Dana and I were very lucky to be able to attend "Rama Hari" a Ballet Philippines presentation at the Cultural Center of the Philippines. Rama Hari is based on the Indian epic, the Ramayana. Alice Reyes choreographs, Ryan Cayabyab sets the music, Bienvenido LUmbrera sets the libretto. There are two sets of major characters - those that will narrate through music and those that will interpret through dance. Our close friend, Kalila Aguilos will be playing the musical voice of Sita, Rama's love interest in the play.
You can see from Dana's face prior to the start of the show how excited she is :)
We really had no idea what to expect when we first arrived. Having no prior knowledge of the previous stagings of the musical, we were innocents and were just anxious to watch and enjoy the program. We weren't disappointed. The music was engaging and evocative. It's a plus for us that the actors we saw that night weren't celebrities like Karylle and Christian Bautista (who were also playing on alternate dates). We weren't star struck and so we were able to totally get into it with the music, with the dance and the whole atmosphere of the show. Kalila, of course, goes without saying is a pro and is a joy to watch on stage and I'm not saying that because she's a friend but because it's the Plain and Stark Truth :) Her partner, OJ Mariano had a commanding presence on stage and you can't help but focus on him when it's his turn.
The dancers we saw for that night's show were Richardson Yadao (Rama) and Katherine Trofeo (Sita). They were both brilliant on stage and we were just mesmerized by their performance.
After the show, we were able to have a chance at autograph signing and picture taking with the lead cast. Forgive the blurry pictures, taken only with a camera phone hehe
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| Kalila Aguilos, Sita (Music) |
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| OJ Mariano, Rama (Music) |
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| Katherine Trofeo, Sita (Dance) |
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| Robert Sena, as Ravana |
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| Richardson Yadao, as Rama (Dance) |
