Steps Dance Studio students triumph in HK

MANILA, Philippines - It is hard to overlook the youth of the 10 Steps Dance Studio students, who competed at the Asian Grand Prix 2013 in Hong Kong. There is talk of ice cream and homework, but in the same breath, the students speak of “being devoted to one’s art,” the importance of “doing one’s best” and “having fun and not letting fear get the better of you,” and one has to pinch oneself to make sure these words of wisdom are coming straight from the mouths of minors.

And the wisdom is hard-earned.

For six grueling months, the 10 students, all scholars of the Steps Scholarship Foundation, received training from dance teacher and coach Jeffrey Floyd Suico Espejo in preparation for the Asian Grand Prix (AGP) competition. Participated in mostly by professional dancers from dance companies, AGP was established in 2011 by former principal dancers of the Hong Kong Ballet to recognize “exceptional achievement” among young dancers from all over the world who share a passion for dance. AGP is now considered a major platform in sharpening a dancer’s skills and a stepping-stone in one’s professional dance career.

The Steps dance students, in short, had their work cut out for them, but Steps managing director and former ballerina Sofia Zobel-Elizalde was confident. According to her, the 10 were selected because they were “our strongest group of students with strong technical ability, the right physique, performance quality, and of course enjoy the challenge of competing.” Some were not new to either competitions or AGP, being winners and placers last year such as Rudolph Capongcol, Samantha Margaux Libao, and Julio Laforteza who were, this time, competing in AGP’s tougher divisions.

Competing internationally is a step in the right direction: 10 out of the 10 candidates in AGP 2013 were winners and placers — no mean feat, and surely a large leap from last year’s winning streak of six out of six candidates. To top it off, Rudolph and his partner Jasmine Pia Dames were gold medalists in the Pas de Deux and recognized most promising male and female dancers with special SANSHA excellence awards.

At Steps, Elizalde emphasizes competition as a way to inculcate passion for learning and a positive attitude towards challenges because constant growth and progression are main goals the dance school. Espejo agrees with Elizalde, “Competitions are very important especially at a young age. Our students are lucky because they can test their standards, their performance levels with the rest of the world, and we’ve seen that the results are very good. We’re doing well here at Steps Dance Studio.”

Elizalde and the 10 students gave much credit to Espejo for the win. A product of international exposure, Espejo danced with the Buryat State Academic Ballet in Russia and Hong Kong Ballet and studied under international ballet masters and coaches. He worked with the 10 AGP candidates almost everyday, giving them classes, private coaching, and rehearsals.

The first several weeks were about getting the dancers in shape, making them stronger. “When they’re in shape, that’s when we build stamina, elaborate and clean up the steps — this is the hard part,” admits Espejo.

Concludes Elizalde, “One thing I love about the whole experience is seeing them all united and they all supportive of each other. They were one family. The older ones took care of the younger ones. And the younger ones listened to the older ones. It was nice seeing them all united. No competition among them. They were rooting for each other.”

In the end, the AGP was again a great learning experience for the Steps students and pushing themselves to the limit proved to be rewarding.

The list of winners from Steps Dance Studio are: Rudolph Capongcol (gold medalist for Pas de Deux, SANSHA Most Promising Male Dancer with an Excellence Award, and silver medal – Senior Division), Jasmine Pia Dames (gold medalist for Pas de Deux, SANSHA Most Promising Female Dancer with an Excellence Award, and fifth place – Senior Division), Jessical Pearl Dames (sixth Place – Senior Division), Julio L. Laforteza (fifth place – Junior C Division), Samanta Margaux Libao (finalist – Junior C Division), Lope Tobias Lim (finalist – Junior B Division), Raye Vince Pelegrin (sixth place – Junior A Division and winner of the Asian Grand Prix Summer Intensive Program Scholarship 2014), Elwince Magbitang (finalist – Junior A Division), Sean Kevin Pelegrin (Senior semifinalist), and Kevin Cascaño (Senior semifinalist).

Apart from recognizing excellence in dance, AGP provides young dancers with funding to continue training and development. This year’s competition awarded sixth-placer Raye Vince Pelegrin with free scholarship to the five-day Summer Intensive Program (SIP) Scholarship 2014. Last year’s recipient was Julio Laforteza.

It is through the generosity of friends and family that the scholars of the Steps Scholarship Foundation were able to participate in the competition. They are: Jaime Zobel de Ayala and wife Bea, who fully sponsored Rudolph Capongcol; Atty. Gisela Montinola through the Pacita Madrigal Fund under the Steps Dance Studio Scholarship Foundation for Julio Laforteza and Raye Vince Pelegrin; Fernando and Kit Zobel de Ayala for Elwince Magbitang from CENTEX; and Elaine Marden for Sean Kevin Pelegrin and Kevin Cascaño. Now on its sixth year, Steps Dance Studio Scholarship Foundation continues its philanthropic work championing Filipino talent.

Steps Dance Studio is one of the most innovative and creative dance studios in the country, with state-of-the-art facilities and highly trained dance instructors. Founded in 1994 by Sofia Zobel Elizalde, Steps offers a variety of dance courses for different age groups and different levels of ability. Its ballet program follows the Royal Academy of Dance (RAD) syllabus. Steps is located at 8465 Kalayaan Avenue, Brgy. Poblacion, Makati City. For details on the dance classes, call 621-6186, 0917-5327360, 0917-8981419, or e-mail admin@stepsdancestudio.ph.