BM dancers take group gold, scholar wins silver in Asian Grand Prix
Choreographer and coach Gerardo Francisco (front row, second from left) with the team that won the gold for AGP’s Senior contemporary choreography: (front row, from left) Alvin Dictado, Rosanne Melencio, Brian Sevilla; (standing, from left) Rodney Catubay, Raymond Salcedo, John Carl Concepcion, Sean Pelegrin, Jamil Montibon, Jefferson Balute, Jessa Balote and Marinette Franco. Photo by MarBi Photography
Following up on their victory at the Asian Grand Prix (AGP) Manila Regionals, eleven Ballet Manila junior company dancers and a teen scholar bagged medals in the international ballet event’s Finals held through a video competition.
Performing Gerardo Francisco’s Border, about the plight of illegal immigrants, the dancers who won the Group gold in the Senior Division for contemporary choreography are: Jessa Balote, Jefferson Balute, Rodney Catubay, John Carl Concepcion, Alvin Dictado, Marinette Franco, Rosanne Melencio, Jamil Montibon, Sean Pelegrin, Raymond Salcedo and Brian Sevilla.
Ballet Manila scholar Juan Angelo De Leon netted the silver in the Junior A Division, duplicating his win in the same competition’s Junior B Division last year. This time, he won dancing the Colas variation from La Fille Mal Gardee for his classical piece and Gerardo Francisco’s Strings for his contemporary solo.
Ballet Manila scholar Juan Angelo De Leon, silver medalist in the Junior A Division of the Asian Grand Prix, dances the Colas variation from La Fille Mal Gardee for his classical piece. Photo by MarBi Photography
As part of his prize, De Leon received two scholarships: one from the Australian Ballet School, the Intra/Interstate & International Programme (ITP) Scholarship 2022, which must be availed of on a personal visit; and one from the Dutch National Ballet Academy Summer School (50 percent tuition scholarship). AGP winners who are scholarship recipients were advised, however, that these can only be honored when and if borders reopen in 2022, because of the ongoing global pandemic situation.
Meanwhile, Shamira Drapete and Katrina Barnes were given a Merit Award in Duo/Trio of the Junior Division for their performance of Ballet Manila principal dancer Abigail Oliveiro’s choreography, Interstellar.
All the dancers represented The Lisa Macuja School of Ballet (LMSB), the educational arm of Ballet Manila.
Also making it to the Finals were LMSB students Loraine Gaile Jarlega in the Junior B Division and Noah Esplana in the Senior Division.
It is the second year that the Asian Grand Prix has held its video competition in lieu of its annual live competition in Hong Kong as a result of the pandemic.
A series of regional competitions was held throughout the Asia-Pacific Region, including in Manila, with participants sending in video entries of their competition pieces and class exercises.
The AGP Finals Jury was composed of: Anna CY Chan, dean of the School of Dance, The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts; Deborah Hess, senior faculty member, Canada's National Ballet School; Ernst Meisner, artistic director, Dutch National Ballet Academy; Arlene Minkhorst, director of Education, Tulsa Ballet Center for Dance; Lisa Pavane, director, The Australian Ballet School; Samira Saidi, head of Intensive Courses and International Relations, The Royal Ballet School; and Garry Trinder, director, MNZM New Zealand School of Dance.
Francisco, Ballet Manila’s resident choreographer and also a principal dancer, coached De Leon and the junior company members for their respective entries.
He described the AGP medals as welcome Christmas gifts particularly for the dancers who had been sidelined from the stage for nearly two years and were just hungry to perform.
“They were all excited noong nalaman nila na sasayaw sila ulit. Walang nag-dalawang isip; yes sila kaagad sa project,” Francisco shared in a previous interview. (They were all excited when they learned that they would be dancing again. No one had second thoughts, and they immediately said yes to the project.)
