Dance.MNL showcases PHL’s best and brightest in ‘Winner’s Circle’

Dancers, mentors, dance patrons, and dance enthusiasts banded together last Tuesday, June 21st, at the CCP Main Theater to celebrate some of the country’s brightest and most talented dancers. The Winners’ Circle was the first of a string of performances for Dance.MNL, a two-week dance festival by the combined efforts of the three established ballet companies in Manila – Ballet Philippines, Ballet Manila, and the Philippine Ballet Theater.

The Winners’ Circle boasted a powerhouse cast of performers, featuring the Philippines’ recent representatives in both local and international ballet and contemporary dance competitions. Pulling up the resumés of all the competitors onstage would give you about 40 to 50 accolades won all around the world in renowned dance events such as the Beijing International Ballet and Choreography Competition, the Youth America Grand Prix, the Asian Grand Prix, the USA International Ballet Competition, and the World Ballet Competition.

The show featured a host of classical ballet competition pieces and variations, such as Ballet Philippines’ Denise Parungao and Garry Corpuz in the Cinderella Pas de Deux, PBT’s returning couple Veronica Ylagan and Jared Tan in Diana and Acteon, and Ballet Manila’s Katherine Barkman and Elpidio Magat in the Sleeping Beauty Pas de Deux.

Ballet Philippines’ Monica Gana, fresh from the recent 2016 Helsinki International Ballet Competition, gave an explosive rendition of the Esmeralda Pas de Deux with partner Victor Maguad. (Gana competed in Helsinki with Corpuz, who made it to the semifinal round.)

PBT’s Regina Magbitang dazzled in Flames of Paris, which she performed with company member Matthew Davo. The Halili-Cruz School of Ballet also showed off their ensemble work in Danse Espagnole.

Among the strongest crowd pleasers were the two youngest solo competitors on the stage, Bacolod’s Rench Isaac Soriano, 15, and Fil-Am Jasmine Cruz, 14.

Soriano, a student of Dwight Rodrigazo’s Dance Pull Project in Bacolod City, elicited gasps from the audience with his effortless turns and crisp footwork.

A student of the Westlake School of Performing Arts under the direction of former Ballet Philippines dancer Malu Rivera-Peoples, Cruz’s backbends and natural bravura in her Don Quixote solo made her stand out in a company of veterans.

Other classical solos included Pia Custodio from ACTS Manila, Ballet Manila’s Abigail Oliveiro, and PBT’s Lobreza Pimentel.

Contemporary pieces performed included solos from PBT’s Ian Ocampo, BP’s Cyril Fallar, and an endearing pas de deux by BM’s Pia Dames and Rudolph Capongcol to the music of the Eraserheads.

Long-limbed Rita Winder was eye-catching in her enigmatic solo choreographed by Redha Benteifour, and the Bacolod duo of Xiao Mitchao and Akira Lydia Abao highlighted their fluid synchronizations and isolations in a choreography by Mitchao herself.

Audiences were also wowed by the technical athleticism of the duets choreographed by Bam Damian, Evacuation performed by Jean Marc Cordero and Jemima Reyes of Ballet Philippines and M.A.Z.N. with Joan Sia and Alfren Salgado of Ballet Manila.

The show also brought back some familiar faces missed on the Philippine stage: Christine Rocas (Ballet Manila, Joffrey Ballet), Jared Tan (Philippine Ballet Theater, Atlanta Ballet), and Candice Adea (Ballet Philippines, Hong Kong Ballet, Ballet Met). Rocas performed alongside her ballet alma mater for the world premiere of “Amid Shadows,” choreographed by Martin Lawrance.

Wrapping up the night was the Ballet Philippines-Ballet Manila pairing of Rudy de Dios and Candice Adea, whose excitement to be back on the CCP Main Theater stage was just as palpable as the audience’s. Dancing the beloved balcony scene pas de deux from Romero and Juliet, the pair were coached by none other than the premiere Romeo himself, Nonoy Froilan.

Aptly titled so, The Winners’ Circle was a salute to the dancers that have held the Philippine flag high and proud, no matter where in the world they might find their pointed feet on. — BM, GMA News

Mika Fabella was a company scholar at Ballet Philippines and is currently a graduating student at the University of the Philippines Diliman, majoring in Dance.