The dance scene in 2024 is a plethora of revivals and a few new works.
As the year ends, Alice Reyes Dance Philippines had Puso ng Pasko at the Met and Malacanang grounds,
Ballet Manila had Snow White, Ballet Philippines had Peter Pan at Solaire Theater, Philippine Ballet Theater
(PBT) had The Nutcracker at the Samsung Theater for Performing Arts and the Shirley Halili-Cruz had A Dance Offering also at Samsung Theater.
Of the year’s dance treats, my favorite is Alice Reyes’ Carmina Burana to the music of Carl Orff staged at Samsung Theater in June. What one saw was the 9th staging since 1974.
It received a euphoric audience reaction Friday night and had more ecstatic receptions at its matinee and evening performances on Saturday.
The big bonus was, all three shows featured the live performances of the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra
under Herminigildo Ranera and of excellent soloists Lara Maigue (soprano) and Byeong In Park (baritone). The choral support (the Philippine Madrigal Singers and the Kilyawan Boys choir) was astounding, and the PPO under Ranera was in top form. It was an iconic work worthy of the choreographer’s title as National Artist for Dance.
Quite special during the year is Philippine Ballet Theater (PBT) staging of The Nutcracker. It easily was one was one of the year’s a magical Christmas treats staged at the Samsung Theater.
The Prince of Matthew Davo was admirable and the Clara of Sophia Martina Tiangco was all sweetness and light. The Sugar Plum Princess of Jessa Tangalin and the Prince of Davo provided excitement in their well-executed grand pas in the exciting finale.
The little kids in various ensembles provided extra magic.
Artistic director Ronilo Jaynario and ballet master Anatoly Panasyukov certainly did a good job.
PBT artistic director Jaynario told the Inquirer it is their 11 th restaging of this version of The Nutcracker by
Gelsey Kirkland and Michael Chernov in 1995.
Jaynario pointed out: “The ballet’s manner and style of storytelling has been preserved. As for the divertissement, it has been updated to suit the dancer’s capability.”
The usual challenge is directing 100 people in the dance ensemble. “With that number, it is always difficult
to coordinate. But Nutcracker is such a fun ballet to produce that there is no moment of hardship felt in its
mounting. The youth inspire us and energize us to make the show better each year. We believe in diversity and it has been a pleasure to mount this ballet to a new set of lead dancers. The pair needs to have a magical look and the grand pas de deux is a technical ballet as well so we need storytellers with strong technique and good stamina. Nutcracker is a tradition that brings people together. The children dancing makes it feel like a real holiday and the colorful dances are simply spectacular. I enjoy seeing the company grow with the pieces that I choreograph.”
The Halili-School of Dance under artistic director Shirley Cruz-Halili and her two associate directors, Grace
Garalde Perez and Anna Kathrina Halili-Cruz Bueno mounted “A Dance Offering” at the Samsung Theater to full house and with repeat performance at the Manila Metropolitan Theater.
More than 200 students performed assorted genres: classical ballet, lyrical jazz, hip-hop, acrobatic, tap and
contemporary dance.
During the year, the mentors and students of Halili-Cruz School of Dance toured New York, Chicago, Los
Angeles, Las Vegas, and San Francisco as well as across Australia, Indonesia, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Brunei, Malaysia, Singapore, Korea, China, Russia, and England.
Halili-Cruz sums up the year thus: “Continuous learning is integral to our dance education system. Sharing knowledge with dance centers worldwide is essential in our pursuit of artistic excellence.”