Gabriel Barredo mangles mannequins, creates grotesque set for ballet show

Imagine a stage filled with broken mannequins, parts of their flesh hollowed out in different shapes. A cut from throat to pelvis revealing a ribcage, a mirror-surfaced orb nestling inside a split open womb, and springs hanging out from severed arms.

This army of bodies will be set on stage. Then, the dancers of Ballet Philippines will come in writhing and twisting their bodies to tell the story of twins whose lives are closely watched by death and whose close bond is threatened by temptations.

 

 

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This is the idea that the press got when we saw an excerpt of Ballet Philippines’ new show, Opera: A Rebirith in Arabaesque, as we were toured around the set that was then being developed by visual artist Gabriel Barredo. 

Conceived by French choreographer Redha Benteifour, Barredo’s art was the inspiration for the ballet.

Opera was the title of his wildly successful 2015 art show at Silverlens Galleries in Makati, which later toured to Singapore as the Lion City opened its multi-million dollar National Gallery.

 

 

There was an installation made of an operating table with a sculpture of woman that looks as though she’s leaving her body to become a soul, wing-like kinetic sculptures that flapped and eventually died into stillness, fetuses in transparent sacs, and more haunting images.

Though that first exhibit was already visually stunning, Barredo decided to create completely different pieces for the ballet version.

The highlight of the set are the 400 mannequins. They were already broken when Barredo bought them, but he further mangled them in his own artistic way.

The pieces will not appear on stage all at once as the set will evolve as the ballet progresses. Other artworks by Barredo that are related to the set will be exhibited at the second floor hallway and lobby of the CCP. 

Though BP had previously collaborated with visual artists like Agnes Arellano and National Artist Benedicto Cabrera, those were merely a few set pieces or as source inspiration, and nothing of the scale like their collaboration with Barredo, said BP artistic director Paul Alexander Morales.

 

 

As to why they chose Barredo, president of BP Margie Moran said that she’s a “fan” of his art and even has a few of his pieces.

Additionally, BP’s board members Kathleen Liechtenstein and Mercedes Zobel are “huge Gabby Barredo collectors,” said Moran. The former beauty queen also expressed her excitement about the developing show. “It’s really a mind-blowing ballet,” she said.

A graduate of University of Santo Tomas, Barredo earned a gold medal at the Art Association of the Philippines Annual Competition in 1981 and 1982, the gold medal at the Metrobank Foundation Annual Art Competition in 1985, the 1st Grand Prize at the Philippine Art Awards, and the Juror’s Choice at the ASEAN Art Awards held in Singapore in 1994.

He also made waves when his 30-foot installation entitled “Asphalt” was exhibited at the Art Fair Philippines in 2013.

Due to his involvement in the show, the ballet is attracting interest from the art world. In fact, some of Silverlens’ collectors from Asia are even flying in just to catch it. This is a good thing, said Moran, as BP always wants to attract different kinds of audiences to ballet.

The choreographer Redha was chosen by BP because he has worked with them in the past through pieces such as “Je, Tu, Elle” and  “Les Petits Mots D’Amour”.

“It was a turning point for Ballet Philippines when we met French choreographers,” said BP’s Morales, who explained that it was in the ’90s when these collaborations happened and they continued to this day as the French choreographers opened the company to new dance forms. 

Apart from working with BP, Redha has choreographed for several of the world’s leading dance companies such as the Bolshoi Ballet, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, The National Ballet of Cuba, Le Jeune Ballet de France, The Het Nationale Ballet, and the San Francisco Ballet.

He has had his own dance company since 1981 and he has worked in Africa, Europe, the Americas, and Asia. He has also created choreographies for feature films of Costa Gavras, Roman Polanski, Alain Delon, and Francis Ford Coppola.

When asked what it was like for him to see Barredo’s artworks, Redha said he was “shocked” and was filled with emotion. To capture this experience, Redha said he challenged the dancers to twist their bodies as though they are getting operated, all without the morbidity of actual blood of course.

“But they are bleeding a lot in rehearsal,” said Redha, and the press laughed.

 

 

The dancers who will experience Redha’s challenging choreography are Carissa Adea, who just came back from her six-month residency in New York (made possible by an Asian Cultural Council grant), Denise Parungao, Victor Maguad, Erl Sorilla, Jean Marc Cordero, and Earl John Arisola.

They will be doing a lot of “risky contact,” they’ll be throwing each other, some will come out from a giant rib cage and interact with the set, and they’ll do extensive floor work. “It’s not violent, but it’s very physical,” said Redha.

The twin’s mother in the ballet, played by Adea, is a significant character for Redha and Barredo as they already both lost their mothers. “I thought my mother was eternal,” said Redha. “I never thought she’d get old, and you just realize that life twists you, and plays you.”

“So this is an operation,” said Redha, of the dance. “(The dancers will learn) how to pull out love, hate, desire, how to break the body and make it into a different form that’s almost to the rupture. They’ll be using every muscle; they’ll be using their flexibility to the maximum.”

Co-presented by Silverlens Galleries, in cooperation with the French Embassy, the show has a libretto by Yvette Tan and Erwin Romulo, original music by Malek Lopez, videos by Pabrika. Aside from marking the end of Ballet Philippines’ 46th season, the production is also a special event in conjunction with Art Fair Philippines 2016. 

Young professionals aged 30 and below may avail of a 30% discount on the 6p.m. shows on Feb. 13 and 14. Tickets may be purchased with this discount at the CCP Open House, the Pasinaya Festival on Feb. 7 and the Ballet Philippines office or through BP at 551-1013.

Opera: A Rebirth in Arabesque runs on Feb 13, 14 & 16 at the Culltural Center of the Philippines. Tickets (PHP412-PHP1,545) via Ticketworld.  



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