BALLET Manila (BM) received an overwhelming standing ovation during the world premiere of “Tatlong Kuwento ni Lola Basyang” at the Aliw Theater.

All-new choreography, brilliant dancing, music by National Artists and leading contemporary composers in this books-to-ballet trilogy seemed to have been dwarfed by production brouhaha, from the sophisticated-looking lighting design by Jimmy Villanueva to the lavish sets and elaborate costumes by Jonathan Janolo. The designs were all based on Frances Alcaraz’s colorful illustrations in the Anvil Publishing editions of three well-loved Severino Reyes classics.

Veteran actress Luz Fernandez reprised her role as Lola Basyang and narrated bits of the stories for each act in Filipino. She is joined by several children and BM artistic director Lisa Macuja-Elizalde, who did more acting than dancing as the prima ballerina took a step back from starring roles this time. She served as the “dancing narrator” (think Antonio Banderas in “Evita”) and looked incredibly (and comically) anxious especially while watching her first creative piece.

“Ang Kapatid ng Tatlong Maria,” Macuja-Elizalde’s pilot venture in choreography, was a successful collaboration with Osias Barroso, Ernest Mandap and Gerardo Francisco. Using rich eclectic music that was especially created for “Basyang” by contemporary musician and composer Joey Ayala, the upbeat steps had the Luzon-Visayas-Mindanao and earth-sea-water vibe. And they were adeptly executed by Alvin Santos as Pedro, who was searching for his three sisters, Mylene Aggabao (Upeng), Zaira Cosico (Loleng) and Anne Kateri Gelvoria (Trining).

Yanti Marduli as Prinsesa Singsing and Rudy de Dios’s Prinsipe both sported eternally painful expressions as they harnessed forbidden love in Barroso’s utterly romantic “Ang Prinsipe ng mga Ibon.” Barroso was able to create a true tearjerker using kundiman and other Filipino classics (arranged by Mon Faustino) from greats such as Nicanor Abelardo, Lucrecia Kasilag, George Canseco, Levi Celerio, and Antonio Buenaventura.

Tony Fabella’s “Ang Mahiwagang Biyulin” was the fitting finale. Marcus Tolentino as the greedy Ahab and Francisco as the industrious Rodrigo made the audience laugh with their funny antics throughout the third act—especially when Francisco started using the violin (it forced people to dance queerly to its catchy tune) on Tolentino so the latter would aptly pay him back for the service that Rodrigo rendered under his employ.

With the production’s (extended!) three-week run, it was obvious that BM has created another magical, must-see hit.

Parellisms

Philippine Ballet Theater’s (PBT) “Andres Bonifacio” at the CCP Main Theater was nothing like the national hero we learned about in school books.

Somehow, Gener Caringal’s well-applauded restaging of his 1996 full-length piece transformed from a gory retelling of the plight of the hero into a romantic story about Andres Bonifacio and his wife, Oryang. This time, especially when the gala opened on the night of Ninoy Aquino’s birthday, “Andres” could even be related with the struggles of Aquino as continued by his wife, Cory.

Lucas Jacinto’s dashing Andres passionately wooed Abigail Tan’s strong Oryang. To the delight of the audience, there were lots of giggle-inducing lifts during their Act 1 pas de deux, which they made to look flowing and light, as if in water. The most applauded lift was when Jacinto balanced an outstretched Tan with his feet while he was flat on his back and his legs formed a right angle in the air.

Hailing from a family of dancers, Jacinto’s lengthy hiatus from dancing did not dent his princely demeanor and grace. His tour jetés were marvelous, but there were times when he looked a tad too heavy.

The booming ethnic music and lights were seamlessly in sync, as were the sharp movements of very expressive male and female corps. The production design and costumes were a vast improvement from past productions, making the mushily patriotic “Andres” PBT’s best production this season.

Contemporary dance

On the other side of the dance spectrum, The Lovegangsters’ “We will be waiting at the turning” at the all-white Pioneer Studios in Mandaluyong City was well-appreciated by a relatively intimate and artsy crowd exposed to the group’s European-influenced performances.

In varied levels of energy, choreographer Donna Miranda jumped, crouched, swayed, ran, turned and crawled across the floor with Red Lasam and Clarissa Mijares while a silent video by John Torres and Martha Atienza was being shown in the middle of the room. Ria Muñoz and Atchoo Ilagan mix synthesized music live.

At some point, they read off their own musings on performing, plus newspaper-tabloid clippings and a quotation from Slavoj Zizek, the Slovenian philosopher.

The piece centered on the concept of restraint and how it is physically and visually embodied by both the performers and the viewers. It was originally created as a commissioned piece for one of the activities of Goethe Institute-Manila.

Miranda has collaborated with Ballet Philippines (BP) and Myra Beltran’s Dance Forum. She has had specialized training in contemporary dance at a dance program in Vienna, Austria and has received numerous international awards and citations for her works.

BM will be regularly performing “Basyang” on Saturday starting Jan. 24 (tickets at only P75). It ends its 13th season with “All Tchaikovsky Challenge” on Feb. 13-22.

BP concludes its 39th season with “Neo-Filipino” on Mar. 12-25. PBT opens its 30th season with “Darangen ni Bantugan” in July, followed by “Mirinisa” in September and “La Fille Mal Gardee” in November. Also in March, the Lovegangsters will perform “Promises are made to be broken” at the Green Papaya Art Projects in Diliman, Quezon City.