‘Rama Hari’ staged anew to honor Reyes, Lumbera, Bernal

The Ballet Philippines (BP) is re-staging the original version of the iconic 1980 pop ballet musicale “Rama Hari” from November 30 to December 9. In a performance where dancers and singers share the stage without upstaging each other, this re-telling of the Indian epic “Ramayana”, turned out to be a critically-acclaimed and commercially-successful way to introduce modern ballet to a young audience back in the 1980s. “Rama Hari” first made its world premiere on Feb. 8, 1980 at the Main Theater of the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP). Notably, the role of Sita launched the career of a then-relatively unknown singer named Kuh Ledesma, through the song “Magbalik Ka Na, Mahal.” More successful and memorable performance dates marked the years that followed, including those with BP dancers Nonoy Froilan, and Gener Caringal, and popular thespians like Isay Alvarez and Robert Seña.

While the roster of dancers and singers associated with “Rama Hari,” arguably one of the best choreography works of the cutting-edge Alice Reyes, founder of Ballet Philippines, may not be familiar with the digital natives, they are listed in the pantheon of Philippine ballet and modern dance and music. Reyes is now a resident of San Francisco but is on an “extended stay” in the Philippines. She has assembled several of the best and the most creative minds for her “Rama Hari.” Bienvenido Lumbera, National Artist for Literature and a Ramon Magsaysay Awardee, wrote the libretto, Maestro Ryan Cayabyab wrote the music while Salvador Bernal, also a National Artist, did the set and costume design. In 1979, when Reyes approached the theater and literary giant and later National Artist, Rolando Tinio, to draft the libretto, Tinio declined but offered to introduce her to his “young friend, Bien. Who is a fine poet and writer.” This year Lumbera just turned 80, while Reyes, also recently turned 70. The two occasions prompted the current BP management under its President Margie Moran-Floirendo, to think of a grand manner to honor the two luminaries and the late Bernal, who died in Oct. 26, 2011. Tinio is also included in the 2012 Rama Hari, with his English translation of the libretto being used as “sub-titles” to be projected for the non-Filipino speakers. Tinio was born March 5, 1937 and died July 7, 1997. In an interview during a break in the Rama Hari rehearsals, Moran-Floirendo said the BP is re-staging “the landmark choreography” as a way of paying tribute to the people behind the 1980 production. “Rama Hari is a pop-rock ballet musicale and we have not seen a musical done this way before,” said Moran-Floirendo. “Alice Reyes wanted to bring together dancers and singers on equal footing on stage. The 2012 staging is bringing back all these geniuses who made Rama Hari possible.” She added, “We offer this effort also to National Artist Badong Bernal, who collaborated with Ballet Philippines on numerous productions for set and costume designs, mainly the basis for his selection as National Artist for theater design. The 2012 Rama Hari production is a great way to pay tribute to all the national artists who helped to put this work together.” Meanwhile Cayabyab, 58, said he was 26 years old when he wrote the music for “Rama Hari.” “The Rama Hari music piece is now 32 years old,” Cayabyab said in a separate interview. “I felt like crying when I heard the emotional part of the piece but cringed when it came to the commercial-pop parts of it. I just have to accept the fact that I had written those parts of the score. I must accept that I went through that phase.” For her part, Reyes said, “It is exhilarating to be mounting 'Rama Hari' again. You don’t feel that 32 years had passed after the 1980 staging, until you stand for so long and then your knees remind you.” “Rama Hari is still relevant 32 years later, especially these days that we need family connection, honor, and integrity, love. These are still universal truths. Respect for and honoring one’s word. Because you have given your word, you will have to honor it, live through it, and take the consequences,” Reyes said in a separate interview.   She said she hopes the young generation now will enjoy the Rama Hari. “It is a fun production. There are battle love songs, there are monkeys. There are so many things thrown in it because Ramayana is so rich and varied. Bien wrote this wonderful libretto. Ryan went all out for the musical score, part of it dramatic, part of it musical score. It is part comic and fun.”   Paul Alexander Morales, BP artistic director, said he had always to remount a work by Reyes, adding that one “big factor” that pushed the Rama Hari staging was Cayabyab’s persistence.   “Every time, I see Ryan he always asked me, aren’t you doing `RH’ again? Ryan wanted to do it for the ballet’s 30^th anniversary, which was two years ago. We were not able to do it due to a lot of things.”   “It is a big risk for BP to do this, especially, that we are doing 10 shows, all with live music, with the Manila Symphony Orchestra and the UP Concert Chorus. We want to check whether the audience would find good value for their money when they hear live music and live chorus accompanying the dancers,” Morales said.   Nonoy Froilan, who was in the 1980 production, said one good thing with the 2012 re-mounting is that “this is being done as closest as possible to the original material, including the color of the costumes and all the details.”   Re-stager Victoria said, “We have to be meticulous to be true to the original production in this re-staging. We have to be faithful. We have to respect Alice Reyes and Badong Bernal. I have a copy of the video of the 1980 staging, but it was poor video. It is like putting together a jigsaw puzzle. We kept mining what we can for original photos.” —KDM, GMA News "Rama Hari" has performances from November 30 to December 9, 2012 at the CCP Main Theater. For inquiries, call Ballet Philippines at (02) 551-1003. Photos by Jerome Bonto for Ballet Philippines