A rebel with a cause
FOR ITS 21st season, Ballet Manila brings back to the stage, Rebel: EDSA 30, a dance reimagination of the EDSA People Power Revolution, aptly inserted with references from Spartacus, the ballet based on the historical episode of the slave who rose up against a tyrannical master.
The ballet opens with Inang Bayan (played simultaneously by Joanna Ampil and prima ballerina Lisa Macuja-Elizalde) singing “Pilipinas Kong Mahal,” with their skirts, dyed with the colors of the Philippine flag, marking their allegiances. The same can be said of the other characters, who all appear during this prologue. President Ferdinand Marcos (FM) is dressed in red, while his wife, Imelda, is dressed in blue. The couple stand on a magnificent set comprised of steps, pillars, walls, and a throne; aloft and aloof over a gathering citizenry, led by Ninoy and Cory Aquino. Ninoy is dressed in white, while Cory is dressed in yellow with black bands.
A video of Marcos’s declaration of Martial Law in 1972 is projected on the steps, and drum beats serve as a cue for he and Imelda to glide down the steps and dance as seductively as possible, as if tantalizing the audience with the allure of absolute power. They are joined by a bevy of cronies, dressed in suits, and the Blue Ladies, glittering with sequins. This company dances gracefully and smoothly, save for a few flashes of clenched fists, reflecting the brute force that kept their beautiful world afloat.
In contrast, the citizens are dressed in common clothes, led by Ninoy Aquino. Their dancing style is less rooted in the classics and is injected with references to jazz, Japanese dance, and, if I’m correct, maybe even a little bit of hip-hop.
Confrontations between these different worlds and styles are something to look forward to in the first act, which ends with the separation of Ninoy and Cory, as orchestrated during a dance- off with the Marcoses and their crew. Ninoy, in jail, fights to the death with his friend (who else?) Juan de la Cruz, who is stabbed by Ninoy in the back, all under FM’s eye, who watches over the scene from his throne. Juan de la Cruz, dies willingly in Ninoy’s arms, according to the program.
The second act opens with Inang Bayan singing “Magkaisa,” as the other Inang Bayan dances with Juan de la Cruz, half his face now painted white, and Jose, Juan de la Cruz’s replacement in the fight for freedom. Inang Bayan is offered a pistol, which she places on one of the pillars, tied with a yellow ribbon.
Perhaps Ninoy Aquino’s scene in the prison, stabbing Juan de la Cruz in the back, is a reference to his exile in Boston, apparently the happiest moments during the Aquino family’s lives, as in the ballet, Ninoy and Cory are seen dancing lightly and energetically, as if expressing boundless joy. While Inang Bayan looks on, Jose holds out a hand for Inang Bayan not to interfere.
The next scene shows FM appearing from the audience, with lights glaring everywhere, and shaking hands with members of the audience, as if gathering support for a campaign. When he finally makes it back to the throne, he is weak, and he slumps over as if ill. His wife Imelda first tries to prop him up, and then, encouraged by the cronies, she occupies the throne. This prompts an appearance by Inang Bayan, who dances as if injured and dejected, and as if summoned, Cory and Ninoy Aquino appear again onstage. Jose and Cory seem to fight over Ninoy, and while Cory has her back turned, Ninoy flirts with Jose, and more citizens appear, all of them urging him home with their hands, while Ninoy shields Cory from all this. He holds her aloft, and the citizens and their rebel leader admit defeat, and disappear from stage. As history knows, Ninoy ultimately chooses the people, and Cory weeps onstage and accepts their destiny.
Ninoy and Cory’s final dance as a couple is one of the showstoppers of the ballet, in its use of dance to convey emotion and acceptance, but the next number, Imelda’s rise to power, is really something else, just like the woman who inspired it. Loud percussion greets her while she stands at the throne, and she slinks down the steps where the cronies and Blue Ladies urge her to take the floor. FM then occupies the throne she vacated — while a rendition of “Feelings” is sung by Ms. Ampil as Imelda dances seductively and perfectly. “Dahil Sa ’ Yo” ( her favorite song) then plays, while the lights change to blue, to match the outfits worn by Imelda and her coterie. As the song ends, Imelda poses provocatively while the whole stage dims, and a single light focuses on her. She then holds her head aloft in triumph.
Ninoy’s assassination and the final confrontation between him and FM are a bit anti-climactic, reflected by a dance-off between the citizens and the soldiers, as led by the pair. Ninoy is shot, (awhile FM’s back is turned) and his body is lowered to the citizens as Inang Bayan looks on. A chorus of girls in white appear as Inang Bayan dances in mourning
his death. Ms. Ampil sings “Bayan Ko,” as Ninoy’s corpse is raised towards the throne, and Cory is supported by the citizens to join her husband at the top, while Juan de la Cruz, resurrected, sits at the throne. Ms. Ampil sings “Handog ng Pilipino sa Mundo,” and the ballet ends with a rain of yellow confetti.
While the show and the story are both exciting and relevant, one cannot shake off the feeling that the ballet fails to show the characters as more than mere archetypes; but then, how easy would it be to reflect ambition and emotion in a silent dance?
In the Artistic Director’s Notes in the program, Ms. Macuja-Elizalde said, “We bring back to life a very relevant story that all Filipinos should know about — one which we should ‘# neverforget’ because we must promise to ‘#neveragain.’”
Overall, while the intentions are good, the storytelling’s execution is a little bit too simplistic in its succinct summary of what happened in EDSA, and more cynical audience members could find it to be a little bit syrupy towards the end, but we’re guessing, during these times, we all need a little more hope in our hearts.