Alice Reyes’s ‘Carmina Burana’ returns in June alongside the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra and the Philippine Madrigal Singers

The whole performance is enhanced by the late National Artist for Theatre Design, Salvador Bernal’s sets and costumes. The stage features rock formations on both sides reminiscent of stained glass windows with a central cauldron that billows out smoke. The dancers’ costumes transform with the scene, donning dark tights, skull caps, and white capelets for a ritual scene and long, full-white capes as things get more ethereal.

Also see: Danny Castillon Doce’s ‘Colors of the South’ exhibition highlights Mindanaoan culture at its most natural

The first act of the programme also features Reyes’s Dugso. First performed in 1972 and restaged in 1990, the dance is inspired by rituals performed by the tribes of Bukidnon, Mindanao. Dugso was made in collaboration with the National Artist for Music Dr Ramon Santos, and is being brought back by ARDP for a new generation of audiences.

Norman Walker’s romantic pas de deux, Summer’s End, and Augustus “Bam” Damian III’s After Whom will also be performed to complete the repertoire in an enchanting evening. This will showcase the company’s ability to put on a show in neo-classical, modern, and contemporary ballet.

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