Searching for Billy Elliot

We all know the plot line–working class youth discovers an affinity for dance. Despite his parent’s strenuous objections and ridicule from his friends, he perseveres. With only inner resolve and an understanding mentor, our hero bucks the odds and finds fulfilment and identity in his chosen passion. Now alter that concept slightly by inserting a Filipino bias, and you have the Quezon City Performing Arts Development Foundation, Inc., and as many Billy Elliots–male and female–as there are scholars.

Established in 1994 with the help of then Mayor Mel Mathay and now given full support by Mayor Sonny Belmonte, the Foundation’s purpose is to provide free training in the performing arts to marginalized children who have the talent and inclination. It means five hours, three times a week in a little corner of the Amoranto complex in Quezon City.

Spearheaded by the more-than-qualified trio of dance leaders Tony Fabella, Eddie Elejar and Luther Perez, the Foundation offers classes in classical ballet, modern dance, jazz, folk dance, hip-hop and pop. Qualified to comprise the 100 scholars are children whose parents have a combined income of less than P10,000. Street children and those from public schools are made to audition and from there, Tony and the other instructors find their diamonds in the rough.

As Tony succinctly remarks, "Looking at the class, you really can’t see much difference from the private ballet schools to which the rich kids are sent. The content and manner of instruction is no different since I also teach in those schools. But it’s when you look deeper and discover the backgrounds of these kids that you realize just how much of a long shot of a dream this all is. It is a project that I really hold dear to my heart, as the pool of talent is just there waiting to be tapped; but without the resources, both logistical and financial, we will never be able to continue what we’re doing. That’s why the Foundation was created–to provide a vehicle by which we could seek assistance and continue making some of the dreams of these kids come true."

The scholars range from six to eighteen years of age. I had the chance to talk to four of these kids and walked away realizing how important it is that we never let this Foundation flounder, and how we must encourage Tony in carrying out this dream.

Frannie, who’s 15, goes by the monicker "Boy Wonder". His mother is a beautician, and she goes from house to house, offering her services, without a steady job at a salon. He was chanced upon by some visiting foreign dancers/instructors who were so surprised with and impressed by the skill that Tony had instilled in Frannie that they felt he was more than qualified to compete for the Prix Lausanne, a prestigious international dance competition. This would mean that he could attempt to get a scholarship to train in one of the prestigious European ballet academies.

For Frannie, Nonoy Froilan is his role model. Rather than basketball players or movie stars, it’s Nonoy’s footsteps that he’d most like to follow. Frannie admits that it is difficult to explain to his friends what this interest in classical ballet is all about. "Pinaliwanag ko na iba ang movements ng ballet sa babae at sa lalake," he says. And while he says that his friends understand, one can imagine how often he has had to repeat this explanation.

Merianne is 13 years old. She may not have much use, in the strictest sense, for the measly transportation allowance the Foundation manages to give their scholars, as she lives only a few blocks away from the Amoranto Stadium. But please know that her domicile consists of a five feet by five feet plywood box that’s to be found on a sidewalk. Her mother washes clothes for a living and as you can well guess, dance is for her an escape and the opportunity to make something of herself while doing something she truly loves.

Thanks to the videos Tony has shown them, Merianne knows of ballet dancers like Lisa Macuja-Elizalde and has made her Idol #1. In addition, Margot Fonteyn and Gelsey Kirkland are names that have a potent totemic power over Merrianne, as they represent what all the arduous hours of practice can result in. Tony has discovered a real talent in Merianne, and it doesn’t take a genius to know that without the Foundation, the names of world-class dancers would mean as much to her as the names of the members of the Chinese Politburo.

Rafael is one of the older kids still with the Foundation. He’s an orphan and lives in San Vicente, near the University of the Philippines. Tony recounts that there was a time when he suspected that rather than use the transportation allowance to commute to practice, Rafael would walk all the way to Amoranto and back, and thus have extra money on hand. It’s evidence of the subsistence level some of these kids are immersed in, but it also shows what kind of devotion and passion these kids have for dance, for the classes and for Tony.

Rafael clearly feels Tony has become the mentor of his life. He knows that not all are called to the professional ballet companies that exist here in the Philippines, but he realizes that dance has given him purpose, that the training is a solid foundation and could be used as a stepping stone to audition for the dance groups that proliferate. Thanks to the Foundation, he has traveled, going to Japan and Bosnia as one of the Philippine representatives to Children’s Folk Dance Festivals.

At 12, Martin is one of those who look up to Rafael and Boy Wonder. He’s seen how the consistent scholarship status of these kids translates to training that they could otherwise never afford. As with all the others I spoke to, it’s their fervent hope to someday, somehow make a difference in the larangan of Philippine dance. They know only too well that the odds are stacked against them, that nothing less than excellence is required and, even then, it will only give them the slimmest of chances to be noticed.

And let’s face it, unlike the kids who are enrolled in expensive private schools, these kids don’t have extensive "fallback positions" or alternative options . In the same manner that sports can be the ticket out of the ghetto or slums, it’s dance that may be the passport these children can use to make a better go of their lives.

Whether we like to admit it or not, we are an underprivileged nation: Third World at its best...and worst. Given that, there will always be that one worthy cause, foundation or charity to support. Such institutions teem and multiply in this environment, one no less deserving that the next. There surely are more worthy causes that there are islands and islets in our archipelago.

But some of those who comprise the upper and privileged class of this country are a really funny lot. They like to consider themselves worldly, knowledgeable, cultured patrons of the arts, yet, ironically, with so many here living below the poverty line, with so many local calamities, it’s the cnn coverage of some tragedy abroad that draws their attention, sympathy and comment. You see and hear it all the time: they talk about the women of Afghanistan, the famine in Somalia, the chain e-mail about this kid in Belfast who needs money...

Well, the QC Performing Arts Development Foundation exists here and now–and it direly needs help. It’s the arts, it’s poverty alleviation through education and the inculcation of skills. Along with the Board of Trustees that includes Dean Josefina Agravante and Nina Anonas de Santos, Tony is really trying, with his own sweat and tears, to make a difference in the lives of these hundred kids.

There’s a free Christmas performance tonight (6 p.m.) at the QC Memorial Circle. Watch them dance their hearts out and you’ll see what we mean. Then keep in mind that as little as 500 pesos will provide a scholar with tights, leotards, ballet shoes and snacks for three months. You can call tel. 4132982 or 4132958 or e-mail [email protected]. Or you can deposit your donation to their Real Bank account 00117-000591-0.

Or you can simply forget you read this.