Inamorata., Ballet Philippines’ second season offering, is the heart of its 42nd Season: Faces of Eve. Presented at the CCp Main Theater on September 23 to 25, it highlights the celebration of the centennial of International Women’s Day by presenting the many facets of woman.

She can be a grand dame, who, even in her last breath, is still magnificent and a sight to behold, as shown in the immortal classic The Dying Swan. It is choreographed by Mikhail Fokine for legendary ballerina Anna Pavlova and set to the poignant music of Camille Saint-Saens’ “Le Cygne.” This piece will be in sharp contrast to the comedica love pas de deux from Harlequinade, to show the woman’s wit and whimsy.

To show a sampling of woman’s strength, Inamorata also presents the bravura pas de deux from Flames of Paris. Originally from the full-length ballet set in the French Revolution, choreographed by Vasily Vainonen with music by Boris Asafieve, the pas de deux is now a standalone showpiece performed by the strongest dancers in prestigious ballet competitions around the world.

Completing the performance are fresh new works choreographed by the best Filipino choreographers: Ballet Philippines’ artistic director Paul Alexander Morales, BP resident choreographer Alden Lugnasin, former BP artistic director Denisa Reyes, Dwight Rodrigazo, Novy Bereber, and Hong Kong-based choreographer and 2010 Gawad Buhay winner for Outstanding Choreography Carlo Pacis. Each one will present a dance sketch of their muse, accompanied by the heavenly voices of sopranos Rachelle Gerodias and Camille-Lopez-Molina.

The new choreography will also feature costumes designed by some of the country’s top designers notably Rajo Laurel, Lulu Tan Gan, Ito Curata, and Jojie Lloren.

“The strength of ballet is that it highlights the fusion of all arts,” says Ballet Philippines artistic director Paul Alexander Morales. “In this special evening where we honor women as the beloved, we are excited about the heightened experience of dance paired with beautiful voices and the cutting edge looks from our top designers.”


Inamorata’s Cast
Carissa Adea
Carissa studied ballet under several top teachers, beginning with Josette Salang and Jinggay Formoso, Sofia Zobel for RAD, Brezhnev Larlar and Lisa Macuja. She joined Ballet Philippines as scholar and trained under Noordin Jumalon and Gina Katigbak-Garcia. In 1997, she received a scholarship to study at the Australian Conservatoire of Ballet in Australia under Christine Walsh. Mentored by esteemed dance luminaries such as Denisa Reyes, Augustus “Bam” Damian III, Alan Hineline and Max Luna III, Carissa has given life to original choreographies and Philippine premieres like Damian’s Carmen and Evacuation and performed principal roles in productions including the title role in Snow White, Swanhilda in Coppelia, Marie and the Sugarplum Fairy in The Nutcracker, Wendy in Peter Pan, Sisa in Crisostomo Ibarra and Kitri in Don Quixote.

At the 2010 Gawad Buhay, she won Outstanding Featured Female in a Dance Production for her work in Crisostomo Ibarra, and her piece for Neo-Filipino, Rey-Sing was nominated for Outstanding Choreography in a Dance Production. It has been toured around the Philippines in BP’s National Tour and was the company’s winning piece in the NCCA National Dance Competition in 2011.

Jean Marc Cordero
Jean Marc discovered dance through theater arts. As a Theater Arts major at the Philippine High School for the Arts, he performed the lead in the dance-drama Ang Hatol ng Guhit na Bilog, which was collaborated on by Agnes Locsin, Shamaine Buencamino, and Biag Gaongen, and performed at the 8th Asian Arts Festival in China. With Tanghalang Pilipino, he performed in The Slanting Dance of the Buluklik Hawks directed by Fernando Josef and choreographed by Agnes Locsin. At age 18, he joined BP as a scholar with Noordin Jumalon as his teacher, and was promoted to apprentice a year later. He became a company member in 2007, and his training continued under Augustus Damian III and Alan Hineline. He has performed in all of BP’s productions including principal roles in La Revolucion Filipina, Coppelia, The Nutcracker, Peter Pan, Crisostomo Ibarra, and Don Quixote among others. He has a Bachelor of Performing Arts Major in Dance from De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde. He competed at the 2007 New York International Ballet Competition and became the first Filipino male to reach the semifinals at the 2010 USA International Ballet Competition. In 2011, he won the 2010 Gawad Buhay Outstanding Male Lead Performer in a Modern Dance Production for his work in Crisostomo Ibarra, and the Lead role in a Russian Ballet performance at the First Boston International Ballet Competition.

Katherine Trofeo
Katherine started taking ballet at age 8 under Amelia Yulo and turned professional at age 15 with mentor Enrico Labayen’s Lab Project. With him, she premiered many of his original choreographies, and is the only authorized restager of his works in Asia. With Philippine Ballet Theatre, she received praise from critics for her performances as Esmeralda in the Asian premiere of The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Kitri in Don Quixote, Nikiya in La Bayadere, Odette-Odile in Swan Lake, Ballerina in Paquita and Cio-Cio San in Madame Butterfly. She has also performed feature roles in Myra Beltran’s Dance Forum, includingThe Romeo and Juliet Project and Payatas: Point-Counterpoint, a dance video project of Beltran and film director Carlitos Siguion Reyna during the Global Dance 2002 World Dance Alliance Festival in Dusseldorf, Germany.

Katherine has worked with the finest choreographers and teachers including Alan Hineline, Max Luna III, Anatoli Panasiukov, Gener Caringal, Ida Beltran, Tony Fabella, Maiqui Mañosa, Nonoy Froilan, Edna Vida, Denisa Reyes, Paul Morales, Irene Sabas, Anna Villadolid, Thomas Mayr, Jean Paul Comelin, Graham Lustig, Stefan Hoff, David Campos-Cantero, Michael Chernov, and Gelsey Kirland. Katherine joined BP in 2008 and has performed lead roles such as Swanhilda in Coppelia, Marie in The Nutcracker, Wendy in Peter Pan, Maria Clara in Crisostomo Ibarra, and Kitri in Don Quixote.

Cyril Aran Fallar
Cyril started taking ballet at age 12 at the Manila Dance Center under Luther Perez, Tony Fabella and Eddie Elejar, and continued his performing arts training at the Philippine High School for the Arts for Theater Arts. In 2003, he joined BP as scholar, was promoted to apprentice in 2005, and became a company member in 2008. Mentored by Augustus Damian III, Noordin Jumalon, Victor Ursabia, Jeffrey Espejo and Alan Hineline, Cyril has also taken classes with William Morgan, Frank Ohman, Yanis Pikieris, Zane Wilson, and Maniya Barredo.

For Ballet Philippines, he has performed solo roles such as the Golden Idol from La Bayadere, as well as the title role in Edna Vida’s Peter Pan, for which he was nominated for Outstanding Male Lead Performer in a Dance Production at the 2010 Gawad Buhay. As a young choreographer, his piece Dancer’s Crux, won First Place at the 1st BP Choreographer’s Cup and was nominated for Outstanding Choreography in a Dance Production at the 2010 Gawad Buhay. He has a Bachelor of Performing Arts Major in Dance from De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde. Cyril won First Prize at the 2010 NAMCYA Senior Ballet Category, and in 2011, competed at the First Boston International Ballet Competition.

Carlo Pacis
Carlo is a dancer, teacher, and choreographer who joined the Hong Kong Ballet after graduating with First-class Honours from the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts in 1998. As a senior soloist in the company he essayed lead roles in ballets such as The Merry Widow, Madame Butterfly, Romeo and Juliet, Swan Lake, and Firecracker, and was a principal in abstract works such as Balanchine’s Rubies and Stanton Welch’s Clear.  He received the Hong Kong Dance Award in 2002 for his technical artistry and  the depth of his  dramatic reading of roles. In the twelve years he spent with the company he worked closely with Alexander Grant, Natalie Weir, Stephen Baynes, Wayne Eagling, Irek Mukhamedov, Ronald Hynd, Bengt Jorgen, Merrill Ashley, Stephen Jefferies, and John Meehan. 

Editor’s Note: Cyril Aran Fallar is the Harlequin to Katherine Trofeo’s Columbine on Women’s Journal cover; Carissa Adea, Katherine Trofeo, Jean Marc Cordero are the featured dancers in Carlo Pacis’ yet-untitled new choreography for Inamorata.

About Harlequinade
Les millions d’Arlequin (a.k.a. Harlequinade) is a ballet in two acts with libretto and choreography by Marius Petipa and music by Riccardo Drigo. First presented at the Imperial Theatre of the Hermitage by the Imperial Ballet in St. Petersburg, Russia on Friday, 23 February 1900. The ballet was given a second premiere on the stage of the Imperial Mariinsky Theatre with the same cast on 26 February 1900.

Drigo’s score spawned the popular salon repertory piece known as the Serenade, which the composer later re-wrote as a song called “Nuttorno d’amore” for Beniamino Gigli. The Serenade has since been arranged for every conceivable instrument, particularly the violin and piano.
The Ballet Master Fyodor Lopukhov later restaged the ballet as Harlequinade in a one-act version for the Ballet of the Maly Theatre of Leningrad. The production premiered on 13 June 1933.

Audiences outside of Russia are perhaps most familiar with George Balanchine’s revival, which the Ballet Master staged as Harlequinade for the New York City Ballet. This production premiered at the New York State Theater in New York City on 4 February 1965. According to the New York City Ballet Notes, Balanchine follows the tradition of the commedia dell’arte. There were humorous, slapstick comedies with masks, such as Pierrot, the Harlequin, and Columbine. The popular tune, later known as “For He’s a Jolly Good Fellow”, was included in the score by Drigo. Born in Italy, Drigo lived and worked in Russia for over 40 years with artists from opera and ballet.

Ballet Philippines: We Dance For You

Founded in 1969 by Alice Reyes with the support of Eddie Elejar and the Cultural Center of the Philippines, Ballet Philippines (BP) is widely recognized today as a cornerstone of the Filipino cultural identity. Its audience represents a cross-section of Manila’s populace and includes visitors from around the country and around the world. Each year outreach and educational programs introduce new generations of audience members not only to dance, but to music and visual art as well. BP’s official school, the CCP Dance School, continues to produce dancers of international caliber. As the dance company in residence at the Cultural Center of the Philippines, Ballet Philippines is globally recognized as the country’s flagship company in ballet and contemporary dance.

With a treasure trove of over 400 works, Ballet Philippines’ wide ranging, eclectic repertory is unparalleled in Asia. From full-length classical ballets and internationally recognized masterworks to indigenous works of Filipino folklore and social issues, the company weaves a colorful tapestry of the Philippine’s rich and diverse cultural heritage – uniquely and distinctly Filipino.

The Company’s achievements, coupled with the generous and prestigious support of numerous local and national funding sources, have dramatically strengthened BP’s position as a world-class ballet company within the local, national, and international arts communities.

As the Philippines’ premiere dance company, now in its 42nd season, BP continues its vision of nurturing the best Fiipino dance artists, in year long program of professional and developmental dance.