Arts&Culture (09/20/23)
Flamenco ballet performances in Cebu, Manila
STRAIGHT from the heart of Seville, Spain, the Granada Flamenco Ballet is set to perform its rendition of Báilame (Dance for Me) for the first time on the Philippine stage on Sept. 20 and 21 at the Casino Español de Cebu in Cebu City, and on Sept. 22 and 23 at the Tanghalang Ignacio B. Gimenez (CCP Blackbox Theater) inside the CCP Complex. This production is done in a collaboration between the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP), the Embassy of Spain in Manila, the Casino Español de Cebu, and the Flamenco Agency from Seville to commemorate the Philippines and Spain’s diplomatic relations for 75 years. Báilame is a ballet performance focusing on finding a greater balance between music and dance. The show has no plot, making everything focused on the dancers’ movements. Ticket prices for Cebu range from P800 to P1,000, while for Manila the tickets are P2,000. Discounts for students, PWDs, and senior citizens also apply. Granada Flamenco Ballet’s Báilame tickets are available at Ticketworld https://premier.ticketworld.com.ph. Visit https://culturalcenter.gov.ph/ for more information.
AFM holds exhibition showing women’s perspectives
FIVE Filipino women are showcasing their artworks in an exhibition entitled “Un monde éthéré vu par les femmes” (An Ethereal World From Women’s Eyes) at the Alliance Française de Manille (AFM) Gallery at 209 Nicanor Garcia St., Bel-Air II, Makati.
As rising contemporary Filipina artists gaining recognition in local and international circles, Jill Arteche, Anna Bautista, Kim Escalona, Tita Halaman, and Kara Pangilinan bring diverse styles and unheard voices to the forefront and weave together a tapestry of experiences, painting a vivid picture of the world through women’s eyes. The exhibit opened to the public on Sept. 14 and will run until Oct. 7. The artworks are available for purchase. The catalogue can be viewed online at https://drive.google.com/file/d/1OQZ8QzNmQntVER7SuVmnHteCrTDNqRdI/view.
NCCA, DTI launch first PHL Creative Industries Month
THE NATIONAL Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA), in partnership with the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), celebrates the first Philippine Creative Industries Month (PCIM) this year. The PCIM aims to recognize the talents of Filipinos by celebrating their achievements not only in the local scene but also highlighting their contributions in the international stage. Its official launch took place at the Rizal Park Open Air Auditorium in Manila on Sept. 17, where simultaneous creative workshops and the National Parks Development Committee’s Concert @ the Park were held. A PCIM Summit will be held on Sept. 29 and will serve as a space and platform for exchanging ideas between government officials, creative industry leaders, professionals, and students. The NCCA will be posting more information on their social media about this in the coming days.
CCP brings the best of British theater to the movies
NINE stage plays, filmed live at British stages, will make their Philippine premiere through the CCP National Theater Live, a new program of the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) which aims to bring the best of London National Theatre to local cinemas. First launched in June 2009, the National Theater Live (NTL) is a groundbreaking project to broadcast the best of British theater live from the London stage to cinemas across the United Kingdom, around the world, and now in the Philippines. The NTL plays will screen monthly starting Sept. 26 and ending on May 28, 2024, at Greenbelt cinemas in Makati. The first season’s lineup features Life of Pi, Frankenstein, The Seagull, Much Ado About Nothing, The Crucible, Fleabag, , King Lear, and Hamlet. The plays were digitally captured in high-definition quality care of NTL, which films their plays in front of live theater audiences but optimized for the big screen and made accessible to theater fans across the globe. In partnership with Ayala Malls Cinemas, CCP is launching the first season on Sept. 26 with the puppetry, magic, and storytelling of the Olivier Award-winning stage adaptation of Yann Martel’s best-selling novel Life of Pi. The regular ticket price is P250 while students pay P150. Tickets can be purchased at sureseats.com.
Big Bad Wolf goes to Cebu
Bringing over 2 million brand new books each year, Big Bad Wolf Book Sale is now in Cebu. The sale features new and exclusive releases only available in Cebu from Sept. 15 until Oct. 1, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., at SM Seaside City Cebu, Lower Ground level, Cube Wing. Entrance is free. Big Bad Wolf Books sources brand-new books from publishing houses in the United Kingdom and the United States. At the heart of the event is Big Bad Wolf’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiative, the Red Readerhood program which aims to empower underprivileged youth by donating books to deserving communities and schools. This time around, they chose Gawad Kalinga and The Sister School of Mary – Boystown in Minglanilla, Cebu as the beneficiaries of this CSR program. Big Bad Wolf Books pledges 1,000 books which will go towards the GK Traveling Maleta Library, a program by Gawad Kalinga that, similar to Big Bad Wolf Books’ mission, aims to provide literary works and promote reading to less fortunate communities by lending a suitcase full of books for one month before transferring it to another community who needs it. Guests can support the Red Readerhood program by purchasing books for donation at the Red Readerhood counter during the three-week long Big Bad Wolf Book Sale Cebu 2023. For more information regarding Big Bad Wolf Books’ return to Cebu, visit https://bigbadwolfbooks.com/, https://www.facebook.com/bbwbooksphilippines/ or https://www.instagram.com/bbwbooksph/.
