Ten years after seeing Ibong Adarna for the first time, Juan Angelo de Leon steps into the role of Don Juan
Juan Angelo “Gelo” De Leon gets his biggest role yet as Don Juan, the heroic youngest prince in Gerardo Francisco Jr.’s Ibong Adarna. Photo by MarBi Photography
By Jv Ramos
Being someone who has been training at the Ballet Manila studio since 2016, Juan Angelo “Gelo” de Leon has seen a handful of his “kuyas” perform Don Juan in Gerardo “Geri” Francisco Jr.’s Ibong Adarna through the years. This modern ballet based on the Filipino literary masterpiece is in fact the first full-length ballet he watched. Gelo even recalls wanting to play the youngest prince as a Project Ballet Futures scholar. “Sobrang ganda at nakakaaliw ang mga galaw nito, kaya naman noong lumalaki ako sa studio, madalas kong gayahin ang mga steps tulad ng sa pas de deux ng Ibong Adarna.” (Ibong Adarna is so beautifully choreographed that as I was growing up in the studio, I would often try out the steps, such as in the pas de deux.)
Company artist Juan Angelo “Gelo” De Leon has been training at the Ballet Manila studio since 2016 when he became a Project Ballet Futures scholar. Photo by Giselle P. Kasilag
Ten years later and now a company artist, Gelo is stepping into Don Juan’s shoes for a Ballet Manila performance in Laguna. It will also be the first time that he is dancing a full-length ballet. “Hindi ko talaga inakala na mangyayari ito this year, kaya nu’ng sinabihan ako ni Sir Geri na aralin ko ang role, ang nasagot ko sa kanya ay, ‘Sir Geri, aaralin ko po ba ang buong version?” While laughing at his reaction, he expresses, “Tama, nabigyan ako ng opportunity na magkaroon ng soloist role sa Paquita, pero hindi ko naman in-expect na bibigyan kaagad ako ng lead role pagkatapos.” (I didn’t expect for it to happen this year, so when Sir Geri asked me to learn the role, I only responded with, ‘Sir Geri, should I learn the full-length? Yes, it’s true that I was given an opportunity to dance a soloist role in Paquita, but I’m just not the type to expect to be given a major role right after.)
One of Gelo’s most recent performances was in La Bayadere, as the Fakir who facilitates the secret romance between temple dancer Nikiya and warrior Solor. Photo by Giselle P. Kasilag
As soon as the casting was confirmed, this multi-awarded danseur went straight to beginning the hard work. He began studying the 2023 run of Ibong Adarna on video, where he had experienced dancing many of the corps roles including the warriors, alitaptap, hunters, monkeys and feathers. “Pinag-aralan ko ang galaw ni Kuya Joshua [Enciso], pati na rin kung paano mag-mime. Iyon na siguro ang pinaka-challenge sa akin dahil wala akong masyadong exposure dito. Madali ko lang ma-pick-up ang sayaw, pero ang pag-perform ng mimes ay kailangan ko talaga pag-aralan para ma-deliver nang maayos ang kuwento.” (I studied how Kuya Joshua moved and how to mime. That’s probably my biggest challenge because I’m not too exposed to it. It’s easy for me to pick-up dances, but mimes are something that I really have to study so I can deliver the story well.)
In previous productions of Ibong Adarna, Gelo has played a variety of corps roles including a hunter (above, rightmost in 2023), an aliptaptap, a warrior and a feather. Photo by Giselle P. Kasilag
Thankfully, Gelo’s Don Juan is supported by talented artists – dancers who give plenty of care to storytelling. They include principal dancer Jessica Pearl Dames as his Ibong Adarna and soloists John Ralp Balagot and Sean Pelegrin as his older brothers Don Pedro and Don Diego who would stop at nothing to get the enchanted bird.
In The Dawn of Ballet (2026), Gelo dances alongside fellow company artist Germaine Dawal who also started out as Project Ballet Futures scholar like him. Photo by Giselle P. Kasilag
“Sobrang galing na ka-partner ni Ate Pearl,” comments Gelo, whom he performed with in the pas de trois in Paquita last June. “Magaling siya mag-communicate at nakakapag-open ako sa kanya, kaya naaayos namin agad ang mga kailangan. Kahit sa mga moments na hindi namin magawa sa rehearsal, naaayos namin para sa show dahil nga okay kami mag-communicate. Sobrang natuwa ako sa mga performances namin ng Paquita!” (Ate Pearl is an exceptional partner… She’s very good with communicating and I can to open up to her, so we’re able to fix things. Even in those moments that we can’t get it right during rehearsals, we’re able to immediately fix it when we’re on stage because we communicate. I really liked how our Paquita performances turned out!)
Gelo was Young Florante in Florante at Laura, the choreography of Gerardo Francisco Jr. and Martin Lawrance which premiered in 2024. Photo by Giselle P. Kasilag.
As for the soloists who will play his brothers, Gelo shares that he’s excited to perform the iconic fight scene with his Kuya John Ralp and Kuya Sean. “Iyan ang favorite na scene ko sa Ibong Adarna. Napaka-athletic kasi ang choreography nito, kaya nakaka-excite gawin. Gusto ko rin na nailalabas mo ang lahat ng emosyon mo dito. Magsisimula akong masaya dahil nga nakuha ko na ang Ibong Adarna, pero pag-aagawan! Pagtutulungan ako ng mga kapatid ko, kaya kailangan mailabas ko na takot ako at di alam kung anong gagawin!” (The fight among the brothers is my favorite scene in Ibong Adarna. The choreography is just so athletic, so it’s exciting to do. I also like that I’m able to show all sorts of emotions in this scene. My character starts out being very happy about catching the Ibong Adarna, but they try to steal her away. Here, I have to look fearful and unsure about what to do as they attack me.)
Gelo as Don Juan captures the enchanted bird in Ibong Adarna, not knowing that he will have to subsequently fight his older brothers, Don Diego and Don Pedro (soloists Sean Pelegrin and John Ralp Balagot, right photo) over it. Photos by MarBi Photography
Partnered with principal dancer Jessica Pearl Dames as the Ibong Adarna, Gelo is thankful they can communicate freely to turn in the best performance possible. Photo by MarBi Photography
Gelo says the fight scene is very demanding on the body as it requires stamina. “Nu’ng ni-rehearse ko, naramdaman ko na ang pagod pagkatapos ng pas de deux namin ni Ate Pearl. Tapos kailangan mo pa ng lakas para sa fight scene. Nakaka-challenge din na intense ito. May mga rehearsals kami kung saan natatamaan ko ang mga kuya ko, at natamaan din ako. Pero na-e-enjoy ko ang challenge!” (When I rehearsed it, I felt exhausted after doing the pas de deux with Ate Pearl. And right after that, you need to power through the fight scene. It’s also challenging because it’s intense. There are rehearsals where I accidentally hit my brothers, and there was a time that I got hit too. But I am enjoying the challenge!)
Asked if he’s anything like his character, Gelo jokes, “Pareho kaming Juan ang pangalan! Siguro kagaya niya, mabait ako o at least nagpapakabait!” (We’re both named Juan! Maybe like Don Juan, I am kind, or at least I try my best to be a kind person.) To express the kindness of his character, he shares that he consciously injects happiness to the dances he does and thinks about how to genuinely show helpfulness and love for his parents when interacting with the other characters. This company artist underlines that being able to execute the choreographer’s exciting and athletic moves is just one part of his job; he also has to tell the story well.
“Very excited and grateful ako sa opportunity,” confirms Gelo. “Very pressured din, kasi ang gagaling talaga ng mga sumayaw nito dati. Pero kaya naman paghandaan ang lahat.” (I’m very excited and grateful for this opportunity… I’m very pressured as well because the dancers who have done this role before were all terrific. But what I can do is to prepare for all of this role’s many challenges.)
In every role he tackles, Gelo always keeps in mind the lessons he learned from his late mentor Osias Barroso Jr. Photo by Giselle P. Kasilag
