Tanghalang Ateneo Presents 37th Season Line-Up Of Productions

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Tanghalang Ateneo, the longest-running theater company of the Loyola Schools of the Ateneo de Manila University, is celebrating its 37th season with the theme "Staging Revolution/s".

Growing from a fledgling band of student players to one of the country’s leading school-based theater companies, Tanghalang Ateneo will stage this season three works that have been deemed revolutionary when they were first unleashed to the world.

These productions are:

R.U.R. (Robot Unibersal ni Rossum)

written by Karel Čapek

translation by Guelan Varela-Luarca

direction by JK Anicoche

September 30, October 1-3, 6-10, and 13-17

Venue: Ateneo's Fine Arts Black Box Theater

"R.U.R. (ROSSUM’S UNIVERSAL ROBOTS/ROBOT UNIBERSAL NI ROSSUM)" is a science fiction classic by Czech writer Karel Capek. Originally written in Czech, this Tanghalang Ateneo production will use a new Filipino translation by Palanca winner Guelan Varela-Luarca. The play is about the rebellion of human-like creatures called robots that leads to the extinction of the human race. The danger of man’s desires of a utopian and totalitarian world is one of the play's central themes.

Swans, Queers, And The Rise Of AIDS Take The Spotlight In Body Positive + From September 12 To 19

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Ballet Philippines opens its season with Body Positive +, A Dance Gala for HIV Awareness. Featuring excerpts from Swan Lake, Mark Bogaerts’ Bolero, Enrico Labayen’s Cloth, and other landmark pieces, the show celebrates the dancers’ innate athleticism in the context of the alarming rise of HIV in the Philippines.

The prevalence of HIV in the country has risen by over 50% in the last 3 years, yet the general public remains largely unaware. Males having sex with other males (MSM) remains the predominant mode of transmission among males and comprised 84% of infections through sexual contact from the study period of January 2010 to April 2015. With around 20 newly reported cases of HIV per day in 2015, Ballet Philippines was compelled to raise its voice about the matter.

On why BP decided to adopt this particular advocacy in its season opener, Ballet Philippines Artistic Director Paul Alexander Morales says, “When the HIV/AIDS epidemic struck many countries in the 80s, the Philippines was mostly unaffected. Now it’s here, and it’s spreading at three times the rate that it was in 2012, but it’s hardly being talked about. Body Positive + is our small contribution towards changing that.”

Ballet Philippines’ Dance Spring Begins With Body Positive + & Hugot Sa Rosas This September 12 - 20

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Two fresh productions are set to bring Ballet Philippines (BP)’s 46th Season off to a good start. On September 12, 13, and 19, the company will perform Body Positive +, A Dance Gala for HIV Awareness. September 20 brings the comeback of Hugot Sa Rosas, featuring Ballet Philippines 2, BP’s junior performing arm. The performances will be held at the Tanghalang Aurelio Tolentino (CCP Little Theater).

Swans, Queers, and the rise of AIDS take the spotlight in Body Positive +. Featuring excerpts from Swan Lake, Mark Bogaerts’ Bolero, Enrico Labayen’s Cloth, and other landmark pieces, the show celebrates the dancers’ innate athleticism in the context of the alarming rise of HIV in the Philippines.

Enrico Labayen’s works add a deeper dimension into the show’s HIV awareness advocacy. A Ballet Philippines alumnus and staunch AIDS activist, Labayen lends his voice to raise up the advocacy in the Be Positive forums at the start of the Body Positive + shows.

For one night only, Ballet Philippines 2’s acclaimed concert, Hugot Sa Rosas, returns for a performance at the CCP Little Theater. Set to music from Vincent de Jesus’ Songs to Slash Your Wrist By, the show highlights the talents of BP’s junior company and its new breed of dancers and choreographers. The show premiered at Ballet Philippines Studio One in February 2015, as part of Fringe MNL.