Tony Fabella, Eddie Elejar and Luther Perez are dance luminaries with formidable credentials who train underprivileged youth in the performing arts. The local government and the Quezon City Performing Arts Development Foundation Inc. (QCPADFI) support the program. Through dance scholarships, promising youth residing in Quezon City, who otherwise could not afford to hone their talents with professional dance instruction, are given a chance to train under the best teachers. Aside from being subsidized by the local government, pledges and sponsorships from individuals and corporations help sustain the program and its more than 200 dance scholars.
The dance scholars range from the ages of six to 18 years. They were chosen after arduous auditions to determine talent and interest in dance. "The discipline here is as exacting as in any other sport," says Eya Uy, treasurer of QCPADFI who, like the other board trustees, actively involves herself in the program because… "Even if I’m not a dance instructor, I feel good to see the kids improve and to be part of something so meaningful."
Scholarship includes free training thrice a week, an allowance of P30 per training session, free dance lessons and snacks, and an honorarium for every performance. The allowance is meant to cover transportation costs, but oftentimes, the youth walk to rehearsals to be able to save the money for their other needs.
Through field trips, cultural shows and travel (both local and international,) the world of the dance scholars is broadened and enriched. To date, major international performances have been held in Japan, Thailand, Hong Kong and Bosnia and Herzegovina. Other benefits include participation in workshops and training seminars, and even job placement.
Praise, awards and applause for the group’s performances are a testimonial to the long hours and hard work that training entails. With six-hour dance sessions three times a week, only the most interested and persistent students remain. "They will not last here if they don’t have a genuine interest. The number of hours that they train is more than in any dance school," QCPADF president and artistic consultant Tony Fabella states. Discipline is enforced and tardiness or unexcused absences are not tolerated.
However, Fabella also believes that this kind of training is important in building up character. "Once you study dance, you become a whole person. You learn about the importance of discipline. You are able to develop confidence and self- esteem," he says.
He is also a firm believer that success needs to be based on a solid background of hard work and consistent excellence. "’Yung magaling na after a few months, huwag kang maniniwala doon!" The craft of dancing requires long hours, patience, determination and practice. There are no shortcuts.
What aspect of the program is most challenging for the teachers?
"To start is always difficult because we get the students raw," says Tony Fabella. However, there is immeasurable gratification reaped as the scholars are drawn into the craft, and their enthusiasm for dance is intensified.
Eddie Elejar describes the personal fulfillment that he derives from teaching. "I have been dancing for 50 years. This is the zenith not only of my career, but of my existence and my life."
The scholars have become like the children of the men who have devoted their lives to training them in the art of dance. "We try to give everything to them, but it is up to them what they do with it later on in life. Like parents, we feel that once our students are adults, they are on their own," explains Tony Fabella.
"We want them to become not only good dancers; more importantly, we want them to become good persons."
The Quezon City Performing Arts Development Program is envisioned to contribute to the alleviation of poverty and to the societal conditions to which it leads by cultivating the inborn talents of underprivileged youth in the culture and the arts. Dance, and the hard work and discipline that it entails, is a means of helping them develop the attitude, discipline and confidence they need to become responsible and active members of the community.
I peered into the studio where the children were listening to instructions from the tireless artistic director and choreographer Luther Perez. They are preparing for an original production called "Ibong Adarna" with play-dates set for the end of September this year. With almost two hours of rigorous dance exercises and four hours of practice to go, the young people brushed away beads of sweat from their foreheads. However, all remained attentive and eager to resume with the lesson. Strangely, I found myself affected, and I struggled to know why such a seemingly ordinary spectacle has proven to be so poignant.
The lessons in Amoranto are means of encouraging young people to develop their dancing skills and discover perseverance, commitment, discipline, confidence and self-esteem at the same time.
"Once you have self-esteem, you can never be poor," states Tony Fabella, corroborating that the worst kind of poverty is the poverty of spirit. At the QCPADF studio in the Amoranto Stadium complex where the youth are taught to leap, to soar, to hope and to transcend economic deprivation by means of grace and kinetic talent, we are given a glimpse of the endless doors of possibilities that open up with dedication, commitment and hard work. For these young people who are unfortunate in some aspects, but are so blessed in many others, sheer artistry and the joy of dancing provides a channel for hope.