Cover The lead the cast of ‘Rama Hari’: Shiela Valderrama-Martinez, Gian Magdangal, Karylle Tatlonghari-Yuzon and Arman Ferrer
The lead the cast of ‘Rama Hari’: Shiela Valderrama-Martinez, Gian Magdangal, Karylle Tatlonghari-Yuzon and Arman Ferrer
1 / 1
Three years in the making, the much-anticipated ballet performance is finally taking centre stage
In the months leading up to March 2020, Ballet Philippines’ founder and National Artist for Dance Alice Reyes, along with the company of dancers, were well into rehearsals for the culminating performance of the season marking the Golden Anniversary of Ballet Philippines. Two years prior, the company’s President of the Board of Trustees, Margarita Moran-Floirendo, had cajoled Reyes out of retirement in New York City, where she was enjoying the life of a satisfied chilled-out grandma, to lead the company through a two-year retrospective of the company’s original works. Together with Ryan Cayabyab, National Artist for Music, composer of the score for Rama Hari, Reyes had auditioned current musical theatre stars and pop singers to fill in the singing roles originated by OPM singing legends led by Basil Valdez and Kuh Ledesma. After April’s end that year, Cayabyab and Reyes were already in orchestra rehearsals with Cayabyab’s son, Toma, taking up his father’s baton.
Read also: Dancing Again: National Artist Alice Reyes talks about her new company
Above A scene in the 2012 production of ‘Rama Hari’ (Photo: CCP Encyclopaedia of Philippine Art)
A scene in the 2012 production of ‘Rama Hari’ (Photo: CCP Encyclopaedia of Philippine Art)
1 / 1
In one of the studios at ABS-CBN, the network’s orchestra and the new cast, this time led by award-winning theatre actor-singer Gian Magdangal and Sheila Valderrama Martinez, with their alternates David Ezra and Aicelle Santos, drew a palpable vibe and energy driven by the alternately heart-wrenching and exciting score, with Cayabyab coaching the rhythms and Reyes huddled in a corner with visiting Star Magic head Johnny Manahan. Reyes and Manahan’s friendship goes a long way back from the early days of the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP), with Reyes just jump-starting the new dance company, and Manahan frequenting the museum gallery as one of CCP’s early Thirteen Artists. Had it been in those early days, present too at rehearsals would have been Rolando Tinio, who wrote the lyrics, Bienvenido Lumbera for the libretto, and Salvador Bernal, who designed the sets and costumes. Little did Cayabyab, Reyes, and these three gentlemen know that approximately 40 years later, all five of them would have been honoured as National Artists in their respective artistic turfs.
As expectations for opening night rose, so did the dark shadow of the Covid-19 virus loom ominously, and by mid-March 2020, excitement would morph into anxiety that would last for the next two and a half years. Adding to the gloom was the scheduled shutdown of the CCP for significant renovations.
Read also: Margie Moran-Floirendo looks forward to a future-ready Cultural Center of the Philippines
Above Arman Ferrer sings a song excerpt from ‘Rama Hari’ for an international event held in 2017
Arman Ferrer sings a song excerpt from ‘Rama Hari’ for an international event held in 2017
1 / 1
Undeterred by the shadow of desolation, Reyes sought to continue the dancers’ training, “adopting” them for a time at the CCP, inviting other dancers who also had been displaced by theatres and dance companies that had closed down, to attend classes at a space provided by the cultural centre and creating online performances that provided occasional remuneration from generous supporters of the arts. In the meantime, Cayabyab spearheaded a nightly online concert titled Bayanihan Musikahan. Originally planned to run for just two weeks, the list of artists willing to perform to raise funds for those seriously hit by the virus expanded through all three major islands of the country, each artist performing online from their respective homes.
By late 2022, as the virus sullenly but indeed retreated, the chase to stage Rama Hari was more than ever on. From the cremated virus ashes rose a new dance company peopled by the once displaced dancers, now even physically and artistically astute, driven by the desire for perfection in their art. Carrying their mentor’s name, Alice Reyes Dance Philippines opened their first season with Alay Nina Alice at Agnes, featuring the iconic works of Reyes and the newly proclaimed National Artist for Dance, Agnes Locsin, honoured in June 2022. The season’s ending performance, Puso ng Pasko, featuring music arranged by Cayabyab, is a refreshing dance narrative motivated by the template of the popular Christmas dance staple, The Nutcracker, capped in 2022. The ballet was brilliantly created by seven young up-and-coming choreographers under the mentorship of Reyes: Ronelson Yadao (artistic director), Erl Sorilla, Lester Reguindin, John Ababon, Al Abraham, Dan Dayo and Bonnie Guerrero.
Read also: National Artist Agnes Locsin: “You have to know your culture”
Above Karylle Tatlonghari as Sita
Above Shiela Valderrama-Martinez as Sita
Karylle Tatlonghari as Sita
1 / 2
Season 2023 opened in April with Agnes Locsin’s riveting Encantada, which had the audience dancing in the theatre aisles at the show’s end. Earlier, the audience waited in line to enter, starting from the Art Deco gates of the newly restored Metropolitan Theater, winding to Arroceros Park.
As the virus slowly makes its presence less felt, the chase for Rama Hari commences, with Reyes, Cayabyab, the dancers and the singers revved up for rehearsals for the anticipated curtain to rise on September 15, 16, 22 and 23, 2023.
Looking back on the days that his creative process churned, Cayabyab recalls that despite the Indian origins of the myth and legend of Rama Hari, an adaptation of the Indian classic The Ramayana, he did not rely on any Indian influences where the music was concerned, instead, interpreting the score with a more South East Asian flavour, leaning more on the power of wayang kulit, the traditional form of puppet shadow play, using a kulintang ensemble.
Read also: National Artist Ryan Cayabyab shares his thoughts on the current state of OPM
Above Ronelson Yadao as Rama
Ronelson Yadao as Rama
1 / 1
Above Ejay Arisola as Rama
Above Monica Gana as Sita
Ejay Arisola as Rama
1 / 2
As 1980 was the dawning of Original Pilipino Music (OPM, of which Cayabyab was an early member and influencer), he “focused on turning out an OPM–inspired work which is not rock, but pop”. This being his first significant work, the then 24-year-old composer, by his admittance, tried “to put everything that I knew and what I newly learnt into a single piece of work”.
His score, nonetheless, was, according to Reyes, “brilliant”, complimenting her choreography that utilised a medley of Asian theatre “ Thus, the singers as narrators [were] weaving in and out of centre stage [with] the extensive use of hand props, the shadow play...” interpreted in modern choreography.
Above National Artist for Dance Alice Reyes rehearsing the company for ‘Rama Hari’
Above National Artist for Dance Alice Reyes as Sita
National Artist for Dance Alice Reyes rehearsing the company for ‘Rama Hari’
1 / 2
Where the libretto is concerned, Bien Lumbera authored the script with “varying levels of usage: an elevated diction for the protagonist and Filipino slang for the demons Ravana and Soorpanakha”. Rationalising this angle, he explains that “the intrusion of a very contemporary diction could jar the audience into perceiving that the ancient epic of India is also “now” and “Filipino”.
To say that Rama Hari is timeless is perhaps underscoring the age-old discourse on “what is Filipino”. In the historical context, the various influences that have marinated our culture throughout the centuries have contributed to the hybridity of the Filipino race, sensibility and personality that could very well be embraced in totality, perhaps defining in part or in whole the uniqueness of our heritage, as displayed in this collaborative masterwork of five National Artists, interpreted by a younger generation of artists through the lively art of song and dance.
The 2023 cast of Rama Hari includes multi-awarded musical theatre actors, which veers from the previous productions that featured pop singers. Gian Magdangal, Arman Ferrer, and Vien King are alternating for the titular role of Rama. Karylle Tatlonghari, Shiela Valderrama-Martinez, and Nica Tupas are alternating for the role of Sita. Poppert Bernadas, Matthew San Jose, and Jonel Mojico are alternating the role of demon king Ravana. Meanwhile, Philippine theatre icon Audie Gemora will play King Dasaratha in all shows.
Up-and-coming theatre artists, Miah Canton, and Raflesia Bravo tackle the dual roles of Soorpanakha and Kooni, while Katrine Sunga and Maron Rozelle Mabana do double duty as Kaikeyi and Gintong Usa. Paw Castillo and Jon Abella take on the roles of Rama’s Younger Brother, Lakshmana, and the monkey general Hanuman.
Rama Hari is presented by the Cultural Center of the Philippines and features the artists of the Alice Reyes Dance Philippines (ARDP) and the CCP’s Professional Artist Support Program (PASP), with guests from Guang Ming College, and other regional schools who actively participated in previous ARDP and PASP Productions.
Rama Hari opens at the Metropolitan Theater in Manila on September 15 and 16 and at the Samsung Performing Arts Theater on September 22 and 23. Tickets are available at Ticketworld.
NOW READ
National Artist for Dance Agnes Locsin’s ‘Encantada’ makes a triumphant revival
‘Ang Larawan’: This Nick Joaquin classic continues to captivate audiences nationwide
Credits
Words: (ADDITIONAL) FRANZ SORILLA IV
