In the past, Nonoy Froilan was Siegfred in Swan Lake, Albrecht in Giselle, the voyager in Norman Walker’s Season of Flight.
He has danced with the revered prima ballerinas of dance, namely, England’s Dame Margot Fonteyn, Japan’s Yoko Morishita and our very own Maniya Barredo.
Indeed, he had no less than Dame Margot Fonteyn as dancing partner in the early 70s.
The ballet was Dahil Sayo by Mike Velarde and Dame Margot had John Meehan and Kevin Coe (principal dancers of Australian Ballet) and Nonoy Froilan as co-dancers, playing the role of stage suitors of the character of La Fonteyn.
Nonoy recalls the first encounters in the rehearsal hall.
“They were gods walking into the room and I can’t believe they were dancing with me. I let out a silent shriek of admiration while my heart palpitated in excitement. When you are dancing and partnering a prima ballerina assoluta like Dame Margot Fonteyn, you have to show your best. Dancing side by side with her and two great principal dancers of the Australian Ballet was no ordinary encounter. I felt I had to do my best as I was dancing not for personal gratification but more for your country. We rehearsed for three hours prior to the performance on the same day. I recited a mantra while rehearsing, ‘I must blend with them. They were the living icons in the midst of us mere mortals on that CCP stage. I wished I was just back on the wings watching them instead of me dancing with them. But for some reason I always got the leading roles which means bigger responsibilities.”
The role of Albrecht in Giselle with Japan’s Yoko Morishita was a turning point. “Dancing with her gave me renewed inspiration to excel. She was exquisite, humble and light. And she kept on going back to Manila to dance with me.”
One of his favorite roles is Norman Walker’s Songs of a Wayfarer.
Although it was based on a poem by Gustav Mahler, he knew it had something to do with the choreographer’s personal life. “I think it is one of my biggest breaks and the most terrifying,” he says. “Norman (Walker) was always screaming during the rehearsal, trying to perfect his work and he got on the nerves of the dancers Tommy Sabarre (he died in the sinking of the Sulpicio ship) and Josette Salang.”
From trying to live up to the challenge, Nonoy fell sick during the world premiere. “Boy, I really got sick, I got thin from dehydration and my weight was down to 127 pounds.”
Many times, after retirement, he was asked to restage classical works he has danced before. “Either I let the dancers perform the original sequence of steps or change some parts to suit their artistry. It also boils down to the technical prowess of the dancers. Difficult dance sequences may change in timing and steps. The challenge with most classical ballets is the audience is already expecting the 32 fouettés or the series of tour en l’aires. A dancer just has to do it. Once, I asked permission from Russian Vahktang Chabukiani in his restaging of La Bayadere if I could change a pirouette because I was not good at it.”
It’s always de rigueur to ask permission to change choreography whether the creators are still alive or dead. “Interpretations are expected to evolve but I still believe in sticking to the original choreography for it to become a true classic. It’s because I worked with the choreographers first-hand and I want to transfer everything I heard from their mouth. Their voice, style, technique, their doubts, their creativity that made the dance brilliant. I become a bit stricter with contemporary interpretations because of their particular style and technique which is harder to learn. Some dancers can easily adapt to a certain style even if they are classically trained. But the rudimentary method between technique in classical and contemporary dance is being weightless in the former and grounded in the latter. I always approach a dance given to me with a model in my mind. Manny Molina is one example in Season of Flight. I tried to dance like him because his movements emanated from the mind of the choreographer. I definitely will not be a Manny Molina or dance like him but the fact is the image inside my brain manifests into the dance. Baryshnikov is one of my favorite models in classical ballet. I will watch his variation three times before leaving for CCP with the mantra, ‘I dance like Baryshnikov.’ I always aim for his perfection even if I know I can never dance like him.”
Flashback 1993.
The country’s premier danseur has bowed out of the dance scene and a tribute was forthcoming.
As he recalls it, the mere thought of retirement was unnerving.
The urge to fade out in the dance scene came as early as the mid80s but every time Maniya Barredo or someone like Yoko Morishita were in town, the surge of excitement swept the retirement plans away. He just couldn’t give it up.
In more than 20 years of active dancing, his world revolved around the theater. There was this daily workout with or without performance, since he had to be in top shape for world premieres, He had to continue a performance even in the middle of an injury. He was in the theater during floods, typhoons, coup d’ etat, rallies, and yes, even during earthquakes and volcano eruptions.
The only time he was taken away from the daily dance routine was when he took a bride (Edna Vida the dancer and choreographer) and fussed over his now grown-up daughter and son Micaela and Rafael Jr.
Fatherhood was one role he had long cherished.
It gave him a role different from those he played onstage like Romeo (Romeo and Juliet), Siegfred (Swan Lake), the most touching Albrecht (Giselle) and the eternal Prince (Sleeping Beauty, Nutcracker, Cinderella), not to mention countless parts in modern ballets.
In the gallery of Filipino male dancers, he inherited the throne left by Eddie Elejar, essaying nobility which contrasted with the passion of Enrico Labayen, the cerebral appeal of Ray Dizon, the fire of Manuel Molina and the virtuosity of Nicolas Pacana.
Indeed, for more than two decades, he was the country’s Prince of Dance carrying the torch for the country’s male dancers.
In that final tribute, there was a lot of dance memories to relive.
Now 73, Nonoy Froilan was born in Calbiga, Samar and didn’t have dance in mind for a career. His simple folks wanted him to study as a seaman in Cebu and later was advised to apply in the US Navy.
He recalled: “I grew up surrounded by artists who probably didn’t know they were artists. They were the local singers, dancers, musicians, painters, sculptors, goldsmiths, actors, composers. I’ve seen them all in Calbiga while growing up. “
He probably absorbed their artistic genes without his knowing it. “My Samar high school days were very eventful. What I remember was that I often figured in school programs where I learned Russian and Spanish dances. Later I was even nominated dancer of the year. I was also part of a singing trio.”
A summer vacation in Manila changed all the family plan for him.
His idyllic Calbiga nights turned into neon lights in the big city. At the time, he was dark-skinned the color of burnt kettle.
In the late 60s, he enrolled at the University of the East with no specific course in mind. “I just wanted to earn a degree and get a job. Then I saw an announcement in The Dawn school paper for students who wanted to join the school dance troupe.”
To make the story short, he passed the audition.
The dance troupe opened many doors for him. In time, he learned folk dance, jazz, and basic ballet. “I learned how to quickly change from one costume to another. “
In time with no dance roles beckoning, he turned part of back up dancers in the TV specials of Vilma Santos & Edgar Mortiz, Tirso Cruz & Nora Aunor.
The serious training in ballet and jazz soon began with him getting a scholarship under Julie Borromeo’s Dance Art Studio where he had a very good mentor named Tony Llacer. “He (Tony Llacer) gave me a good foundation for my initial ballet training.”
Slowly he was ushered into the world of show business, theater musicals and even fashion shows.
Suddenly he was in the circle of showbiz personalities like Peque Gallaga, June Keithley, Mitch Valdez, Jaime Fabregas, Jonee Gamboa and Margie Moran who would later on become Miss Universe then president of Ballet Philippines Foundation and interim president of the CCP later on.
In the then weekly show called “Changes,” he met director Peque Gallaga and learned camera movements by just watching behind the camera. “I learned many things from him especially his patience when things didn’t work. He really worked fast because he knew what he wanted.”
What beckoned after his retirement was harsh reality after many years on stage.
After he retired, he was jobless. had no retirement benefits, no insurance and no monthly income. “After serving in the altar of dance for more than 20 years, I was on my own with my wife and children who learned how to survive outside the arts. I was penniless but the pressure of having to be in good shape for opening nights was finally gone. I felt so relieved. How I wished that in the future, the government should help performing artists retiring on the concert stage.”
(A Gawad CCP Awardee for Dance, Nonoy Froilan has been nominated as National Artist for Dance by the LGU of Calbiga, Samar.)