Ballet Manila's next-generation dancers win at Asian Ballet Competition
Despite their training being conducted mostly via Zoom, four students of the Lisa Macuja School of Ballet showed talent and hard work can yield rewarding results with their victory in the recently concluded Asian Ballet Competition.
Juan Angelo De Leon: Gold, Classical Ballet Solo Junior A Division, and Gold, Contemporary Ballet Duo/Trio Junior Division. Photo by MarBi Photography
Budding danseurs Juan Angelo De Leon, Germaine Dawal and John Stanley Alamer – scholars of Ballet Manila’s Project Ballet Futures – won the Gold Medal in the Contemporary Ballet Duo/Trio Junior Division for Tangled, a choreography of BM principal dancer and resident choreographer Gerardo Francisco.
The three also won individual medals in the Classical Ballet Solo’s Junior A Division – Gold for Alamer and De Leon, and Silver for Germaine. Alamer danced the Franz Variation from Coppelia, De Leon the Colas Variation from La Fille Mal Gardee, and Dawal the Boy Variation in the pas de trois from Paquita.
Teenage ballerina Loraine Gaile Jarlega meanwhile scored the Gold Medal in the Classical Ballet Solo’s Junior B Division, dancing the First Girl Variation in the pas de trois from Paquita.
John Stanley Alamer: Gold, Classical Ballet Solo Junior A Division, and Gold, Contemporary Ballet Duo/Trio Junior Division. Photo by MarBi Photography
Alamer and De Leon will receive full scholarships and Dawal and Jarlega half scholarships at the Asian Grand Prix Ballet Intensive Program 2022.
In congratulating the dancers, Lisa Macuja-Elizalde, school director and Ballet Manila artistic director said, “And the journey continues. The learning and growing never ceases!”
It has been a particularly tough year and a half for the young dancers as pandemic restrictions have confined them to their homes. But their ballet mentors have noted their determination to keep training and dancing through virtual classes and the rare in-studio sessions when quarantine levels eased up.
Germaine Dawal: Silver, Classical Ballet Solo Junior A Division, and Gold, Contemporary Ballet Duo/Trio Junior Division. Photo by MarBi Photography
Teacher Eileen Lopez, who coached and rehearsed Jarlega for her variation, described the student as a certified “bunhead”. “She’s very hardworking and determined. She’s very focused too.”
Jarlega has been taking classes in various levels under Macuja-Elizalde, and has been a student at the school for several years.
The three boys meanwhile have been mentored by Ballet Manila co-artistic director Osias Barroso and Gerardo Francisco.
Francisco said with continued training, the boys have the potential to become even more skilled and enjoy a promising career in ballet.
The four winners represented the Lisa Macuja School of Ballet, the educational arm of Ballet Manila, and have had the opportunity to perform in the company’s productions.
Participants in this year’s Asian Ballet Competition were judged by an international panel of dance professionals based on video entries.
Loraine Gaile Jarlega: Gold, Classical Ballet Solo Junior B Division. Photo by Giselle P. Kasilag
Participants represented schools in the Philippines, Malaysia, China, Singapore, Chinese Taipei, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Thailand, Brunei Darussalam, New Zealand and Japan.
The Asian Ballet Competition is committed to supporting the growth of ballet education in Asia. It offers a valuable experience for young dancers in all levels to present themselves on stage and learn from the comments of the jury members. It focuses on artistry and rewards talented dancers with awards and medals while also recognizing the role of dance educators and schools of awarded participants with certificates.
