This entry has been so late in coming since (1) I had the worst sleeping habits last week (asleep for two days straight, then awake for 24 hours straight), and (2) I had to prepare for my trip to Dumaguete. Anyway, I’m settled now and working, so I figured I should already finish my Sayaw, Sabel entry.
I watched the 2 p.m. show when Ms. Maribel Legarda, PETA’s artistic director, played the title role of Sabel. I would have wanted to see the second show and Melvin Lee’s performance, but I had prior plans. Anyway…
I’ve been saying that watching dancers is like watching art in motion. And watching Sayaw, Sabel is literally just that in more ways than one. The performance is choreographed by artistic director and chief choreographer of Ballet Philippines, Agnes Locsin. It is also based on the work of National Artist, Benedicto Cabrera, or more popularly known as BenCab, called Sabel, which is a series of paintings about a “taong grasa”.
The whole performance digs deep into different situations and emotions which are a little deep, a little funny, a little dark but a whole lot true. It showed how Filipinos go through the hardships and troubles of life.
There was a huge black cloth hanging from the beams above the stage where two figures were painted on, and paper and plastic trash littered the stage. The performance opened with a dance sequence involving all the performers, seven dance artists and the featured theater performer, in this case, Ms. Maribel, before the dance solos.
Judell de Guzman-Sicam performed a solo entitled “Kayod” where she danced with a swivel chair for a prop. I prefer not to look at the program before the performances so I’m free to give my own interpretations. So when this performance came on, my impression was of stress in the workplace. If you have ever been a call center agent, you have several companions: the phone, the headset, the computer and your swivel chair. I think the swivel chair gave away the performance away. The performer also started singing a lullaby to an imaginary baby which Sabel tries to take away near the end of the performance.
Dwight Rodrigazo dances in “Batak”. He used a long cloth, like a scarf, for a prop. I’m going to have to apologize because I didn’t really understand the performance until I read a surface explanation that it was about drugs. Then I understood Mr. Rodrigazo meant addiction when he threw the cloth away only to frantically look for it again. The performance ended with Sabel calling him “adik”.
“Abandonada” was performed by Christine Crame. She had a huge sheet of paper which was wrapped around herself, and she danced to a Visayan song. We laughed out loud when the second part came up, and Aegis’ “Halik” blasted from the speakers. Being the romance writer that I am, I decided that she had been jilted by a boyfriend or fiance, and the paper was her wedding gown. It is, by far, my favorite performance of the day.
Annette Cruz-Mariano used a fishing net to dance in “Sugat” which is a haunting piece as it portrays the fear and pain of abuse, especially with the sinister voice over. According to one write-up, it’s about being in Mindanao.
“Bagong Bayani” is Monique Uy’s performance with a balikbayan box, but it’s not a solo number. It’s a dance about OFWs, their jobs, their responsibilities, the hardships they have to face, the hard work and the loneliness. It also showed that our kababayans depend on each other for support.
Then came this heart-breaking performance by Perry Sevidal. She danced with a newspaper for a prop at first, then she danced while Sabel sang “Hindi Kita Malimot”. It shows the pain of mental illness, not just for the person who’s suffering it but also of the people who love that person. Pam, who was sitting beside me, and I were crying our eyes out before we broke into applause and laughter because Miss Maribel started to rap the song.
The last solo performance, “Ako Una” shows Camille Ordinario-Joson as an over-achiever who was bullied for being competitive and obsessive. This performance was actually funny if you watch it, but if you look beneath the surface, it’s very sad and disturbing. People who are different and who do not conform, whether by choice or by circumstance, are sometimes shunned.
Then, there’s Sabel’s performance. As far as I understood, her background is that she has a child who works as an OFW somewhere in the Middle East. At first I thought “Hindi Kita Malimot” was for her child. Partly, maybe it also is, as much as it’s for the person performing. Sabel holds the whole performance together with her performance and appearance. Miss Maribel gave an amazing performance as Sabel. I’m counting myself lucky for seeing her performance because I’ve been told that it had been a while she had last been on stage, so it was definitely a treat (and an honor) to be able to see her sing and dance.
And that concludes PETA’s very successful East West Danse month. And I’d like to thank PETA and Slenda for the priviledge of watching and blogging about the event. I enjoyed it immensely and I’m looking forward to watching other performances at the theater.
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Elise Estrella on 
jazzen mae dioneda on 
Thank you, Lord. 
