A DANCER'S LIFE

Francia: A Dancer’s Life

We at PHSA a ballet major were called Maquiling Ballet. As a scholar of arts, the moment you were admitted at PHSA you are oblige to do your best. Since I am a scholar I need to maintain high grades and to be excellent in my craft. In a competitive world of ballet being slack will not succeed. But in my case, I believe the only thing I need to do is being me and love what I am doing. I don’t want to be a hypocrite that I don’t get tired. But this is my passion and I love what I am doing.

Every day as early as five thirty in the morning I woke up and prepare, we are three students in our room. Anyways PHSA is a residential school (boarding school), so we need to follow rules. By six to six thirty in the morning we need to be in our school cafeteria for our breakfast or else you won’t have a breakfast if you are late! With this we learn to discipline ourselves to be punctual and mature enough in following rules. As soon as you finish your breakfast you have to be at school area by seven in the morning. I forgot to mention PHSA is located at mount Makiling a mythological mountain that believed magical and mysterious. It was also believe that a woman named Maria was the caretaker of the mountain. And anyone who harms the mountain will definitely receive a consequence. Okay, back to my story after breakfast we need to be in the school area for our basic education class until lunch time. Afterwards, by two in the afternoon its art class until six in the evening. Sometimes we have night rehearsals, and this is what makes a dancers life exciting. 

Why we do night rehearsals, every year MB needs to perform recitals like undergraduate, junior high and senior high recitals. In addition if we need to perform outside school.

Why we do MB undergraduate recitals, MB undergraduate recitals are performed every first card giving in PHSA. This was the time where the MB undergraduate the grade 7, 8 and 9^th the recitalist merge in to one performance and showcase individual talents through designated dances choreograph by the grade 9 students. The purpose of this recital is incorporate what we undergraduates learned for the past three years. It also emphasizes the quality of each student who will undergo a lot of future performances. We also find ways to overcome problems that may pertain to costume, music, the production and the ability of each dancer.

MB

Junior High School recital, the junior high school recitals are performed every last quarter of the school year. This time the grade 10 is the recitalist merge with grade 7-9. Same as the undergrad recital, it is showcasing what they learned from previous years the only difference this time is more grandiose, bigger production with detailed choreography, well prepared performance, meticulously themed studied by the recitalist.

The Senior High School recital, at PHSA the senior high is a combination of dance major like ballet and folk dance. Senior high has small population of student, most of the time they borrow dancers from junior high. A senior high school recital is focus on technical aspect of a performance.

As a dancer I don’t know what future awaits me but still I have dreams. I wish to compete internationally, I wish to have a scholarship abroad, I wish to excel more, I wish to have a studio in our house, and I wish my youtube channel will grow.



-FFGA

FRANCIA BALLERINA IN TIGHT BUDGET

RAISING A BALLERINA IN THE PHILIPPINES

Francia ballerina in tight budget;

My daughter Francia is a 13 year old classical ballet and contemporary dancer. She started taking classes at the age of 8, in a small town of Los Baños Laguna. As parent with little income and believed that ballet is expensive, I cannot afford to support her dream. Way back in March 2013, I got an invitation from a friend and asking us to watch a ballet recital at Philippine High School for the Arts in support of his son as a recitalist. Actually, Francia wanted to learn ballet when she is 5 years old but I know I cannot send her to any ballet school because of our small income. With channels and connections I learned this small dance school in Los Baños, it was called AVA’s School of Dance they offer dance classes like classical ballet, modern ballet/contemporary, jazz and hip hop. And by July of that year I enrolled Francia, you can’t believe her tuition fee that time its only 800php a month and my expense for her first ballet shoes, thighs and pink leotard is only 1700php.

   

Francia is now a grade 8 ballet major student granted with 6 years scholarship at Philippine High School for the Arts. Thanks to her first mentor Ms. Ava Villanueva Ong of AVA’s school of dance with her help and believing in my daughters capability and potential. Francia passed her audition and entrance exam at PHSA last January 2017 and start schooling by June of same year. She is now enjoying the life as “Ibarang” or “iskolar para sa sining” and honored to be part of Maquiling Ballet. My daughter is now happy, thankful and bless because she is enjoying the privilege to be mentored by Sir Robert Medina, Mam Lisa Macuja Elizalde, Sir Nonoy Froilan, Mam Jeng Halili and other international guest teachers. She is now experiencing as part of different recitals, productions and even awarded with different scholarships in manila and abroad.

As parent with little income, i am happy and proud of her achievements at the same time sad because of many opportunity coming her way but we can't support her all the way. I am on the stage now of realizing the demand of her chosen field. Whose parent don't want the best for their child? I just close my hand and look up above, believe and pray that God will continue to bless my daughter and time will come that Francia will achieve her dreams.