Ballet Philippines returns to its classical roots with the staging of Alan Hineline’s Coppélia, a classical piece dubbed the last ballet of the Romantic era, largely considered the precursor of modern ballet.

“Ballet Philippines hasn’t done classical pieces for a while now.  We wanted to bring back fully classical ballet in the Philippines, and Coppélia is good as a start,” said BP chief operating officer Alan Hineline, who serves as artistic director with Max Luna III. “Filipinos love a story, and with Coppélia, this is what we intend to draw them in.”

BP last performed Coppélia full length in 1986, under former artistic director Alice Reyes.

This new adaptation of Coppélia, as choreographed by Hineline, consists of three acts: Act I takes place in a small village; Act II in the toy shop of Doctor Coppélius; and Act III in the village square for the Festival of the Bells, and Franz and Swanilda’s wedding.

“When I made this ballet in the United States, I intended to give an in-depth classical interpretation,” he said.  “The essence remains, so that Coppélia is a good way for classical ballet to be reintroduced to the country.”

Originally subtitled “The Girl with Enamelled Eyes,” Coppélia is based on Der Sandmann (The Sandman), E.T.A. Hoffman’s macabre story published in 1815 about a mysterious and somewhat diabolical inventor, Doctor Coppélius, who has a menagerie of sinister doll creations that he wants to bring to life.

In 1870, the story was turned into a sentimental comic ballet, premiering at the Théâtre Impérial de l´Opéra in Paris, France, originally choreographed by Arthur Saint-Léon, with a ballet libretto by Saint-Léon and Charles Nuitter, and music by Léo Delibes.

Since the success of Coppélia is linked to Delibes’ soaring melodic score, for the first time in 20 years, Ballet Philippines will perform live with the Manila Symphony Orchestra and conductor Jeffrey Solares. Manila Symphony Orchestra is one of Asia’s oldest, and this collaboration on Coppélia comes at the time when the group is refocusing on enriching the Pinoy’s cultural life through fine orchestral music.

“It has been a while for BP to make use of live music, so we’re very excited about this,” Hineline said.  “There are aspects that are there when performances are done live, when the music used is not taped.  There’s that interplay with the performers, and the audiences.  With the Manila Symphony Orchestra in Coppélia, we hope for the Pinoy audience to experience this interplay.”

In the ballet, Doctor Coppélius’ most prized possession is a life-size dancing doll, Coppélia, which, after he animates it, he puts out on his balcony.  The doll is so life-like that Franz, a handsome village swain quite slow in the head, falls in love with it, unaware it is just a doll.

Franz’s flirtation with Coppélia is witnessed by his real-life fiancée Swanilda, daughter of the burgomaster, the day before they are to wed.  With some luck, she finds Doctor Coppélius’ key, enabling her to break into his mysterious house, so she can meet with the strange woman on the balcony.  Upon entering the house, however, she does not only discover the spooky automatons the doctor created, but also finds out that Coppélia is just a mechanical doll.

Swanilda’s break-in is interrupted by the return of Doctor Coppélius.  And trapped in his alcove, she dresses up as Coppélia, pretending to come to life to subsequently teach Franz the follies of his ways, and Doctor Coppélius the errors of his.

Coppélia, the first ballet to introduce the czardas, a Hungarian dance, and the mazurka, a polish dance, was choreographed again by George Balanchine for his first wife, Alexandra Danilova.  Even then, Coppélia was noted for its light, comedic touch, so that if Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is said to represent the dark side of the theme of scientist as creator of life, then Coppélia is the opposite, the light side; similarly, if Adolphe Adam’s Giselle is a tragedy in a rural setting, then Coppélia is a comedy in the same backdrop.

Hineline believes it is part of their job as artistic directors to be educators.  “We want the audience to be entertained; but more than that, we also want to expand their vision, their experience, so we intend to expose them to the widest repertoire possible,” he said.

“Coppélia is a good start, as it is easy to understand.  You don’t have to only like classical ballet to understand and appreciate Coppélia.  It’s a family ballet as it is a comic ballet.  It is even a husband ballet– something wives can bring their husbands to watch.  This is a colorful ballet suitable for children and adults alike.”

For Hineline and Luna, however, the goal in planning the BP repertory was “not just to entertain the Filipino people, but also to educate the Ballet Philippines dancers.  And not having done classical (pieces) for a while, Coppélia is a good entry for the dancers, too.  It may be beautiful to do Swan Lake, et cetera, but that’s too big a jump, considering they haven’t done this for a while,” Hineline said, adding that “the Ballet Philipppines dancers rose up to the challenge presented them.”

This is important because Coppélia does not only demand from the dancers the full use of classical ballet techniques, but, as a comedy, also their comedic acting skills.  The leads are Carissa Adea, Candice Adea and Katherine Trofeo as Swanildas and Jayson Pescasio and JM Cordero as Franz.

The Coppélia set is designed by Mio Infante. Costumes are by Eric Pineda and lighting design is by Katsch Catoy.

“A lot of people want to see the resurgence of Ballet Philippines, and I think we are in a good place to respond to that.  I hope they embrace this piece,” Hineline said.

Alan Hineline’s Coppélia runs from December 11 to 14, 2008, at the Cultural Center of the Philippines’ Tanghalang Nicanor Abelardo.  For ticket information, contact Ticket World: (+632) 891 9999; CCP Box Office: (+632) 832 3704; or Ballet Philippines: (+632) 551 0221/551 1003/832 6011.  Full details can be found at www.balletphilippines.org.