Ballet Manila scholars win group gold in Asian Grand Prix Video Competition
Ballet Manila co-artistic director Osias Barroso (seated) with (from left) Ballet Manila scholars John Stanley Alamer, Juan Angelo De Leon, Germaine Dawal, Angelou Gamayon and Sixto Dones and Lisa Macuja School of Ballet student Bernice Allenda. Photo by MarBi Photography
For four Ballet Manila scholars, continuous online training during the long months of pandemic-driven quarantine paid off when they bagged the Gold or Best Performance in Group Dance (Group A) in last December’s Asian Grand Prix International Ballet Competition Video Competition Finals.
John Stanley Alamer, Germaine Dawal, Juan Angelo De Leon, and Angelou Gamayon won for dancing Into the Wild, a piece by Ballet Manila principal dancer and resident choreographer Gerardo Francisco set to music from the choices set by AGP.
The four boys represented The Lisa Macuja School of Ballet, the educational arm of Ballet Manila.
Juan Angelo De Leon won the Silver in the Performance B Division, dancing the Benno variation in the pas de trois from Swan Lake. Photo from the Asian Grand Prix Facebook page
Twelve-year-old De Leon also won a Silver Medal in the Performance B Division (12-13 years old), dancing the Benno variation in the pas de trois from Swan Lake. He also received a full tuition scholarship to The Royal Ballet School Summer Intensive.
In 2019, De Leon won the Bronze Medal in AGP’s Pre-Competitive B Division.
It was the first time the AGP – held every August in Hong Kong – conducted a video competition as a result of ongoing travel restrictions. Video entries at both the Regionals and the Finals followed strict requirements set by AGP organizers, including the dancer’s variation and a specific set of movements the dancer must execute and to be recorded at a particular angle.
Even during quarantine in their respective homes, the four scholars had been taking online classes under their mentor, Ballet Manila co-artistic director Osias Barroso (for classical ballet), and faculty member Gerardo Francisco (for modern dance). They have also participated in the school’s virtual recitals.
Meanwhile, Alamer and Dawal were given Encouragement Awards. They also competed in the Performance B Division, with Alamer, 13, dancing the Peasant pas 1st Male Variation from Giselle and Dawal, 12, the Blue Bird Variation from The Sleeping Beauty.
The AGP video competition drew participants from the Philippines, Japan, Indonesia, New Zealand, Chinese Taipei, Singapore, Australia, South Korea, Malaysia, Hong Kong SAR China, and Thailand.
The dancers first competed in the Manila Regionals of AGP 2020 last November with the winners then advancing to the Finals.
In the Regionals, the four scholars won the Gold in Group Dance while De Leon landed the Gold while Dawal and Alamer received Silver (classical solo), all in Performance B.
In addition, Lisa Macuja School of Ballet student Bernice Allenda won Silver (classical) in Performance A (9-11 years old) while Ballet Manila student Ainslea Esplana got Gold (contemporary) and Silver (classical) in Performance B.
AGP jury members reviewed videos of the competitors’ class exercises, solo classical and contemporary variations, and conducted examinations online.
The AGP Grand Prix 2020 Finals Jury was composed of: Anna Cy Chan, dean of School of Dance, The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts; Ernst Meisner, artistic director, Dutch National Ballet Academy; Samira Saidi, head of Intensive Courses & International Relations, The Royal Ballet School; Janek Schergen, artistic director, Singapore Dance Theatre; Christian Tatchev, academy director, Queensland Ballet; Garry Trinder, director, New Zealand School of Dance.
Meanwhile, the Regionals Jury was composed of: George Birkadze, international choreographer and teacher; Fiona Brockway, former first soloist, The Royal Ballet Company; Ayako Fujioka, former principal dancer, Hong Kong Ballet; Lisa Macuja-Elizalde, founder and artistic director of Ballet Manila; Eriko Ochiai, former principal dancer, Hong Kong Ballet; Janek Schergen, artistic director, Singapore Dance Theatre; Hon Wah So, chairman, Asian Grand Prix; and Mike Wang, former principal dancer, Hong Kong Ballet.
Serving as AGP tutors, leading the online classes, were Fujioka, Ochiai and Wang.
