Lisa Macuja.  The role of Albrecht was done by American Ballet Theater's debonair Jose Manuel Carreno. The critics raved about the shows as they should because the cast was just amazing. Needless to say my expectations were unbelievably high.  But I prepared myself for having a great night nonetheless, I strongly believed in the capacity of Ballet Philippines.
Act 1 of Giselle is story telling time. But unfortunately it fell  a  little short for me. I have the highest respect for  the dancers but there  were certain areas that did not sit well with me. Two gorgeous pairs performing the peasant pas de quartre  was promising. I love all of these dancers individually because of their strong technical capacity.  Monica  Gana was graceful, light and beautiful. Jemima Reyes executed beautiful extensions and made good use of her well arched feet and  capturing spirit. But as a duet, they were practically never together. Their performance lacked team work as all their finishes were done in canon.  Even when partnered they did not have the same pulse. The boys however shone as Emmanuel  Guillermo and Victor Maguad performed every step like twins. Each jump was landed perfectly clean and stable. It was a delight to see these boys execute the steps with ease  and professionalism. I would have  preferred to see  the traditional peasant pa de deux. It would have showed off the dancers better instead of distracting the audience.  In the confrontation and mad scene crucial mistakes were done by the cast affecting the storyline. For instance, Albrecht played by JM Cordero shushes Bathilde ( a princess) telling her not to tell Giselle about their betrothal. The role of the duke was that of  man who prioritized  his royalty over all else. That was the whole point of the betrayal.  It was a very small gesture but to those who know the story, it was quite odd. When Giselle  played by Kit Trofeo finally realizes what has happened she goes mad a little too prematurely. But what was funny was when she attempts to kill herself Hilarion played by John Earl Arisola was unable to act on cue as she was able to stab herself completely before he got the sword. And yes after having stabbed herself to death she obviously did not die.  When she finally died of heart ache  nobody grieved  with intensity. Nobody panicked. Nobody was shocked. I would like to think if I die a similar death that the small world that surrounds me would crumble to pieces and mourn my death.  I expected a tragedy, a black day for everyone. Even with the heavenly music of Giselle and the flawless performances of Kit Trofeo and JM Cordero in their pas de deux and in their solos, Act 1 still ended up disappointing me. It is after all a story ballet. The beautiful story must come across as it was written.
 The second act was crucial to this ballet as it requires  a great amount of commitment  both in characterization and interpretation of the movements. Thankfully, it was a surprisingly strong redemption. The sets perfectly complemented the choreography of the wilis. The mood was set, eerie and sad. The corp de ballet stepped up and delivered clean and crisp movements of the famous floating chugs of 24 synchronized dancers. It was a beautiful sight. I definitely did not hold back and screamed BRAVO in appreciation for such a delightful performance. Kit Trofeo and JM Cordero  performed their pas de deux and made every lift seem so easy. It is very evident that JM is a very skilled partner and that Kit is a seasoned dancer.  I never saw a single preparation as they transitioned to every lift smoothly. The role of Giselle in the second act is physically taxing as the choreography requires  numerous jumps and lifts while maintaining a very disconnected and ethereal look. Kit did not just perform everything without huffing and puffing she was consistently sensitive in her portrayal. It wasn't just her face that spoke of sadness, she articulated it with every movement.    JM in his solo impressed me with his clean cabrioles and series of entrechats. Act two was a success.
I entered the theatre thinking I would end up comparing the dancers to the principals of a different generation. But in the end I didn't . I apparently cared about the ballet much more than I thought. I wanted to preserve its story, its essence, its morals. While it is true that Act 1 did disappoint me, it cannot erase the fact that I saw beautiful dancing from the Company.  I am appreciative of the fact that Ballet Philippines took on the challenge of doing such  an intricate and beautiful  white ballet such as Giselle. In fact I'm thankful. Bravo Ballet Philippines and thank you for the experience. You brought me back to where I was decades ago. I left  just like I had after watching Maniya Barredo, bewildered at how a single ballet can make a heart flutter in excitement. 


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