It was a comic book classic that inspired the season’s finale. The third production of Ballet Philippines’ 55th year drew from the story of the Twelve Dancing Princess in its illustrated cartoon version taken from the Grimm’s Brothers collection of German fairytales.
Jor-el Espina
While on a Holy Week break last year in the family beach house, Ballet Philippines president Kathleen Liechtenstein showed the junior classic to BP artistic director Mikhail “Misha” Martynyuk who was also there with his family. “I thought we could make a Filipiniana-themed ballet based on the fairytale,” she recounted. “His creative energies were instantly stirred and by afternoon of the same day, he showed me a storyline for the ballet. He worked on it overnight and the following morning, Misha presented the music mapping, which Glen Aquias used to compose the original ballet music with haunting sounds of Filipino instruments. I asked Mawi de Fojas to write the libretto of Misha’s storyline that represented the 18 regions of the Philippines for Philippine wear designer Jor-el. Espina to do his mood board.
Danielle Kleiner
“All this happened while Misha was working on his season opener La Sylphide and our Christmas presentation of Peter Pan ballet. But as soon as the company returned from Christmas vacation, he started his choreography, rehearsals and costume structuring and fitting,” Ms. Liechtenstein continued. “By mid-February, Ang Panaginip had taken shape.”
The world premiere opened at The Theater at Solaire on the eve of March, the month which celebrates International Women’s Day. It was a deliberate alignment with the international community to recognize women empowerment, with a particular focus on the Filipina. “Panaginip is a story of her strength, her grace and her unwavering spirit told with movement together with the colors and patterns of Philippine weaves,” Ms. Liechtenstein said.
It was Espina’s task to visually convey this local element through the costumes. “He had to design the Filipiniana to be danceable technically. The baro’t saya and the terno had to be adapted to the choreography.”
Espina has been collecting locally woven fabrics through his 20-year career
The seasoned designer was more than up to the task. He had been collecting locally woven fabrics through his 20-year career, combining these with commercial material to create a youthful and innovative take on the traditional national dress. “My main considerations were movement, comfort and durability,” he shared in a statement. “Ballet costumes must withstand rigorous physicality while maintaining their visual appeal.”
Applying beadwork and special techniques, he was mindful to allow for the dancers to execute their leaps and pirouettes unhampered, hence the choice of light fabric. “I particularly enjoyed designing the 18 princesses’ costumes. Their roles demanded a unique blend of all-Filipino-infused traditional costumes, theatricality and grace. This allowed me to push creative boundaries.”
The Philippine dress was well pronounced on opening night. Guests arrived in clothes with butterfly sleeves, cutwork and embroidered designs in a nod to the cultural heritage. It was an amalgam of the conservative and the avant-garde donned by both men and women. However, Espina’s translation of contemporary Filipiniana was the fashion statement of the night. The layering of colors and textures, patterns and beading moved and transformed as the dancers delivered the technical demands of Martynyuk’s choreography. The complementarity of dress and combination of different ballet styles was a winning formula. “It was not just another performance, but an opportunity to rise higher, to master intricate rhythms and shifting tempos in the execution of precise movements,” Martynyuk said of the dance sequencing.
This movement signifies a rising to new heights, a performance that embodies both ascent and transformation’
It was a dance themed to “relevé”, which technically means rising on the balls of the feet or toes. “This movement signifies a rising to new heights, a performance that embodies both ascent and transformation,” Martynyuk explained.
There was no wasted movement in the storytelling conveyed through gestures and facial expressions. Technique was clean and distinct with a mastery of control in small, transitioning expressions.
Principal dancer Jemima Reyes, with the rest of the cast, made those difficult, swift conversions from one movement to another look effortless. They danced to the appealing sounds of new music that brought elements of indigenous impressions to a lively melody.
The 18 princesses, led by Reyes, represented facets of the Filipina. She was Matalino, the eldest of the sisters who all longed to break from the constraints imposed by the overly protective Queen Mother. Their introduction in Act 1 was a narration of laudable qualities of women as well as a representation of the regions from the National Capital Region to the Bangsamoro. The dancers were as light as air as they turned and leaped, twirled and glided across the stage in pairs and in threes, or the entire company in constant motion, creating clear, elongated lines with their limbs. It was fresh and new but not unfamiliar.
Each princess had a dream: Sinag/ Region I, was the trustworthy one who dreamed of becoming a country’s president. Alon/Region II, the compassionate one hoped to be a social worker. Mayumiu/ MIMAROPA region was the generous one who wanted to start a foundation. Strong-willed Bagani/ Region IX aimed to be an F1 champion. The collection of aspirations included becoming a pilot, a soldier, a lawyer, an artist, a weaver and more. They danced the hopes of what they could become beyond the barriers of the palace walls. The story progressed into a collision of deception and truth until a realization that each one could define her own destiny.
Emotions swelled with the music in the grand finale. The applause was as much an appreciation of the cohesive and compelling production, as it was of jubilant feelings that come with happy ending. It was, after all, a fairytale, albeit one close to the reality of dreams coming true.
