LMSB students triumph at International Ballet Grand Prix Finals in Singapore
Alene Tan (left, standing) and Germaine Dawal (left, foreground) join other winners on stage after receiving their scholarship certificates.
Ballet Manila (BM) scholar and Lisa Macuja School of Ballet (LMSB) student Germaine Dawal continued his winning streak, bagging the gold award in Classical Ballet and the silver award for Contemporary in the Senior 17-21 category of the 1st International Grand Finals of the International Ballet Grand Prix (IBGP) in Singapore last July 28.
Lisa Macuja School of Ballet students Alene Tan (left) and Germaine Dawal display their harvest of trophies and certificates at the 1st International Grand Finals of the International Ballet Grand Prix (IBGP) in Singapore.
He danced the Lucien Variation from Paquita for his classical piece and Martin Lawrance’s Helicopter for his contemporary piece. These were the same entries the teen danseur performed at the IBGP Regionals in Manila last June where he scored top honors along with a host of scholarships from partner-schools of the Singapore Dance Alliance which organizes the competition.
In the IBGP Finals, Dawal also received two scholarships, one from Taipei National University of the Arts School of Dance and the other from the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts in Singapore, the latter for an 18-week Diploma in Dance Course study attachment in Academic Year 2024-25 valued at SGD$10,650.
Meanwhile, Malaysian Alene Tan who is also a student at LMSB like Dawal, bagged the bronze award in the Senior 17-21 category of the IBGP Finals.
Dancing the Gamzatti Variation from La Bayadere, she also received a scholarship from Taipei National University of the Arts School of Dance.
Apart from Lisa Macuja Elizalde as mentor, both were coached by LMSB faculty members Eileen Lopez and Sofia Sangco-Peralta and BM co-artistic associate Gerardo Francisco Jr., with BM principal dancer Romeo Peralta Jr. serving as guardian in Singapore and also holding pre-competition warm-up sessions with the students.
Ballet Manila principal dancer Romeo Peralta Jr. (left) is about to hold a pre-competition warm-up session with Germaine.
Dawal afterwards said he was satisfied with how he performed in the competition, despite some challenges. “’Yung variation ko po malinis, na-accomplish ko po nang maayos ‘yung turns and tricks kahit medyo madulas po ’yung floor. ’Yung pag-prepare po, in-activate ko lang po ’yung body ko the night before para ready po para sa competition. Then proper warm-up lang po before pumasok sa stage (I think my variation was clean; I was able to accomplish the turns and tricks well even if the floor was somewhat slippery. To prepare, I activated my body the night before so that I was ready for competition. Then I had proper warm-up before going on stage),” he related.
Peralta noted that Dawal ended up competing in the Senior 17-21 category instead of the expected Senior 15-16 category as he turned a year older last July and those were the age categories in Singapore even if he had competed in the Senior 15-17 category during the IBGP Regionals. It proved to be a non-issue, Peralta said, as Dawal managed to hold his own.
The younger danseur, however, admitted to feeling apprehensive upon seeing some of the male competitors in the Senior 17-21 category as they were quite tall and more well-built. “Inisip ko na lang po na rehearsal lang po ‘yun, pinerform ko lang po kung ano po ’yung prinactice ko sa studio (I kept in mind that it was just a rehearsal and performed what I practiced in the studio),” shared Dawal on how he battled nerves.
For their classical entries, Germaine (left) danced the Lucien Variation from Paquita and Alene the Gamzatti Variation from La Bayadere.
A recipient of BM’s Project Futures scholarship program for several years now and recently promoted as BM apprentice, Dawal and his fellow scholars are seen as among those that will lead the company’s next generation of dancers.
Germaine and Alene await their respective competition schedules at the University Cultural Centre Theatre of the University of Singapore.
Mentor Gerardo Francisco previously pointed out Dawal’s strengths: “His stage presence. His artistry. He is a performer. His passion shows every time he is on stage. Aside from that, advantage niya, ang taas tumalon at nakakaikot (he can jump high and he can turn)”.
Dawal has had numerous opportunities to dance in the company’s season performances. After Tatlong Kuwento ni Lola Basyang last May, he will be part of BM’s delegation which will perform in a series of shows dubbed Ballet Manila’s Greatest Hits in Malaysia in September.
For Peralta, acting as guardian for Dawal in Singapore became a full-circle moment as he recalled being similarly taken care of by Ballet Manila’s late co-artistic director Osias Barroso Jr. for competitions years before.
“I’m sure Teacher Shaz is proud of what our young dancers have accomplished,” said Peralta. “Sabi ko nga kay Germaine, ipagpatuloy lang ’yung mga natutunan nila kay Teacher Shaz kasi sila ’yung last batch ng scholars na na-handle niya, lalo na na gawin lahat ng makakaya nila at maging humble. Kasi sila ang magdadala ng pangalan ng Ballet Manila. (I told Germaine to just continue what they learned from Teacher Shaz because they’re the last batch of scholars that he handled, especially to always do their best and to be humble. Because they’re the ones who will carry the name of Ballet Manila in the future.)
The board of judges at the 1st International Grand Finals of IBGP was composed of: Mr. Janek Schergen, Dr. Caren Carino, Mr. Christian Tàtchev, Mr. Garry Trinder, Ms. Joanne Michel, Ms. Melissa Quek, Ms. Rachael Hunt, and Ms. Wu Yi-San.
The IBGP Grand Finals competition was held at the University Cultural Centre Theatre of the University of Singapore.
Photos courtesy of Romeo Peralta Jr.
Germaine (left) was one of two gold award winners in Classical Ballet in the Senior 17-21 category.
