BALLET Philippines (BP) opened its 32nd season with Live, Hot, & Blue, a performance ballet choreographed by renowned ballet gurus William Morgan, Alvin Ailey, and Alice Reyes.
Morgan’s Classical Symphony is a neo-classical piece by Russian composer Sergei Prokofiev. The members of the company awed the audience with their well-coordinated movements and grace. The dancers’ svelte bodies moved in time with the tempo of the music.
The next part of the show was Ailey’s Witness, a solo religious piece about a woman’s search for the true meaning of religion. The mood created by the myriad of lighted candles further intensified the soul-stirring performance of the soloist in a white flowing dress. Guest ballerina Elizabeth Roxas gave life to the main role with versatility and ease. Her frenzied movements exuded the character’s inner turmoil.
The highlight of the night was Bizet’s Carmen choreographed by Reyes.
Teeming with Hispanic music and ambiance, Carmen is a one-act ballet adapted from the opera of the same title. It is the story of Don Jose, a Spanish corporal whose life tumbles down when he meets Carmen, a gypsy.
Tasked to arrest the gypsy for stabbing a co-worker at a tobacco factory, Don Jose sets Carmen free instead. Bound by this event, the two becomes lovers. Carmen seems contented with the soldier until a revelry at the tavern and the arrival of the bullfighter Escamillo reveal her promiscuity.
Enraged at Carmen’s infidelity, Don Jose angrily confronts her, who scoffs at his possessiveness. The situation worsens when Liutenant Zuñiga enters and also vies for Carmen’s attention. A fight ensues between the two which leads to Don Jose’s dismissal from the army. Carmen then asks Don Jose to join her vagrant way of life. He refuses. Disgusted, Carmen walks away from him.
Desperate to bring Carmen back, Don Jose approaches her at the bullring. He pleads to her, but to no avail. Obsessed and enraged, Don Jose stabs her.
Shifting back to the present, Don Jose anguishly regrets his crime. As the narration ends, Spanish soldiers enter and lead him to his execution.
Dramatic and highly engaging, Carmen was an exceptional opera ballet brimming with powerful and at times, contagious emotions. Whether it is the trance-like euphoria of the two lovers having a tryst or the jilted Don Jose’s obsession because of rage, the excitement never ceased.
BP mainstays Irish Abejero and Camille Ordinario played the roles of Carmen and Don Jose. These two dancers portrayed their roles to perfection through the use of their lithe, powerful bodies.
Abejero’s movements were abrupt—radiating the anger and desperation of Don Jose.
With a unique mixture of untouched innocence and womanly allure, Ordinario portrayed Carmen with ease. Her seductive smile and dancing eyes added to her graceful dancing, showing the audience how helpless men would be when under her spell.
For most people, the usual idea of love is romantic and synonymous with the happily-ever-afters. This ballet gave another facet of that mysterious emotion—falling in love. Because in Carmen, love is not sweet. Rather, it is dark, primitive, and sordid. Ma. Stephanie R. Hilario
