Philippine dance

Fabella danced professionally in ballet with Dance Theater Philippines and took the leading role in Mir-i- nisa, 1969, during the inaugural season of the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP). He was a charter mem- ber, manager, and resident choreographer of the Alice Reyes and Modem Dance Company, 1970, which be- came the CCP Dance Company, and later, Ballet Philip- pines. He danced principal parts, such as the title role in the rock opera ballet Tommy, 1972, Ogassi in Tales of the Manuvu, 1977, both by Alice Reyes; and Puck in A Midsummer Night's Dream, 1976, for which he was cited as Male Dancer of the Year by the Philippine Daily Express. He also performed the drummer boy in Gradua- tion Ball, 1986, and Dr Coppelius in Coppelia, 1978, of the Ballet Federation of the Philippines. Among his major choreographies were those done for the Folk Arts Theater: Araw at Buwan (Sun and Moon), 1976, and Kristo (Christ), 1977, Dance Theater Philippines, Manila Metropolis Ballet, Ballet Philip- pines, and Philippine Ballet Theater. Notable works include La Verite, 1970, to Shostakovitch; Noche Buena (Christmas Eve Celebration), 1970, to Lucrecia Kasilag; Semana Santa (Holy Week), 1971, to R. de Leon; Prince of the Pagodas, 1972, to Britten; Changes, 1973, to Bach; Orpheus Descending, 1973, to M. Colombier; Pas de Deux to a Recorder, 1974, to Dorough and Miller; Ang Konsiyerto (The Concert), 1974, to H. Rubio; That Summer Afternoon, 1975, to Bach; Batu- que, 1976, to Femandez-Revueltas; Siklo (Cycle), 1977, to Ramon Santos; Six for Kasilag, 1978; Mi bandera (My Banner) and Ritmo Filipino (Filipino Rhythm), both 1979; Entrances and Exits, 1980, to Mozart; Limang Dipa (Five Armstretches), 1981, to Ryan Cayabyab; Love, Like the Moon, the Inconstant Moon, 1982, to Massenet; Ang Kasal (The Wedding), 1982, to Stravinsky, with Les Noces text translated by R. Santos; Three Tchaikovsky Waltzes, A Gift of Dance, 1983, to Chopin; Glazounov Variations, Bolling Suite, Ancestral Spirits, Philippine Sketches, and Lingon sa Nakalipas (Retrospective), all in 1985 and to Kasilag; Graduation Ball, 1986, to Strauss; A Dance Offering, 1986, to Glazounov; Dancing to Donizetti, 1987; Change ... Gonna Come and Narciso, 1988; Pinoy Talaga (Genuine Filipino), 1989; and Beautiful Girls, 1990, both to Jose Mari Chan. Fabella has taught dance in many schools and directed many productions all over Metro Manila from studio setups to college and university courses. He oversees the training of dancers for jobs abroad. He was awarded the Patnubay ng Sining at Kali- nangan by the City of Manila in 1984. He is a member of the Professional Artists Developers Association of the Philippines and the artistic council of Philippine Ballet Theater. • B.E.S. Villaruz

FAR EASTERN UNIVERSITY DANCE GROUP

FAJARDO, LIBERTAD VILLANUEVA b. Baguio City 20 May 1910. Teacher, scholar. The daughter of Mariano Villanueva and Mercedes Regalado, she was brought up by her aunt Maria Villanueva. She received her degree in physical education (PE) from the Uni- versity of the Philippines (UP) in 1933, and a master's degree from the Philippine Women's University (PWU) in 1960. She married Valeriano Fajardo, with whom she has three children: Valeriano Jr, an architect; Brenda, a visual artist and set designer; and Mary Joan, a dancer and choreographer. She first worked as a student assistant at the UP Department of Physical Education from 1931 to 1934, and as dance instructor in the Beauty and Health Center in Bacolod City in 1934-1935. Later, she taught at the UP, 1935- 1941; Araullo High School, 1941; Centro Escolar Univer- sity, 1942-1945; Alejandro Albert High School, 1942- 1945; St Paul College, 1942-1951; PWU, 1946-1964; Arellano University, 1947-1976; and the National Col- lege of Physical Education, from 1951. In 1959 she was acting dance director of the Bayanihan Folk Arts Center. She joined the Bayanihan Philippine Dance Company in Europe, the Middle East, the US, and Canada as its assistant dance director, 1961-1962, and in Australia as dance director, 1964. While on tour, Fajardo observed and participated in the programs in dance of the Pestalozzi schedule in Hamburg and the Rollie Kings schedule in Munich, both in 1962. She taught Philippine dances to Israeli choreographers Rivka Sturman, Rhaya Spivae, and Gurit Kadman, and they in turn taught her their dances. She also participated in the University of the Pacific 15th Annual Folk Dance Camp, Cal-Poly PE workshop in San Luis Obispo, California, and the Seventh Annual Folk Dance Conference at the Uni- versity of California, all in 1962. Between 1962 and 1975, Fajardo published Visayan Folk Dances in three volumes, and See the World in Dances in 1967. • B. Fajardo

FAR EASTERN UNIVERSITY DANCE GROUP (FEU Dance Group) Founded in 1957 by the FEU in response to a request for participation in the 1958 Brus- sels World Fair, the FEU Dance Group's first dance director was Corazon Generoso-Ifiigo of the FEU De- partment of Physical Education and the Institute of Education. A 100-member group made its debut on 1 Oct 1957 at the Philippine Folk Dance Festival, a pro- ject of Francisca Reyes-Aquino. In a few months, it was trimmed down to 25 members. With the support of top university officials Nicanor Reyes and Josephine Cojuangco-Reyes, it was much sought-after for folk 205

ARTISTS

dance presentations. The French Ministry of Culture invited it to perform at the 1959 Theatre des Nations Festival at the Sarah Bernhardt Theater in Paris. With its program called Portrait of the Filipino as Seen Through Philippine Folk Songs, the group was such a success that their run was extended at the Champs- Elysees theater. They won first prize at the Hispano- Americano Folklore Competition in Caceres and at the Festival de Folklore Hispano de Baleares in Palma de Mallorca, both in Spain. They proceeded to perform in other festivals elsewhere in Europe. Before being dissolved in 1983, the group was successively directed, after Generoso-Iftigo, by Rosalia Merino-Santos, Josefina Sampedro, Asuncion Alzona, and Milagros Lugay-Miguel. • C.G. Inigo

FAR EASTERN UNIVERSITY MoDERN Ex- PERIMENTAL DANCE GROUP (FEU Modem Ex- perimental Dance Group) Founded in 1958 by Rosalia Merino-Santos, it followed the earlier efforts of Vien- nese pioneers Kaethe Hauser and Trudl Dubsky- Zipper to develop modern dance in the Philippines. The group made its debut on 19 Dec 1958 at the FEU Auditorium. The group was disbanded when Menna- Santos retired from the FEU. An important part of their repertory was the lecture-demonstration What is Dance?, which illus- trated the elements and compositional devices of the dance as an art form. Performed all over Metro Manila, the demonstration was conceived after Merino-Santos' masteral degree at the University of Wisconsin, in the United States. Also included in the group's repertory were: Of Cocks and Kings, based on a story by Alfredo Races, to music by Lucrecia Kasilag; Feminine Gender, using words and movement; Fanfare, to music by B. Bartok; Ugaling Pilipino (Filipino Customs); and Hunt and Stone which formed part of the unfinished Sari- manok, fazzletics, and Discothletics. The group produced dancers like Amelia Apolinario, Teofila Fila, Ernesto Estrella, Delia Saguin-Javier, Jane Orendain, Mitto Castillo, Eddie de Guzman, and Jose Macaraig. • B.E.S. Villaruz

FELIX-VELARDE, }OJI Oosefina Felix-Velarde) b. Manila 4 Oct 1935. Dancer, teacher, choreographer. She is the daughter of Gabriel Felix and Titang Freire. She is married to opthalmologist Herminia Velarde; their daughter Jorgina David now heads the ballet and dance workshop at the Philippine Women's University (PWU).

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Felix-Velarde started ballet as a child with Luva Adameit and continued with Remedios de Oteyza. She was a lead dancer of the De Oteyza Ballet. In 1960, as an Alicia Markova scholar, she attended the Ballet Rambert School in London and the Ballet Arts Studio in New York. She trained with Alexandra Danilova, Vladimir Dokoudovsky, Vitale Fokine, Paul Szilard, and with Karen Marie Taft in Madrid. She was the first Filipino to do the title role in Sylvia. She also danced in Swan Lake and was chosen by Danilova to dance with Mocelyn Larkin, Maribel Aboitiz, and Elizabeth Guasch in Pas de Quatre. In the 1950s, Felix-Velarde ran the Ballet Arts Stu- dio with Sony Lopez-Gonzalez. Then she directed the Joji Felix-Velarde School at PWU with Eddie Elejar and Cesar Mendoza, and the dance school for the Universi- ty of the East School of Music and Arts. She and her husband put up Pacifica Cultural Productions, that worked with the Zarzuela Founda- tion to produce Walang Sugat (Not Wounded) and Minda Mora, both of which toured the Philippines and abroad. They also produced shows for TV. As choreographer, she staged productions and modelled for Giting Kayumanggi, all the way to Lin- coln Center, New York. She choreographed the musi- cals Show Boat, Carousel, Oklahoma, 13 Daughters, and several productions for the deaf-mute. • P.G. del Rosario/B.E.S. Villaruz

performed in Malaysia and Thailand, before Malayan and Thai royalty. "Asalto," "Morolandia," and ''The Bird and the Planters" won rave notices. Similar accolades were heaped upon them in Hong Kong in 1968, Moscow, Leningrad, and Riga in the former Soviet Union, Pakis- tan, Brussels, Portugal, and the United States, and Japan in 1970. Among FDC's dancers were Erlinda Fernandez, Carole de la Paz, Rachelle Goquingco, Eloisa del Rosario, Rowena Aranda, Lina Javier, Violeta Neric, Violeta Manahan, Reynaldo Limcaco, Eric Cruz, Reynaldo Alejandro, Roberto Caballero, Ramon Victoria, Pedro Abraham (also a musician), Luis Morales, Danilo Dupaya, Dominador Correa, Emmanuel Batulan, Felipe Gaerlan, Jose Oliva, and Danilo Neri. Among its musicians were Jerry Dadap, Michael Dadap, Bayani Mendoza de Leon, and Zenas Reyes-Lozada. Its tech- nical directors were Siebe Hartendorp and Benjamin Goquingo. • B.E.S. Villaruz

FILIPINO DANCERS ABROAD Filipino dancers performing in other countries had their trail blazed for them, so to speak, in the 1950s and even earlier. Men- tion should be made of Fely Franquelli, a student of Luva Adameit, with her character dances in the 1930s, and Manolo Rosado and Ruben Nieto with Spanish and modern companies in Europe and Mexico in the 1950s. Also among the earlier Filipino dancers in Europe were Maribel Aboitiz and Eddie Elejar, Felicitas Layag-Radaic, and Exequiel Banzali. There were Benjamin (Villanueva) Reyes, Jamin Alcoriza, Julie and Rose Borromeo, folk dancers Ricardo Reyes and his daughter Alice, and movie star Shirley Gorospe. On Broadway, Maureen Tiongco was joined by Tony Llacer and El Gabriel when she starred in Flower Drum Song. Cely Carrillo was also on Broad- way, and her daughter Cynthia Onrubia danced for Jerome Robbins and later helped stage the revival of his dances for musicals. Then there were the so- called cultural dancers who used to do mostly folk dances, but who are now doing popular entertain- ment numbers in Japanese hotels and clubs. Many leading Filipino dancers have performed as guests of foreign companies, for example the Hong Kong Ballet, Singapore Dance Theater, Royal New Zealand Ballet, and Ballet Company of Hawaii. Victor Madrona guested in Paris at a gala arranged by Anton Dolin. Lisa Macuja, often partnered by Osias Barroso, has been a guest in Japan, Cuba, and New Zealand. On the other hand, choreographer Antonio Fabella has done a piece for the Hong Kong Ballet, and Gener Caringal has done the same for the Singapore Dance Theater.

FILIPINO DANCERS ABROAD

Filipinos who have joined the Hong Kong Ballet at various times were Benjie Toledo, Madrona, Cesar Ongkingko, Tadeo Bemales, Conrad Dy-Liacco, Nicole Gaston, and Jun Mabaquiao, and with City Contempo- rary Dance Company, Tina Fargas. In Singapore Mario Esperanza, Ric Culalic, Donato Ferrer, and Paul Ocampo have danced with the Singapore Dance Theater. Ricardo Ella and Branda Miranda were principal dancers of the Royal New Zealand Ballet, while Sophia Radaic and Vivencio Samblacefto were members. Ella went on to join the Australian Ballet, doing solo parts. Lucy Patrimonio-Jumawan, formerly director of the Silliman Dance Company, was also in Australia. In the US, the biggest number of Filipino dancers is in New York, where they work in ballet or modern companies, musicals or Philippine folkloric groups. Maniya Barreda, Tina Santos, Enrico Labayen, and Odon Sa barre all used to dance there. Elizabeth Roxas and Maxie Luna, a nephew of Leonor Orosa- Goquingco, are members of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, and earlier were with the Joyce Trisler Company. Merceditas Maftago is with Ballet Hispa- nico, Tina Escoda with the American Ballet Theater. Lydlyd Gaston, Cecile Santos, Kristin Jackson, and Joy Coronel, on the other hand, have appeared in Broad- way musical productions. Philippine Dance Company of New York was found- ed by Bruna Seril in 1943. Reynaldo Alejandro Dance Theater premiered a number of Rizalian dances in New York. Ching Valdes, Denisa Reyes, Miguel Alejandro, Kristin Jackson, who became a member of the Laura Dean Dancers and Musicians, and Miguel Braganza have presented their original works in New York. Reynaldo Alejandro's book Philippine Dance lists numerous Philippine folkloric groups in the US, from Alaska to Wisconsin. Among these are those directed by Jovita Sison-Friese, Alleluia Panis, and Christine Javier. Many of them are in New York, where they were formed by former members of Bayanihan Philip- pine Dance Company, Folklorico Filipino, and others. The Atlanta Ballet in Georgia has had Maniya Barredo as prima ballerina, Maiqui Maftosa, Nicolas Pacafta, Mia Monica, and George Laico, now dancing with Oakland Ballet together with Cristina Buencami- no. In San Francisco, California, Carlos Carvajal of the famous theatrical family choreographed for the San Francisco Ballet and his own group, Dance Spectrum. Eloisa Enerio, formerly with Ontario Dance Theater in Canada, now dancing in Los Angeles, and Angela del Pilar all danced in San Francisco. Other Filipinos are in the US as dance teachers and researchers, among them, Ricardo Trimillos in Hawaii, Gregoria Baty-Smith in Guam, Mario Recto

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and Cesar Mendoza in Chicago, Fe Sala-Villarica in San Diego, California, and Loulie Dalupan and Bing Locsin in Los Angeles, California. Maricar Drilon was with the Utah Ballet and now helps lead the dance troupe in Eugene, Ohio. Toni Lopez Gonzalez danced with the Washington Ballet for a number of years. Rebecca Rodriguez, now in Cincinnati, Ohio, used to be with the Dallas Ballet in Texas. In Canada, Yvonne Cutaran is a principal dancer with Les Grands Ballets Canadiens which also hosted Barredo and Rey Dizon. Manuel Molina was with Les Ballets Jazz de Montreal, also Harkness Ballet and Ballet Nuevo Mundo de Caracas, with Gloria Tobilla de la Casa. Filipino dancers were also in Europe. Lisa Macuja was a member of the Kirov Ballet. A special issue of Dance Magazine on dance in Yugoslavia mentions a number of unnamed Filipinos. Myra Beltran was a member of the ballet in the People's Theater of Prishti- na, and also danced in Germany. Dancing in France and Switzerland are Ronnie Leonardo, Gina Mariano, and Augustus Damian who was a principal dancer with Maurice Bejart's Ballet of the 20th Century, now dancing in Berne, Switzerland. Germany has been the most hospitable of the European countries. Luis Layag and Franklin Bobadilla danced in Heidelberg, Layag with Pina Bausch in Wuppertal, Anna Villadolid in Munich, Javier Picardo in Freiburg and Munster, Mary Anne Santamaria in Kassel, Robert Medina and Nina Anonas in Frankfurt, and Augustus Damian in Kiel and Munich. Others who have danced in Germany are William Miller, Bettina Escafio, Mitto Castillo, and Irene Sabas. Sabas herself later moved to the Royal Ballet of Flanders in Antwerp, Belgium. She heads a dance company in Barcelona with her husband, dancer David Campos Cantero. Franklin Bobadilla, for his part, was a soloist with Scapino Ballet in Amsterdam, Holland. Armand Angeles is dancing and teaching in Germany and Don Marasigan in Italy. Mitto Castillo was principal dancer of North- ern Ballet Theater and Anna Villadolid often guests with Birmingham Royal Ballet. • B.E.S. Villaruz

FRANQUELLI, FELY Active 1930s. Dancer, choreographer, costume designer. A student of Luva Adameit, Franquelli made her name in the internation- al dance scene in the 1930s. She did solo recitals, for which she created such dances as "Hindu Temple Dance," "White Eagle (Navajo), "Chinese Legend" (about the goddess of beauty Ming Toy from Hainan), "Tabu" (African), "Sacro Monte" (a paso doble), "Bulerias" (a flamenco from Malaga), "Gypsy Fortune Teller" (a zambra in

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FROILAN, NONOY (Rafael Catalino Froilan Cabujat) b. Calbiga, Samar 24 Oct 1950. Dancer, choreographer. His parents are Fidel Cabujat and Amparo Froilan. He is married to dancer- choreographer Edna Vida with whom he has two chil- dren. He graduated from Calbiga Elementary School and Samar High School, then journeyed to Manila to continue studying at the University of the East (UE) and the University of the Philippines. In 1968, he joined the UE Dance Troupe as a folk dancer, and studied ballet and jazz with Tony Llacer and Julie Borromeo. He began performing in stage productions, TV shows and specials. He enrolled at the CCP Dance School in 1972, and joined Ballet Philippines. Froilan is Ballet Philippines' principal male dancer. He has performed almost all the lead roles in its reper- tory. His training was supervised by a number of top ballet teachers including Norman Walker, Jean Deroc, and William Morgan. Ballets have been created for him, like Songs of a Wayfarer and Song of Adarna by Walker, and the full-length Roi David by Jean Qeroc which was reset on him at the Koenigsfelder Festival in Switzerland in 1978. He has partnered renowned ballerinas, like Dame Margot Fonteyn, Yoko Morishita, Mufieca Aponte, Robin Haig, and Maniya Barredo. In 1983, he partnered Toni Lopez Gonzalez at the Varna Internation- al Ballet Competition, and Lisa Macuja at the Fourth International Ballet Competition held in Jackson, Missis- sippi, USA, in 1990. Froilan also serves as Ballet Philip- pines' balletmaster, teaching modem and classical ballet. Froilan has danced lead roles in Alice Reyes' A Midsummer Night's Dream, Cinderella, Romeo and Juliet, Carmen, Amada, I tim Asu (Onyx Wolf), Dugso, Chichester Psalms, Carmina Burana, Rajah Sulayman, Kapinangan, and Misang Pilipino (Filipino Mass);

Gener Caringal's Tomaneg at Aniway (Tomaneg and Aniway) and Recuerdos (Souvenirs); Antonio Fabella's Ang Konsiyerto (The Concert); Corazon Generoso-Ifugo's Baile de Ayer (Dance of Yesterday) and Sisa; Lydia Madarang-Gaston's Anak-Bulan (Moon Child); Denisa Reyes' Te Deum and Asong Ulol (Mad Dog); Edna Vida's Ensalada (Salad); and Anton Juan's Yerma. He has successfully ventured into choreography himself, beginning with the abstract ballet Danzas, 1986, followed by One Afternoon, 1987, and then Iba't Ibang Salita (Different Words), 1988, and Amparo, 1990. In 1990, he received a grant from the United States government to participate in the choreographic workshop at the American Dance Festival in Durham, North Carolina. Froilan received the Patnubay ng Sin- ing at Kalinganan from the City of Manila in 1983 Ballet Philippines' gave him a tribute in 1993. • E. Vida

THE fRONTIERETTES Founded in 1966 as a preci- sion dance group of 44 women, it realized business magnate J. Amado Araneta's desire to form a Philip- pine group patterned after the 36-member Rockettes of New Frontier Theater, in Quezon City, where per- formances were staged between film screenings. The theater was the only one of its kind in the Philippines, with multisized elevators and revolving stage. Early auditions were conducted by Alcuin Pastrano and Delia Javier; Corazon Generoso-Iftigo later took over as dance director. When the theater began func- tioning exclusively as a cinema house, the Frontieret- tes lost their home. They continued to perform again at the Araneta Coliseum, dancing in shows with other featured performers. Araneta was also the owner of Filippine Films during the 1930s, and a producer of stage shows in Life Theater throughout the Japanese Occupation.• C.G. Iftigo G

GABRIEL, EL (Israel Gabriel) b. 23 Oct 1944. Dan- cer, choreographer. Gabriel trained in ballet with Ricardo and Roberta Cassell and with Anita Kane. He further trained at the American Ballet Theater School, the Metropolitan Ballet School, the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo School, the International School of Dance, Ballet Arts Studio, and the School of American Ballet, all in New York. He also studied modern dance

GASTON-MANOSA

in the schools of Martha Graham and Jose Limon, and jazz from Luigi. He observed at the Vaganova Choreographic Institute in Leningrad and taught mas- ter classes in Moscow. He danced in Broadway musical shows like Flow- er Drum Song, and for US television in Hollywood Palace, and became a member of the Yeichi Nimura Dance Company, 1960-1962. He taught in Eugene Loring's American School of Dance, 1966-1968, in Los Angeles and was balletmaster, guest artist, and choreographer for Dance Theater Philippines (DTP), 1968-1969, and for Bat-Dor Company in Tel-Aviv, Israel, 1969-1973. He has been lecturer and acting chairperson for the dance department at the University of California in Irvine. He has also been conducting master classes all over the United States to as far as Alaska, and in Columbia, the Bahamas, Israel, and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. He is artistic director of Le Ballet Pallas Dance Theatre in Los Alaminos, and associate director of Cali- fornia Dance Company in Los Angeles. He also teaches at the Lichine Ballet Academy in Beverly Hills and the Los Angeles Dance Centre. His works include Duetto, 1982; Jazz Piece on Ice, 1982, for Holiday on Ice of Mos- cow; Eidolon, 1983; Le Printemps Etemel (Eternal Spring) and Concerti for Four, both in 1984; Incipient, Kimberlite, and Pas de Deux, all in 1985; Isla del Encanto (Enchanted Island), 1987; and Rashomon, 1989. With DTP, he choreographed Caprice, 1968, and Olympiad I, 1969. Gabriel was cited as the Most Popular Lecturer in Dance at the University of California in Irvine in 1982, and for the International Men of Achievement Award by the International Biographic Centre in Cambridge, United Kingdom, in 1984. • B.E.S. Villaruz