Summer dancin' summer lovin'

MANILA, Philippines - Growing up, I always eagerly anticipated the coming of summer. For me, summer meant sleeping in, not having to do homework, having more time to play with friends and lazing on the beach. In other words, it meant bumming around.

But in 1992, I discovered a new reason to love summer – the CCP Summer Dance Workshop.

I was living in Cebu City when I started taking ballet, and by the time I was in high school, I started dreaming of becoming a dancer. When the opportunity came for my ballet classmates and me to go to Manila to join the workshop, we grabbed it – and thus began my love affair with ballet.

The Summer Dance Workshop was a whole new world for me. I was in awe! The CCP was a very formidable building, and when I first entered, there was a very unique atmosphere about it. There was art everywhere – musicians from the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra (PPO) practicing their instruments, art work in the lobby, and best of all, hundreds of students just like me – kids who just loved to dance.

The workshop was unlike anything I had experienced before. We started by auditioning for scholarships, and my classmates and I received provincial scholarships.

Summer is a good time to stretch those legs (above).

Then it was off to registration, where we were assigned classes to take – two classical ballet courses, a modern class, improvisation, and lectures. It was like college where we went from one classroom (studio in this case) to another, and had breaks in between.

Of course, it wasn’t all easy. The classes were so full, you had to always be at your best to get noticed by the teacher. I had so many bad habits in terms of ballet technique, and there were so many things I didn’t know, I really had to adapt quickly.

We were required to take modern dance, which I had not tried before. And of course, what was a summer dance intensive without the onset of blisters, chipped nails and bruised toe nails?!

Amidst all the pain and difficulties (yes, let’s make it sound like I was really suffering), I found that a lot of my classmates and the more advanced dancers were very encouraging and supportive. They all shared their secrets for reducing the swelling and minimizing the pain. They would tell their own hilarious stories about how they made it through an especially difficult dance.

My favorite part of the day – aside from the breaks when we’d hang out and play all sorts of card games – was late in the afternoon, when Ballet Philippines’ company members arrive, take class and do rehearsals. I would get starstruck seeing veteran ballerina Cecile Sicangco arrive earlier than everybody else and prepare her body methodically. All the pros seemed to have their own style of dressing and warming up, but they were all the same in that they would be so animated in the hallways, but as soon as they entered the rehearsal hall, they would be all business and focused, with only the occasional chit chat.

I loved how they were so disciplined and focused. I loved how they would just transform themselves into the dance. I loved how they were already so good, and yet they took correction very professionally. I loved watching them dance.

Summer workshoppers let go and let loose after the culminating recital. Shared plies and arabesques, pain and effort form fast friendships. Photos by verna fajilan

I loved it all!

By the time it ended, I had an autograph book filled with new friends, many of whom became my pen pals (it was still snail mail back then!) and my lifelong friends. I vowed to come back the next year – and I did, even if it meant missing “recognition of honors” day at school back in Cebu. My high school friend, who was always at the top of our class, thought I was crazy for missing it, but hey, when you’re in love, you do crazy things, right?

It’s been 20 years, and guess what? I’m still here!

The author was a company member of Ballet Philippines and the principal of the CCP Dance School. She is currently PR director of Ballet Philippines and a faculty member of the CCPDS.

The 43rd CCP Summer Dance Workshop begins on April 10 at the Cultural Center of the Philippines. Visit the CCP Dance School or contact the CCPDS Registrar at tel 833-3244, Tuesdays to Saturdays 10 am to 5 pm. Email [email protected] or visit www.balletphilippines.org. The CCP Dance School also has a satellite school at Arts in the City, FVR Park, 26th Street cor. 7th Avenue, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig. Call 346-3684 or 399-2211 for details.