The Manlunas Couple: Up Close

CEBU, Philippines - Arts Council of Cebu and Balletcenter are presenting a full-length ballet, SleepingBeauty, on September 2 & 3, Ayala Onstage.  Dancing beautiful solo numbers, as well as exquisite pas de deux, are a married couple in classical ballet and teachers of Balletcenter – Chris and Sheila Manlunas.

Chris Noel Manlunas was born in Cebu to a musically inclined home.  Father Bobby Manlunas (of Tondo, Manila) was a folksinger, guitarist and an established songwriter; his mother Cleve Alaba (of Surigao del Norte) was also a singer and dancer.  All his siblings, he claims, are either musicians, dancers, singers and/or songwriters.

“At 10 years old, I was already dancing,” Chris recalled.  By then, his family transferred to Cagayan de Oro City where he spent his teenage years. He was into hip-hop, break dancing and contemporary jazz, becoming a professional choreographer who had a large local following.  His group was the back-up dancers of visiting movie and tv personalities.

 “My mom was a frustrated ballet dancer and she brought me to CCP when I was 14 years old,” he mused. “She was hoping I would go into ballet as she noticed that I was a fan of prima ballerina Maniya Barredo.  But I was not interested, as I felt that ballet was only for girls.”

 But after twice watching “Centerstage,” a movie about the American Ballet Theater, Chris at 19 enrolled in a ballet school in Cagayan de Oro, then shortly joined Ballet Manila before leaving for New Zealand to join his family who migrated there. “I had no ambition of going professional in classical ballet.  I just wanted a training to add to my modern dance repertoire.” After the workshop, Lisa Macuja-Elizalde’s Ballet Manila offered him a scholarship, which he put on hold as he was going abroad.

 He had only six months of formal ballet training when he enrolled in a three-year tertiary course in Dance Performance, Major in Classical Ballet, at the International Ballet Academy in Christchurch. Upon graduation, in 2005, Chris was offered a contract to join the first National Tour of the Royal New Zealand Ballet Company based in Wellington. After the contract, Chris came back to the Philippines for Ballet Manila’s scholarship offer, starting out as an apprentice in November 2006. He rose to become Company Member by 2008. It was at this time that he met and fell in love with a fellow artist, Cebuana ballerina Sheila Lendio.

 Sheila Marie Lendio was a dance scholar at St. Benedict’s Learning Center, as well as a gymnast. At 7 years old, she started formal lessons with Balletcenter, under Madame Fe Sala-Villarica. “I would rather dance than do anything else,” she recalled. “I learned how to drive and my parents had to buy a car so I could continue my ballet classes while I finished my Hotel and Restaurant Management course at USJ-R.”

 Seeing her great potentials, Madame Villarica asked her to consider classical ballet as a career and arranged for her audition in the 2005 Summer Workshop of Ballet Manila.  At the time that she got a scholarship in Ballet Manila, she also got a job offer in a hotel. It was dilemma but “I wanted to dance,” Sheila pointed out.

 She became Company Apprentice, then Company Member by 2006.  In 2008, she rose to become a demi-soloist.  She performed abroad like in South Korea ’s Gyeongju World International Arts Festival in 2007 and the Nan-ying International Folklore Festival in Taiwan. She was also a finalist in the 2nd NAMCYA Competition.

“I learned in Ballet Manila that you have to grab every opportunity, work hard to be able to own it.  Never allow the ballet masters to discover your weaknesses because competition is always stiff.  Nobody will notice you in the back unless you show that you have what it takes,” Sheila shared. “You must do any step in order to achieve what you want. You have to take care of your body – eat well, sleep adequately. We observed 8 hours daily workouts in Ballet Manila. 1:30 – 3pm company class (routines), 3 – 7pm rehearsals (show), then to the theater for dress and make-up before the 8 - 10pm (ordinary performance) or the 8pm – 2am (special performances like Christmas and New Year).”

Sheila married Chris and they migrated to New Zealand where she gave birth to their son Daniil who turned two this August. Staying there for two years, Chris rejoined the Royal New Zealand Ballet Company for one season, while both became faculty members of the Anne Samson School of Ballet in Rotorua.

Last March, the Manlunas couple came back to Cebu to join the teaching staff of Balletcenter. Chris said, “I believe that no matter what great opportunities there are overseas, if you are not happy then it is not worth it. Sheila and I are here for good and we realize we have made the right choice. We want to share our expertise in classical ballet. Ballet is for everyone, boys and girls alike, although it is the most demanding form of dance.”

“Cebu is the best place to rear our son,” Sheila added. “And we are happy to share the passion we have for ballet with the younger generation. It is payback time for us, as well.”

“Being a ballet dancer makes me unique. Now I discover the realities beyond the movements. You have to mature, to grasp life, in order to dance better,” Chris concluded.

Catch Chris as “The Blue Bird” and Sheila as “The Lilac Fairy” in Sleeping Beauty, Ayala Onstage. Co-presented by Ayala Mall Cinemas, Tempra and Natrapharm Generics.