Philippine dance

Generoso-Ifugo's Sisa and Gabriela, Agnes Locsin's Ang Kapalit (The Price), and Basilio's La Lampara (The Lamp) and Misa Filipina (Filipino Mass). Eric Cruz choreographed a work featuring the characters Spartacus and Phrygia, and later turned them into Andres Bonifacio and Gregoria de Jesus in his Ang Katipunero (The Revolutionary) pas de deux. The life of ballet's greatest composer Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky was encapsulized by Basilio in his pas de trois, Per- jured Hearts, and later in Tchaikovsky Fantasy. Contemporary literature has inspired many choreographers. Nick Joaquin's works are especially popular and provided the story line for the following works: Alice Reyes' Amada based on "Summer Sol- stice"; Felicitas Layag-Radaic's May Day Eve, Lydia Madarang-Gaston's Anak-Bulan (Moon Child), and Basilio's Agueda, all based on "May Day Eve." Joaquin also wrote a fairy tale, The Magic Garden, for Orosa- Goquingco in 1958. Jose Garcia Villa's Mir-i-nisa was choreographed by Julie Borromeo and Layag-Radaic in 1969 and 1989, and Eric Cruz in 1976. Basilio worked with Arturo Rotor's Zita, 1982, and Chris Millado's Babaeng Itawes (The Itawes Woman), 1988. Elejar used Virginia Moreno's poem in his Masks, 1981. More dramatic and other literary forms have been explored locally in Elejar's Juliet and Her Romeo, 1970; Vida's Romeo and Julia, 1977; and Alice Reyes' Romeo and Juliet, 1981. Trudl Dubsky-Zipper, Reyes, and Vida did their respective versions of A Midsummer Night's Dream in 1951, 1976, and 1989. Caringal was inspired by Othello for his Vermillion Scarf, 1982, while Basilio took Shakespeare's sonnets for Royal Sonnets, 1972, and Thomas Mann's A Death in Venice for Between Sky and Sea, 1973. Federico Garcia Lorca inspired Anton Juan's Yerma, 1983. Guest choreog- rapher Gerard Sibbritt created Phaedra, 1975, while William Miller choreographed Antigone, 1975, and Eric Cruz did Medea, 1978. Orosa-Goquingco worked out dances for the adapted W.B. Yeats Kalbaryo (Calvary). Children's literature and fairy tales stirred Alice Reyes to do Emperor's New Clothes, 1970, and Cin- derella, 1981; Edna Vida The Little Tailor, 1980, Alice in Wonderland, 1985, and Peter Pan, 1983; and Nail.as' Snow White, 1988. Biblical stories have been danced, as in Basilio's The Resurrection of Lazarus and The Rebels, 1971, and Orosa-Goquingco's The Story of Man, 1950, and Paba- sa (Pasyon Reading) in Filipinescas. Stories of saints and devotional literature have inspired several works: Anita Kane's The Life of St Agnes and The Parable of the Foolish Virgins; Basilio and Retsy Escandor' s dances for the dance drama Helen de Chappo- tin, 1977; Alice Reyes' Santo Nino and Chichester Psalms,

SOURCES AND INFLUENCES

1973; Locsin's Teresa; Elejar's Misang Pilipino (Filipino Mass), 1974; Vida's Pagsamba (Worship), 1976, and Isaiah, 1982; Brando Miranda's Ang Misa (The Mass), 1985; Denisa Reyes' Te Deum, 1985; Felix Padilla's Viaticum, 1970; Basilio's Dark Night of the Soul, 1964, Doxology, 1970, Divine Anthology, 1982, Panalangin (Prayer), 1984, Misa Filipina (Filipino Mass), and dances in Kasilag's Spiritual Canticles operatorio, 1991. In 1964, Alice Reyes sketched the Christianization of the Philippines in 400 Years in 40 Minutes for the Eucharistic Congress in Bombay. Popular, and sometimes patriotic, songs accom- pany ballets: Elejar and Vida's respective productions of Mutya ng Pasig (Muse of Pasig), 1980 and 1983; Alice Reyes's Mga Babae (Women), 1987, to Inang Laya' s music; Basilio's Isang Lakbay, I sang Hantungan (One Journey, One Destination), 1983, to "Bayan Ko" (My Country), Sa Baybayon (On the Shore), 1986, to music by Noni Espina, Ikaw at Ako'y Pilipino (You and I are Filipinos), 1984, to music by Padona, Sa Ugoy ng Duyan (As the Hammock Sways), Alaala (Memo- ries), and Take Me Back, 1983, to music by Debuque- Consunji, A Scrapbook, 1986, Mga Awit ni Basil (Basil's Songs) I, 1987, and II, 1989; Antonio Fabella's Four Songs, 1987 to "Bayan Ko" and Magkaisa" (Unite), Pinoy Talaga (Genuine Filipinos), 1989, and Limang Dipa (Five Armstretches), 1981, to Cayabyab's One; Vida's Ensalada (Salad), 1981, again to Cayabyab's One. Enrico Labayen used Filipino melo- dies in Songs, 1991, as did Hazel Sabas in Illustrated Dialects, 1991. Julie and Rose Borromeo, Lally and Terry Aldeguer, Douglas Nierras, and other dancers who work in jazz, use popular songs, blues, and New Wave music. They have done much of the choreography for both local musical and Broadway adaptations. Eric Cruz, Locsin, Elejar, Alice Reyes, and Lisa Ocampo Mata explored opera literature in their respec- tive renditions of Carmen, and Cruz's La Gitana (II Trovatore) and Camille (La Traviata), both to music by Jeffrey Ching. Choreographers also draw inspiration from the visual arts. Luis Layag created Take Four, 1968, and the black-and-white Positive-Negative, recalling Alwin Nikolais' theater of illusion. Basilio was inspired by paintings in Ode to Boticelli, 1981, and Crystal Concerto and Canto to Canaletto, 1983. His costumes for Testament, 1980, suggested Hernando R. Ocampo, and he displayed Pintado-style body tattoos in Hidden Rites, 1978. Salvador Bernal also experimented with the tattoo in Alice Reyes' Tales of the Manuvu, 1977. Denisa Reyes worked with sculptor Agnes Arellano in

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Balimbingan (Opportunism), 1987, using the latter's Bosch and the Hollow Men. She collaborated with painter Santiago Bose in Asong Ulol (Mad Dog), 1991, as did Enrico Labayen on Icarus Eternally Damned/The Dupe of Time, which was inspired by a poem by Alfred Yuson. A scene in Basilio's Misa Filipina (Filipino Mass) was inspired by Michelangelo's unfinished De- scent from the Cross; his Between Sky and Sea was as much inspired by Thomas Mann's novel as by Luchino Visconti's film A Death in Venice. The dance style itself may motivate choreog- raphers to construct ballets in various degrees of adaptation or stylization. Luva Adameit, for example, transformed Maria Clara and rural dances by perform- ing them on pointes. Orosa-Goquingco continued this stylization, which culminated in Filipinescas. Lucrecia Reyes-Urtula followed suit in her folkloric ballets for the Bayanihan Philippine Dance Company. So did the following: Basilio in Bailes Fil-Hispano (Filipino- Hispanic Dances), 1965, and Tropical Tapestry, 1975 and 1978; Borromeo in Zagalas de Manila (Manila Maidens in Procession), and Kalingan, both 1968; Layag-Radaic in Tanan (Elopement), 1968, and Nan- Pangkat, 1975; Luis Layag in Mindanao Sketches, 1972; Elejar in Rigodon Sketches, 1976, and Rigodon, 1989; and Agnes Locsin in Igorot, 1989. In modern dance, a number of choreographers have put their folkloric experience to good use in their respective works: Rosalia Merino-Santos' Sarimanok; Elejar's Katakata Sin Rajah Indarapatra (Stories of Rajah Indarapatra), 1968; Alice Reyes' At a Maranaw Gathering, 1970, Bungkos, 1972, and Bayanihan Re- membered, 1987; and Gener Caringal's Ang Sultan (The Sultan), 1973, Tomaneg at Aniway (Tomaneg and Aniway), 1975, and Labaw Dunggon, 1985. The follow- ing pursued the trend: Denisa Reyes in Arem, 1975, Ifu- gaos, 1978, and For the Gods, 1984; Corazon Generoso- liligo in Lam-ang and Baile de Ayer (Dance of Yester- day), 1975; and Ester Rimpos in Duo, 1977. Agnes Locsin calls "neoethnic" her intense stylistic explora- tion in Bagobo and Moslem, both 1990, Hinilawod, 1991, and Encantada, 1992. Several choreographers have extended universal balletic and ballroom styles in their abstract works: Elejar in his already mentioned rigodons; Fabella in Entrances and Exits, 1980, Three Tchaikovsky Waltzes, 1983, A Gift of Dance, 1983, Glazunov Variations, 1984,

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A Dance Offering, 1986, Dancing to Donizetti, 1987, The Company, 1991, and many others; Basilio in Testa- ment, 1980, Salutations, 1981, Sweet Warfare, 1982, Paean to Pavlova, 1982, Crystal Concerto and a Canto to Canaletto, 1983; Sabas in Six to Borodin, 1988; De Oteyza in her ballets done to the concertos of Grieg and Tchaikovsky, Cesar Frank's Symphonic Variations, Tchaikovsky's Serenade for Strings (Theme and Varia- tions), Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue, Rachmaninoff's rhapsody in The Elements, Khatchaturian's Masque- rade Suite, Rimsky Korsakov's Capriccio Espagnol, and Ravel's Bolero. De Oteyza, who admired Balanchine, went farthest with this approach, although Dubsky- Zipper started creating abstract dances earlier, with Voices of Snoring, as did Manolo Rosado in Claire de Lune, Arms Etude, both 1958, and Serenata d'Amore, 1964. The mode of presentation in modern dance is ex- plored in Alice Reyes' Company, 1970, Elizabeth Guinoo's Brief Encounters, Labayen's Sa Isip, Sa Sali- ta at Sa Gawa? (In Thought, In Word and In Deed?) and Maya, 1991, and Felix Padilla's Rahuyo (Charm), 1991. Movement and word games provoked Basilio's Games, 1970, Merino-Santos' Halina't Maglaro (Come and Play), 1971, Nonoy Froilan's Iba't !bang Salita (Different Words), 1988, Agnes Locsin's Ismagol, 1990, while Jojo Luella's Martial Ways, 1991, is based on the martial arts. Teachers who exerted a lot of influence on their students and dancers were: Norman Walker, Pauline Koner, Alice Reyes, Denisa Reyes, Corazon Generoso- Iii.igo, Antonio Fabella, Basilio, and Agnes Locsin. Orosa-Goquingco' s pioneering work in folkloric stylization influenced many, including Reynaldo Alejandro. De Oteyza and Kane pursued classi- cism in their themes and teaching. Layag-Radaic fol- lowed in Kane's footsteps as a teacher. Ricardo and Roberta Cassell exemplified choreographic range and practical professionalism in the crucial years of Philip- pine ballet. • B.E.S. Villaruz

FORMS

An aerobic dance is a complete physical workout that demands increasing oxygen consumption over an extended period of time. The continuous dance routine, like jogging, swimming, hiking, and other aerobic activities, improves and maintains the phy- siological functioning of the heart, lungs, and muscles. Dancing to popular music, participants walk, run, jump, skip, and stretch all throughout the workout which has three phases: 5 to 10 minutes warm-up exercises, 15 to 30 minutes aerobic dance routine, and 5 to 10 minutes cool down or limbering exercises. Aerobic dancing is usually done 2 to 3 times a week. Aerobic dance was conceived and developed as a form of physical fitness program in 1971 by Jacki Serensen, an American dancer. Serensen rated "excel- lent" in the 12-minute run test developed by Kenneth Cooper and concluded that her years of dance training had kept her fit. She then choreographed dance routines, combining disco and jazz steps and calisthe- nics movements for a 12-week program designed to improve cardiovascular endurance. Its popularity in the United States rose in the late 1970s, prompting dance and physical education instructors to create their own aerobic dance routines and conduct classes in fitness centers, health clubs, and schools. In the Philippines, aerobic dance was introduced in 1978 by physical education instructor Vivian Zapanta at the Mandarin Fitness Center. The same year, Hatch and Reed Fitness Center and Baden Haus Health and Fitness Center started offering aerobic dance classes. In 1982, Zapanta conducted a 15-minute aerobic dance class on TV as part of the variety program She. She has also taught aerobic dance and exercise on Sports Review. In 1983, Amelia Zafra and Benita Maria P. Barros, both physical education professors of the University of the Philippines (UP), introduced aerobic dancing to the public at the Quezon City Sports Memorial Circle. The UP Department of Physical Education started offering aerobic dance classes the same year. The Uni- versity of Santo Tomas and Far Eastern University began offering classes in the late 1980s. In the mid-1980s, aerobic dance invaded public and private offices and corporations in Metro Manila. Aerobic dance became a permanent physical fitness activity in health, fitness, and sports centers. Recently, aerobic dance workouts have been clas- sified based on the intensity of the workout. The high- energy or high-impact aerobic dance involves vigorous jumping and hopping all throughout the routine and is recommended for those who have attained a high level

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of fitness. The low-impact aerobic dance workout is designed for beginners and requires less jumping and hopping; one foot is always in contact with the floor. Both types of workout, however, produce the same physical benefits. Other workouts include the use of light and free weights, usually held in the hands or attached to the lower legs, to improve specific muscle strength and muscle endurance as well as develop general stamina. • B.M.P. Barros

BALITAW

Hispanized, the dance includes waltz steps, paso espaiiol (a waltz combination and step-brush-swing hop) and the do-si-do (changing around in a square). Indigenous is the use of the kumintang gesture (wrist circling) that embellishes many figures of the dance. The tirana may have been a later innovation on the old balitaw, made possible by the Spanish-style five- stringed guitar which could provide a more varied music than the native three-stringed coconut shell guitar. Un- like the "noisy" balitaw, the tirana is gentler, with more hand gestures and simple shuffling foot move- ments. An example of the tirana verse runs:

Akong awitan si Tirana Tirana bitaw'ng rnakalolo-oy Sarna sa isda nga balyena, Sa dagat nga naglangoy-langoy. Sarna sa isda nga balyena, Sa dagat intawon naglangoy-langoy. Kon rnalo-oy ka, ako lulgki, Pangasaw-a ayaw biya-i. Panga-agyud ug arnornaha, Pakataw-a, ayaw pahilaka.

I will sing to Tirana, Tirana who is pitiful. Like the whale, swimming in the sea. Like the whale, swimming in the sea, If you pity me, kiss me, Marry me, do not leave me. Love me, do not leave me. Make me happy, don't make me cry.

• B.E.S. Villaruz

BALLET

BALITAW. Old folks dance a version of the balitaw called batisan to the accompaniment of a guitar. lmus, Cavlte, 1991. (Cultural Center of the Philippines Library Collection)

Ballet is a theatrical dance presentation with a choreographic or dramatic plot that integrates music, dancing, and stage designs (sets, costumes, and light- ing). Ballet refers to a technique and style of dancing strictly based on a well-codified theatrical school of dance or danse d'ecole. The word ballet comes from Latin "ballare" (to dance) and Italian "balletto," the diminutive of "ballo" (dance). The ballet evolved from the European court spectacles that combined verse and story, music and designs, mime and dance, to create an operatic or dramatic form. One of these spectacles arranged by the Italian Catherine de Medici, then Queen Mother of France, the Ballet Comique de la Reine, 1581, was considered the first ballet. The formation of the ballet's enduring academic base was achieved by the Acadernie Royale de la Danse in 1661 under the reign of Louis XIV, himself a dancer. The Acadernie codified the ballet technique and style to compose the danse d'ecole. In the 1700s, the ballet was strengthened as a dramatic expression with the efforts of Franz Anton Christoph Hilverding and Gaspero Angiolini in Vienna, Jean Georges Noverre in Stuttgart and Vienna, Salvatore Vigano in Milan, Charles Didelot in St Petersburg, and Vincenzo Galeotti and Antoine Bournonville in Denmark. Their ballets stressed plot and portrayal in the structures called balle d' action, choreodrama, and other realistic pro- ductions.

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In the first half of the 1800s, a greater degree of stylization developed, with the introduction of danc- ing on pointe or the tips of the toes. The influence of the Romantic movement produced acclaimed prima ballerinas like Marie Taglioni, Fanny Eissler, Carlotta Grisi, and Fanny Cerrito, and created fantastic roles in operas like Robert le Diable, 1831, or in ballets like La Sylphide, 1832, and Giselle, 1841. The ballet declined as an art form in Europe in the latter half of the 19th century. In Tsarist Russia, however, the Frenchman Marius Petipa and his col- laborator Lev Ivanov staged numerous full-evening ballets that were to define ballet classicism as it is known today. Ballet masterpieces were choreographed to the music of Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky, such as The Sleeping Beauty, 1890, The Nutcracker, 1892, and Swan Lake, 1895, and other three to four-act ballets to the music of court composers like Ludwig Minkus, Ricardo Drigo, and later, Alexander Glazounov. In the early 20th century, Michel Fokine, Vaslav Nijinsky, Leonide Massine, Bronislava Nijinska, and George Balanchine modified the ballet into the pre- dominant one-act form produced by Serge Diaghilev for his Ballets Russes. They revivified the ballet in Europe with their choreographies and their dancing, together with ballerinas like Mathilde Kchessinska, Anna Pavlova, and Tamara Karsavina. This influence was also felt with the contributions of Alexander Benois, Leon Bakst, Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse, Giorgio di Chirico in design, and Igor Stravinsky,

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CLASSICAL BALLET. One of the most enduring classical ballets Is Marlus Petlpa's Sleeping Beauty, here restaged by William Morgan for Ballet Philippines In 1988. (Rudy Vldad, Ballet Philippines Collecffon)

the dancers of the Baroufski Imperial Russian Circus, 1902. In 1915 and 1916, the mysterious Paul Nijinsky, who claimed descent from the imperial school in St Petersburg, performed in Manila. In 1922, Anna Pavlova and her company danced at the Manila Grand Opera House during one of two Asian tours. Most of the prominent dancers, teachers, and choreographers descended from Kane, De Oteyza, Orosa- Goquingco, and Merino-Santos. The Hungarian Paul Szilard and the American Ricardo Cassell were also very influential. Their small companies, such as the De Oteyza Ballet (later the Manila Ballet Company), the Studio Dance Group, the Anita Kane Ballet Company (later the Pamana Ballet), Ballet Theatre Philippines, and the folkloric Filipinescas Dance Company pro- duced dancers who would set up the first professional companies-Hariraya Dance (later, Ballet) Company and Dance Theatre Philippines, both founded in 1968. Further reconstitution of these groups gradually led to the organization of the two major companies today, Ballet Philippines (not to be confused with the similarly named Ballet Philippines in the early 1960s) in 1970, and Philippine Ballet Theater in 1986. These two professional companies stage the most significant productions today, from the ballet classics to the con- temporary works of foreign and Filipino choreo- graphers. These ballets are performed in Manila and other Philippine cities, and in foreign places. Other notable companies are the Dance Concert Company founded in 1970, the Manila Metropolis Bal- let in 1980, and the Quezon City Ballet in 1988. Most groups and companies have studio-type schools, some internationally accredited. Two universities offer dance degree programs. Annual seasons and festivals sustain the professional life and the public following of this theatrical art. Some outstanding Filipino dancers, such as Benjamin Villanueva, Josefa Reyes, Tina Santos, and Maniya Barredo, have made their mark in companies, musical comedies, competitions, and fes- tivals worldwide.

Modem Ballet. Modern ballet is a dance produc- tion of contemporary content but utilizing classical ballet technique and style. The movements may accomo- date some modern dance devices and techniques, like contraction and release, fall and recover, bound and rebound, they may also include natural rather than classical mime and reflect a contemporary tempo. It may, for instance, use pointe technique in an earthy and sharp manner rather than in the ethereal and fluent ideal in the romantic ballet. Modern ballet dates from the Ballets Russes de Serge Diaghilev period (1909-1929) and its influence in

BALLET

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