This partnership celebrating the future of Philippine performance arts kicks off with the unveiling of ‘Carlo Calma’s Diyosa’ on April 14, 2023.
In a press release, Ballet Philippines shares, “When the news that the Cultural Center of the Philippines was going to close for major renovations broke, many were concerned about where Ballet Philippines’ shows would be performed. The CCP was, after all, what the country’s premier dance company called home for the past 53 seasons.”
The Theatre at Solaire is a 1,740-seater grand auditorium that boasts state-the-art Constellation Acoustic System, designed to deliver only the finest audio experience one can get at a performance venue. With world-class facilities and a commitment to detail, performances, including those of Ballet Philippines, will bring immense joy to everyone who loves and enjoys the performing arts.
Ballet Philippines adds, “This first-time partnership was welcome news for audiences of Philippine performance arts. The Theatre at Solaire is a popular venue where concerts from both local and foreign acts have been mounted. This April, Carlo Calma’s Diyosa by Ballet Philippines will be one of the most awaited in The Theatre’s powercast line up in 2023.”
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In a recent press event, Ballet Philippines invited members of the media to an intimate luncheon right on the stage of The Theatre at Solaire. It was quite an experience to be seated on the stage itself while viewing an excerpt of Carlo Calma’s Diyosa.
In his speech, Calma shares, “Carlo Calma’s Diyosa is a contemporary adaptation of the Philippine mythology of Gods and Goddesses found in nature. The story is about fantasy and dreamy mythical world but rooted with strong Filipino culture, heritage and some Pinoy humor. To be really be part of the times and to empower the future generations (we are thinking 100 years from now). We will use the ethos of sustainability – with a clear message about climate change. It will be fun and entertaining with eclectic quirky god characters – fusing art, music, fashion, architecture and the power of dance.”
He adds, “In the process of making the full length Diyosa come into life we twisted it all and thinking of it like elements in architecture but in an abstract way. We created a catalogue of effects to transform and was a guiding matrix for all of the process and development and created parallelism in the gods and gods characters, avatar and sounds characterization, apparatuses, catastrophes, renewable energy, scalability and effects. We also thought of the libretto as a Stages of Dreams in 5 Acts and 12 Episodes – it starts with the apocalyptic scene which you are in a state of bangungot stage then in mid-sleep, subconscious state (deep sleep almost REM sleep), dreaming the reality through and everyday local Filipino culture within the dream but more fragmented and eclectic and multigenerational and age demographics in humans (jolting in sleep) then when you wake up and show the reality and the future and go to the present reality (half awaken to awaken completely). It is like a dream within a dream within a dream.”
Carlo Calma’s Diyosa debuts on April 14, Friday at 8 P.M. at The Theatre at Solaire with performances at 2 P.M. and 7 P.M. on April 15 and 16 respectively. Visit Ballet Philippines’ website for tickets.
Banner photo by the author.
