Ever since I became a trustee of Ballet Philippines in 2009, I have been immersed in the world of dance, and my admiration for dancers has since turned into respect and awe. Now, able to see the behind-the-scenes preparations, I bow to the stamina of dancers and scholars of Ballet Philippines.
They dance 10 hours a day, a grueling daily routine that starts at 2pm and ends late in the night. Lesser men and women would buckle at the knees, yet these dancers and scholars nurse their aches and pains, then come back for more. This testifies to their passion, their dedication to perfect a craft and to dance.
And so when we found out that some scholars were struggling to make ends meet and that there were others who deserved to be awarded scholarships, the board was unanimous in mounting a project whose sole beneficiary would be the Ballet Philippines scholars.
Richwell’s Myrna Yao was graciously donating 200 Barbie dolls to us, and we thought, why not have the dolls glamorised and stylised by the country’s top designers and auction them for our cause?
Ballet Barbie was born—a collaboration between two disparate but very connected worlds.
Ballet has long epitomised the world of riveting grace and unparalleled poise. Somehow, everything is lovely and dreamlike in the ballet. As for Barbie, of the royal lifestyle and peaches-and-cream beauty—who among us did not once cradle her in our arms with secret dreams of a handsome Ken and a gilded tiara?
Ballet and Barbie share one ideal of beauty, harmony and grace, but how to clothe the famous doll in the vivid washes of colour so vibrantly and richly portrayed in the ballet?
Too delicious to resist
Last December, invitations to the country’s top designers were sent out. The invitation read: “Ballet. Barbie. El Bulli.” Legendary host and co-trustee Maymay Leichtenstein opened up her home and laboured prodigiously in the kitchen to create a dinner reminiscent of leading global restaurant, El Bulli, to whet the appetites of our designer friends as we petitioned them to join our Ballet Barbie venture.
Maymay’s sea bass had real fish swimming under a glass bin and the appetizers were served literally in a garden plate of blooming flowers. And her dessert consisted of a chocolate face against variegated stained-glass sugar crystal. They played a big role in convincing our generous friends to collaborate with us.
As Rajo Laurel said when Ballet Philippines’ president Margie Moran Floirendo asked the designers to join: “Yes. Yes. Of course, yes!”
And before the year was out, these 40 wonderful designers with big talent and even bigger hearts had joined us: Pepito Albert, Aureo Alonzo, Jerome Ang, Ivarluski Aseron, Avel Bacudio, Vittorio Barba, Alex Bitong, JC Buendia, Mitzi Quilendrino Bustos, Louis Claparols, Auggie Cordero, Dong Omaga Diaz, Patrice Ramos Diaz, Mike de la Rosa, Eric de los Santos, Rhett Eala, Joel Escober, Ramon Esteban, Veejay Floresca, Lulu Tan Gan, Cesar Gaupo, Katrina Goulbourn, Len Nepomuceno-Guiao, Sassa Jimenez, Gerry Katigbak, Rajo Laurel, Brian Leyva, Tina Lirag, Jojie Lloren, Jerome Lorico, Dennis Lustico, Pitoy Moreno, Tippi Ocampo, Randy Ortiz, Frederick Peralta, Eric Pineda, Puey Quinones, Barge Ramos, James Reyes, Joey Samson and Cary Santiago.
And so it began. The country’s premier designers have been labouring over dressing and dolling up their Barbies. They have been meticulous to a fault, so that many of the clothes were hand-stitched and hand-embroidered. The skirt of one doll used up seven yards of fabric as layers upon layers of cascading drapes were created.
Our talented designers had different inspirations: the dance, the elements, the grace of bygone eras, folklore and fairy tales, the runways of the world.
The creativity is limitless and joyously unfettered, with some dolls even raised on stilts and others using multimedia to simulate actual sculptures! These dolls were not just dressed up, they were sent to hairdressers, too, with their hair being bobbed, curled, streaked, shagged, teased, turbaned.
There is jewellery as well, with no less than Hans Brumann designing precious baubles for Ballet Barbie.
I cradle these Barbies and think of how much joy these dolls can bring to so many people—to Ballet Philippines scholars who deserve a chance to be the best they can become; to the designers who generously gave their time and talent; to the women who will own them and remember their childhood dreams and be happy in their realisation that reality, in whatever form, is showered with blessings; and to Philippine art, which should take pride in this selfless collaboration of art in support of art.
It all culminates on March 17 at an auction and exhibit at the Peninsula’s Rigodon Ballroom.
Ballet Barbie is the dream of ballet’s grace, of Barbie and of our country’s top designers.
