Cover ‘Limang Daan’ interweaves tales of present-day challenges faced by Ana, a Filipina nurse in New York, with historical narratives of Cordilleran women and a non-binary babaylan in the Visayas
‘Limang Daan’ interweaves tales of present-day challenges faced by Ana, a Filipina nurse in New York, with historical narratives of Cordilleran women and a non-binary babaylan in the Visayas
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Ballet Philippines ends its 54th season with a heartfelt piece
A short video performance depicting 500 years of cross-cultural encounters, highlighting Spain’s influence on Philippine art and culture, was produced in 2022. This year, the production transitions from the screen to the live stage.
Ballet Philippines ends its 54th season with Limang Daan, a full-length original ballet. Set to premiere during International Women’s Day, March 8, at The Theatre at Solaire, the serial production aims to illuminate the struggles of Filipino women through experiences of pain, suffering, and transcendence in a time-bending story.
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“Limang Daan is an important narrative about Filipino feminism,” shares Ballet Philippines president Kathleen Liechtenstein. “It’s about Filipinas’ struggles, joys and hopes then and now. It is about how we have transcended the unforgiving patriarchy to become the Filipinas we are today.”
Above ‘Limang Daan’ official poster
‘Limang Daan’ official poster
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On the story
Award-winning director and filmmaker Moira Lang confesses it took her some time to finish the libretto. “How do you tell the story of a nation and its five centuries of being colonised and in the shadows of that colonial past?” she asks. Lang had to pick five periods of history and choose the characters to tell the story.
“Our people’s complicated relationship with national identity and the colonial mentality that persists to this day certainly informed the piece as I was writing it,” she explains. “But the bigger and more direct inspiration came from the lives of Filipino women who have suffered and transcended the oppressive, oppressive, deadly, and very sex-negative tandem of religion and the patriarchy.”
Above Ana
Above Gawani
Ana
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Lang introduces multiple heroines in the story:
- Ana, a Filipina nurse in New York, struggles with the unwanted advances of a superior.
- Amihan, a non-binary babaylan (Filipino shaman), faces the consequences of refusing the salvation promised by “men of God.”
- Three Cordilleran women—Petra, Edena, and Leticia—defy guns, goons, and gold to protect the motherland from despots deigning to dictate their future.
- Maria Clara leaps from the pages of Jose Rizal’s Noli Me Tangere to embody a repressed nun who finally comes to her senses and sensuousness.
- Gawani, an Igorot woman recruited to be part of the “human zoo” of the St Louis World’s Fair in 1904, finds strength in the women who have preceded her and those who are still to follow.
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On the music
Erwin Romulo and Malek Lopez’s original music scores bring Lang’s libretto to life. Both were drawn to Limang Daan because it allowed them to work with a group of formidable women.
“Kathleen Liechtenstein, Mercedes Zobel. Formidable women. Who can say no?” they said in a joint statement. “[There is also] Moira Lang. Another formidable woman. [She] is among this century's most important figures in Philippine culture. This is her vision. And we merely serve it—and at her pleasure.”
Romulo and Lopez reveal that their musical score completely differs from anything they’ve done before. “[It’s] utter chaos. [We] have orchestral arrangements, glitchy electronics, and Southeast Asian instruments. Anything goes, really!” they say. “And, of course, it’s really about who we’re collaborating with.”
Above Maria Clara at Ibarra
Above Padre Damaso
Maria Clara at Ibarra
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On the costumes
JC Buendia is known as one of the country’s most celebrated couturiers, crafting sophisticated and timeless designs that pay homage to the rich fashion heritage of the Philippines. And this March, his designs will grace the Limang Daan stage.
The ballet, which follows the plight of different Filipinas over 500 years, is the ideal project for the acclaimed fashion figure who has dressed generations of Pinay women.
“Late last year, Kathleen Liechtenstein offered me to do the costumes for Limang Daan, knowing that I specialise in Filipiniana,” he shared. “Collaborating with artists in different mediums gives the industry new energy. It elevates fashion to an art form and creates memorable images beyond a season.”
Above Amihan
Above Mother Superior
Amihan
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Buendia has created costumes for the theatre in the past, but this time is different. “Designing for [ballet] dancers is technically challenging, as you must consider big movements and comfort.”
His research process for this stage’s costumes had to be thorough and thoughtful. Not only did he have to create functional garments for an entire dance company, but he also had to remember the storyline, which spans over 500 years.
When asked how different it was designing for the ballet compared to creating pieces for the runaway, Buendia says: “Making a collection for the runaway is quite the same. You’re also telling a story. Designing for clients is similar because you think of each person’s unique character [and] their roles in real life.”
For more information, please visit ballet.ph
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Angela Nicole Regis Guiral is the assistant digital editor of Tatler Philippines. She studied journalism and has since written features that look closely at how culture, lifestyle and social impact converge, while occasionally wandering into the worlds of style and travel.
