So as promised, here are my two cents about Metamorphosis. Once again, these are all just my opinion. So for anyone involved in the show who manages to stumble into my blog, please take note of that. I don't want to find angry messages in my phone anymore just because of what I wrote.

First off, Ritwal. Listening to the water sounds in the music eased my mind, hahaha. Next to me, Mish had said that the dancers were pretty tired that day because they were dancing their bums off for some video for the show. No wonder Mylez stuck out. It showed in her body that she was pretty tired. Ahehehe, part of the dance reminded me of Stomp, because the guys came in with these bamboo poles. Gak, somewhere in the middle of the dance, the pair in the center dropped their pole by accident. Well, at least it didn't break the symmetry, hehe. Consider it part of the show. It could go with the whole "unity in diversity" theme, teehee. The lights sort of bothered me, though, because the blue and the other colors didn't seem to merge well.

Descent 1: fall of the angels. I've seen this number before, last year in Megamall during the Arts and Music Festival at one of the Megatrade halls. Men are angels that have fallen from heaven. The struggle to do good and go against evil... about the choreo, I don't want to say that it's not original, it's just that it seems that I've seen it before. Or maybe it's just because I had already seen that entire thing already. The lighting was too familiar too, with all that amber, ahehehe.

Descent 2: deliberation of man. God poses as man and decides the fate of the people. Hahaha, so this was where the red Monobloc chairs that Mish and Dang were repainting come in.

Descent 3: angst of a woman. Women break conformity and tradition. Pretty, hehehe. The girls in filmy flowing red dresses in the beginning, as conservative and graceful movements, then halfway through, they suddenly tear off their skirts as move as free as they can. Man, the way they moved, I envy them, right from the beginning until the end of the number.

Le Fantasie. This was funny. Jerald, the principal in the number, is a guy who's as feminine as can be. While staring at his reflection in the mirror, he puts on a white tutu and gets lost in the fantasy with the other guys dressed in black tutus. My golly, as they danced, they reminded me of those eternally smiling dolls that scare me. And the punchline, Jerald has Jerohme for his prince, wahahahaha.

Fields of Gold. Aw, I love this one. I love the song. I love the concept of the girl pining for the love of a painter. As the girl danced, this guy on stage left sits and paints a picture of her, at the same time being shown on a projector screen so everyone can see him paint. Lovely.

After the 10-minute intermission...

Cockfight. Normally when you think "cockfight," it would automatically be between 2 males, right? For this one, it's two females. Great costumes, but the two girls who were doing this number didn't seem to have that much energy for the number. Well, I understand they're uber tired, but hey, if it shows, the whole number would look like a downer.

Metamorphosis. This is one of my favorites. The first part, when the dancers were all in these white cocoon-like sheets with their restricted movement, reminded me of Martha Graham's "Lamentation" (wheee, research in Danform class paid off! Hahaha...). Anyway, throughout the number, they broke out of their cocoons, and out they came as these luminous green creatures. Nice lighting, hehe. Black light worked wonders for the costumes.

Pinoy Medley: P.S. I Love You. The most entertaining number in the show, hahaha. Pinoy retro themed, Mylez was meant to stand out like a sore thumb in this one. She was amusing. Considering how tired she looked in the first number, this one made up for it, complete with a crazy smile, ahehehe.

Immobile. A dancer tries dancing with a cast and a lone crutch. Goes to show how you can also make a dance number even with a temporary disability. Phillip's choreography reminded me of the Nutcracker, though, ehehehe. Try dressing him up in that costume and you'll notice the similarity.

Death of the Dancer. I think this is the longest number in the show... and the most interesting. It's concept was simple: Smoking. To quote the playbill, " Smoking is part of the Filipino lifestyle - to release stress, and for some, to help think and to calm themselves. Dancers, in the same way, smoke to release tension and pre-performance pressure, without realizing that smoking reduces fitness. Can they dance while smoking?" Well, I guess they can. My golly, I can't believe they can actually manage to do that, hahaha.

Now my mind's a blank. Thank goodness that was the last dance number, hahaha.

Oh yeah, let me plug...

Please watch
KOPIHAUS # 8
Agusto-Rosario Gonzales Theater, DLS-College of Saint Benilde
March 20 & 22 at 1pm, 3pm, 5pm, and 7pm
March 21 & 23 at 12nn, 2pm, 4pm, and 7pm
Tickets at P80 each.

Oh yeah, for those who already watched the Greenbelt screening, check this out as well, because it's been re-edited, hehehe.