On the 30th anniversary of the EDSA Revolution, Ballet Manila celebrates the spirit of People Power with the world premiere of Rebel – a full-length ballet by British choreographer Martin Lawrance. Although based on Spartacus, Rebel derives characters and situations from the historic Philippine event. In this series, the dancers taking on the lead roles share their thoughts on the characters they are playing, what they have learned about the People Power Revolution and what they hope to convey to the audience in Rebel.
Where were you in February 1986 when the EDSA Revolution unfolded?
Gerardo Francisco (GF): I was only six years old. I wasn’t aware of what was going on.
Brian Williamson (BW): I was in elementary school. I don’t remember anything. I was six or seven years old.
What did you know of the revolution and of Ferdinand Marcos when you were growing up?
GF: I can’t remember if it was taught in school. What I remember are stories I saw in the news and from my elders. They said that Marcos was a bad person. He had this power and he was hungry for more.
BW: I’ve been coming here since 2000 so I’ve known of the EDSA Revolution – not necessarily in detail but what you see in museums.
What did you discover about Ferdinand Marcos through your research?
GF: Not all news is true. Before when you mention Ferdinand Marcos, the first impression is that he is an evil man. But I wasn’t there. None of us were there. We don’t know what really happened. All we know are the stories that we heard from other people. In my opinion, he’s not all as bad as we are made to believe. He also did a lot of good for the country – projects especially for the arts. He may have been an evil man but he also did something right. I remember back then that we had very high standards for the arts, and artists were held in high regard. That was what I liked about his time. There was the Philippine High School for the Arts (PHSA) in Makiling, the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP), and the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC). As an artist, there was dignity.
What portrayal can we expect from you?
GF: For me, it will be based on the character of Ferdinand. But because this is a dance performance, I will also be basing it on the vision of the choreographer. So if he wants me to play him as an evil person in some parts, I’ll have to respect that. He is powerful but at the same time, he has weaknesses. He is being overpowered by Imelda (Marcos). Imelda became his voice.
BW: I don’t think I will necessarily be attacking it as portraying a specific person. Martin (Lawrance) has given us different adjectives to describe the person that you’re doing but he’s leaving the interpretation to us as we research. There are particular parts in the ballet where Marcos is getting older and sicker and the cronies are starting to close in and Imelda rises to power. I don’t know what it means to the Filipino people or individually because, of course, I wasn’t here.
The way I’m going to do it is going to be completely different from the way Geri is going to do it not only because of the height difference. Geri can portray him as someone sinister but for me to do that would look kind of awkward so I’ll have to take a different route.
What do you want the audience to take home with them after watching your performance?
GF: After watching Rebel, there will be a flashback or recalling of history of EDSA. What I want is for the history of EDSA to live on.
Photo credit: Ferdinand Marcos photograph sourced from The Official Gazette of the Presidential Communications Group