Gerardo Francisco Jr.’s career in dance began as a very young student at Iloilo National High School. He was a member of the Dagyaw Theater and Dance Company and eventually became its dance master. With the school troupe, he traveled all over the world and performed before a global audience.

He became an apprentice of Ballet Philippines in 2002. A year later, he applied to and was accepted by Ballet Manila where he was introduced to the Vaganova training method. Within the same year, he was promoted from apprentice to company artist in July, and to demi-soloist in December. He was named senior soloist in 2008, junior principal dancer in 2010, and eventually a principal dancer in 2014.

Gerardo has performed numerous roles with the company, including: The Nutcracker (Prince), Don Quixote (Basilio), Le Corsaire (Ali), La Bayadere (The Bronze Idol), Giselle (Peasant Pas de Deux), Swan Lake (Jester), Romeo and Juliet (Mercutio), and La Fille Mal Gardee (Colas). He has also led the company in various contemporary pieces including Arnis, Aramica, Reve, OFW (Balikbayan), and Morions, to name a few.

As a dancer, he has represented Ballet Manila and the Philippines in various international ballet competitions and dance events. He was a finalist in the 5th Nagoya Ballet Competition in Japan (2005), Semi Finalist in the Xth International Ballet Competition and Contest of Choreographers in Moscow, Russia (2005), a competitor in the Helsinki Ballet Competition (2005), and a participant in the 2016 International Dance Festival in Shanghai, China.

He was part of the delegation for Ballet Manila’s various tours in the US, UK, Ireland, Scotland, China, Cambodia, Japan, Russia, Macau, Hong Kong, Finland, Taiwan, Korea, Vietnam and Israel.

Apart from dancing, Gerardo has also been the resident choreographer of Ballet Manila since 2009. In 2021, he was named co-artistic associate of the company.

For his outstanding contributions to dance as a performing artist and as a choreographer, he received a Ten Outstanding Young Men (TOYM) award in 2019. He was the first male dancer to be given that honor.

Discover the many roles of Gerardo Francisco Jr., principal dancer of Ballet Manila.

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