On December 2-11, 2011, Ballet Philippines will present the well-loved classical ballet, The Sleeping Beauty at the CCP Main Theater. The performances will kick off with a fundraiser Gala Night on December 2 featuring international guest artist Nobuo Fujino partnering our very own ballerina, USA International Ballet Competition silver medalist Candice Adea. The Manila Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Maestro Jeffrey Solares will perform the music of Tchaikovsky live.
Born in Japan, Mr. Fujino studied at the Egawa Ballet School in Kobe, Japan. He won a scholarship to the Australian Ballet School by winning the Idemitsu Scholarship Award at the 1995 Asian Pacific Ballet Competition. In 1997, he joined the Hong Kong Ballet and became principal dancer in 2002, and joined the Australian Ballet in 2005 before returning to Hong Kong in 2008.
As former principal dancer of the Hong Kong Ballet and senior artist of The Australian Ballet, Mr. Fujino has portrayed roles such as the Prince in Cinderella, The Sleeping Beauty and The Nutcracker, Albrecht in Giselle, Solor in La Bayadere, the title role in Spartacus and Basilio in Don Quixote. He has also performed principal roles in George Balanchine ballets such as Concerto Barocco, Rubies, and Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux, Frederick Ashton’s La Fille Mal Gardee, William Forsythe’s Step Text, and Jiri Kylian’s Forgotten Land, among others. He has received awards such as the Rising Artist Award by the Hong Kong Arts Development Council, Hong Kong Dance Award by Hong Kong Dance Alliance and was nominated for the Prix Benois de la Danse from the Bolshoi Theatre.
The role of the Prince from The Sleeping Beauty is one that is quite special to Mr. Fujino, as it was the role he was performing when he was announced to become principal dancer for Hong Kong Ballet. He has performed the role just once more after that.
He says, “This character, ‘the prince’ is well known as ‘prince charming,’ who was chosen to give a kiss to awake the sleeping princess. So the most difficult thing for me to interpret the character is a prince that has no background. He is a simple ‘prince charming’ and I always try to imagine what a ‘perfect man (prince)’ would be.”
Originally choreographed by Marius Petipa with music composed by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, the duo also known for Swan Lake and The Nutcracker, The Sleeping Beauty is based on Charles Perrault’s fairy tale “La belle au bois dormant” about a Princess who was cursed to die by a resentful dark fairy. However, good prevails over evil, and instead, the Princess falls into a long sleep, to be awakened only by the kiss of true love.
The Sleeping Beauty will have 17 performances from December 2-11, 2011. For more details visit www.balletphilippines.org. Buy tickets online and get exclusive promos and free tickets to BP’s next production, Wagas. For tickets call Ticketworld at 891-9999; Ballet Philippines at 551-1003, 624-5701; CCP Box Office at 8323704.
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