Singing and dancing at a disturbing time

After revisiting the Philippines’ Spanish colonial past with its twin ballets Ibarra and Simoun, which reinterpreted Dr. José P. Rizal’s novels Noli Me Tangere (Touch Me Not) and El Filibusterismo (The Filibus­tering), Ballet Philippines (BP) looked back on a more recent period—the 1970s— with Awitin Mo at Isasayaw Ko (Sing It and I’ll Dance), a (mostly) cheerful dance musical featuring the songs of VST & Co. that ended its two-weekend run on Sun­day.

I was lucky to catch last Friday night this energetic and surprisingly resonant production, which was effi­ciently helmed by BP Artistic Director Paul Alexander Morales, who received fine support from a solid team of collaborators, led by mu­sical director Jed Balsamo. According to Morales, Awitin Mo is the latest in a line of dance musicals that began when revered BP found­er and National Artist for Dance Alice Reyes mounted The Who’s rock opera Tom­my in the 1970s.

As penned by screen­writer-actress Bibeth Orteza, Awitin Mo focuses two young people from different socio­economic classes—a well-off, socially conscious college student named Teresa and a construction worker named Victor—whose relationship blooms, and is later thwart­ed by forces larger than themselves, in a time when police beatings and other human-rights violations were as common as the pulsating disco beats dominating the airwaves then.

I leave it to seasoned dancers and experienced ballet reviewers to properly assess how well BP’s dancers fared, technique-wise, in Aw­itin Mo. But as far as I’m con­cerned, this dance musical boasted of many pleasures. Chief among these were, of course, conductor Gerard Salonga and the ABS-CBN Philharmonic Orchestra’s glorious renditions of VST & Co.’s enduring songs, which were vibrantly sung last Friday by Sandino Martin, Cooky Chua, Jef Flores, Noel Comia Jr., and the astonish­ing Viva Voce.

I must say that, as Victor’s friend Artu­ro, Martin never looked sexier or more confident; his peformance in Awitin Mo was the most relaxed I’ve seen him deliver. Flores, for his part, projected just the right amount of ar­rogance and machismo in his portrayal of Victor’s wealthy rival Gabby, even while rock­ing supershort white shorts and demonstrating a rarely seen talent—playing the vi­olin—in the dance musical’s second-act opener “Rock Baby Rock”.

Also a great pleasure was watching Edna Vida and Nonoy Froilan, two of Philippine dance’s leading luminaries who played the present-day (and ailing) Teresa and Victor, dance to­gether on the very stage that saw them at their peak in the 1970s. Age may have some­what slowed them down, but in a production that celebrat­ed nostalgia, their presence was magical in itself. More important, they proved that they still have some wonder­ful moves left in them.

As their younger coun­terparts, both Jean Marc Cordero and Rita Angela Winder were lovely to behold and, I suspect, had great fun with their roles. I’m partic­ularly taken with Winder, with her slender and delicate frame serving as an effective contrast to the courage and, to a certain degree, steeli­ness her character possess­ed, especially in Act One. I mean, she played a kolehiyala who keeps a “Marcos, Hitler, Diktador, Tuta” banner in her bedroom—a supreme­ly ironic detail that drew applause and cheers in a per­forming-arts venue built by the dictator’s wife—and later ventures into a slum com­munity, despite the possible risks.

Much as Awitin Mo was fun to watch, it was not without its faults. For one, Orteza’s libretto was func­tional, at best. The narrative may have served as a frame for VST & Co.’s hit songs to fit into, but it never seemed to aspire to go beyond or­dinary, among other issues. Also, the odd decision to rearrange “Ikaw ang Aking Mahal (You’re My Love)” as a duet for Arturo and Chua’s initially love-wary Ester didn’t exactly fly with me, partly because I feel the song’s original single-voice arrangement made more sense.

Although its run at the Cultural Center of the Philippines is done, I’ve been told that it may be shown in the future on ABS-CBN, which owns the VST & Co. catalog. I hope it does, and soon. As more people begin to see parallels between the 1970s and the time we now live in, watching this ultimately entertaining dance musical on television may prove enlightening, too.

2016 great for Netflix

There’s no question that 2016 has been a terrific year for online-streaming service company Netflix, partly because of the phenom­enal success enjoyed by its 1980s-set supernatural drama series Stranger Things and the warm reception it received when it was launched in the country in early January.

As a gesture of grati­tude and appreciation for those who supported the company this year, Belle Baldoza, Netflix consumer public-relations manager for Asia and the Pacific, hosted a lunch for members of the media in Bonifacio Global City on December 1.

During the lunch, she gave a preview of what the company has in store for its subscribers next year, including the small-screen adaptation of Lemony Snick­et’s A Series of Unfortunate Events, created by The Add­ams Family and Men in Black director Barry Sonnenfeld and starring Neil Patrick Harris as Count Olaf.

That’s not all. On December 2, Netflix held a “Luke’s Diner” event at Toby’s Estate in Ortigas Center, Pasig City, during which at least 2,000 cups of piping-hot coffee were given for free to customers and fans of Gilmore Girls, the cult American series about a single mother and her precocious daughter whose signature feature is its rapid-fire, pop cul­ture-informed dialogue.

This came after the series’ four-part follow-up Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life was shown on Netflix on November 25. The event was the company’s way of saying thanks to the fans.

If 2016 has been stel­lar for Netflix, then there’s no stopping it from mak­ing 2017 out of this world.