Young Pepe falls asleep at mass on the last day of the Misa de Gallo.

Abreeza Mall turned into a Christmas wonderland with its charming Yuletide offering—Pepe’s Secret Christmas, a new ballet that is educational, entertaining and deeply rooted in Filipino Yuletide traditions. It teaches children about respect for nature and animals, while giving them a peek into a world of traditional Filipino values, and our love for beauty and harmony.

He is transported to a place where animals of farm & forest can speak & dance.

It was a most warming scene—a roomful kids jittery with excitement, turning wide-eyed as the animated characters of an enchanted Christmas story appeared on stage. And, it wasn’t just the young that got fascinated.

The performance is an enchanting and magical ballet that speaks to children and all those who long for a time of innocence.

The Matsings.

Set in a Filipino Never-never Land where animals speak and dance, the story unfolded as soon as little Pepe fell asleep at mass on the last day of the Misa de Gallo. He was suddenly transported to an enchanted setting where the talking and dancing creatures of farm and forest came to pay homage to the Niño.

The talking & dancing animals paying homage to Nino.

At the two well-attended performances at the Acitvity Center of Abreeza, the enchanting and heart-warming magical ballet spoke to children and those who longed for a time of innocence, and the very familiar tunes like the Visayan song, Usahay, and the Kadayawan Festival music, the original choreography was set to, gave the show a more localized vibe and surely connected with the audience.

Pepe dances in his dream.

Seen during the presentations were Doña Beatriz M. Zobel, Cristina Zobel de Ayala, and Francisco R. Elizalde showing their support to Steps Dance Project Managing Director Sofia Zobel Elizalde...

Doña Beatriz M. Zobel, Cristina Zobel de Ayala, Sofia Zobel Elizalde and Francisco R. Elizalde

...award-winning Dabawenya choreographer Agnes Locsin…

Agnes Locsin, Sofia Zobel with Pepe, the Alitaptap & Kalabaw

...the members of the Down Syndrome Association of the Philippines…

The cast bringing joy to the children with Down Syndrome

…the children affected by Typhoon Yolanda, and the other ballet enthusiasts in Davao.

A surprise treat for the kids whose families were affected by Typhoon Yolanda

Produced by Steps Dance Project and the Ayala Malls, the ballet directed by James Laforteza, written by Floy Quinto and choreographed by Jun Saagundo, Jeffrey Epejo and James Laforteza, featured the talented dancers from the Steps Scholarship Foundation, a non-profit organization founded in 2007 that aims to give assistance to young and gifted Filipino dancers who want to pursue serious dance training in ballet, modern dance, or jazz dance in hopes of making dance a future profession.

Pepe's Secret Christmas cast & crew with Managing Director Sofia Zobel-Elizalde

Pepe’s Secret Christmas is a joint project of the Ayala Malls and Steps Dance Project, the dance management group of Steps Dance Studio (founded in 1994 by Sofia Zobel-Elizalde) that handles the dance-performance requirements of different premier events in the country.

The cast of the show with Doña Beatriz M. Zobel, Sofia Zobel Elizalde, Cristina Zobel de Ayala, and Beatriz Susana Zobel de Ayala

Pepe’s Secret Christmas is the third production staged by the Ayala Malls and Steps Dance Project in Abreeza. Expect more masterful and impassioned performances to come soon.

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Pepe's Secret Christmas wows Abreeza audience. Published in the Sun.Star Davao newspaper on December 16, 2013