Ms. Cory Vidanes was named recently the new head of Channel 2 Mega Manila, effective March 18. She now oversees the total channel programming, artist development, on-air operations, and overall revenue and profit delivery of Channel 2 Mega Manila.

Vidanes was ABS-CBN Head of Entertainment Production since 1996. Under her helm, soap operas "Mara Clara" and "Mula sa Puso" shot into popularity, signaling the advent of the teleserye wave on Philippine TV. She also made household names out of kontrabidas like “Madame Claudia” (“Pangako Sa’yo”) and established bankable love teams like that of Judy Ann Santos and Piolo Pascual, and Claudine Barreto and Rico Yan.

A Communication Arts graduate from Ateneo, Vidanes began her career in television with BBC-2 in 1982. She joined ABS-CBN in 1986 as Associate Producer. With both expertise and passion for her craft, she was appointed to various positions in the company – executive producer, asst. production manager, production manager, production director, head of TV production, and finally Channel 2 head.

Taking her place as Head of Entertainment Production is Linggit Tan, who has more than 25 years of experience in TV production. She previously served as Production Development and Control Head of TV Production.

Tan graduated cum laude from UP as a Broadcast Communication major. She started with IBC Channel 13 and had stints with RPN 9, PTV 4, GMA 7 and SBN 21. In 1993, she finally found her home in ABS-CBN, where she held various key positions in TV Production.

Other movements in the higher echelon of ABS-CBN include the appointments of Paolo Pineda as Head of ABS-CBN Business Development and Connie Nolasco Lopez as ABS-CBN Interactive Managing Director.

Pineda joined the ABS-CBN subsidiary in 2000 as its Business Development Manager. He quickly rose from the ranks as Interactive’s mobile group head in 2002 and finally, its managing director in 2005.

Nolasco-Lopez, on the other hand, started out at SkyCable as an analyst in 1995 and eventually, its corporate planning manager. She’ll best be remembered as the business unit head of ABS-CBN Interactive’s successful Video-On-Demand Service called TFCNow, which won the company recognition from the Wall Street Journal.

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HCSB’s ‘Celebration of Dance’

As the regular school year ends, the Halili-Cruz School of Ballet (HCSB) prepares its young aspiring ballerinas for an enjoyable celebration of talents and creativity. Unique to the HCSB, as it is the only dance school in the Philippines holding four grand recitals in a year (in March, May, October, December), HCSB will have its culminating event entitled “Celebration of Dance 2009” at the Meralco Theatre today, March 29, at 2 p.m. to feature Cast A, B and C; and at 6 p.m. to showcase Cast C, D and E.

More than 600 excited and enthusiastic Halili-Cruz dancers will be presented together with the dancers of Quezon City Ballet, the school’s performing group composed of HCSB advanced students.
The “Celebration of Dance” will bring together the HCSB students from the different branches to include the main studio, the HCSB-Miriam College, the HCSB-St. Pedro Poveda College, HCSB-St. Mary’s College, HCSB-Alabang Country Club, and HCSB-Siena Taytay. It is a gathering of blooming and budding talents all aspiring to become excellent dance artists.

The concert is also a venue of creating new works – new choreographies, newly designed costumes, new production ideas and concepts. The recital is indeed a harvest, a harvest of creativity and artistic capabilities, of dedication, of patience and commitment, and of the aspiration that began with a small dream.

Ms. Shirley Halili-Cruz is the strong force behind the dynamic activities at the Halili-Cruz School of Ballet. She believes that since ballet is a performing art, performance on stage is of vital importance. Through years of dedication and commitment to her craft, Ms. Halili-Cruz has received numerous well-deserved awards and recognition both national and international.

The dance concert will feature new works of the equally dedicated dance teachers who both trained under Ms. Halili-Cruz for the past 23 years: Grace Garalde-Perez and Anna Tuazon-Balmadrid; Nordic Caraig choreographed two contemporary pieces.

Audition for scholarship and company membership is tomorrow, March 30, at 4 p.m. in the HCSB main studio at 1227 Quezon Ave. QC. Audition is open to male and female dancers
Selected HCSB students leave for LA, California on April 4, 2009. The school is once again chosen to officially represent the Philippines in “Dance Excellence 2009,” a global event of the finest dancers in the world, to be held in Westin Hotel on April 5 to 11. They will also perform in Disneyland, Hollywood, and the LA Performing Arts Center. The Halili Cruz dancers will again participate in the international performance boards where they won five gold trophies in five different categories last year.

Halili-Cruz Summer Dance Workshop is on Apri 15 to May 31. Enrollment going on. Grand recital is on June 7, 2009 at the CCP Main Theatre. For inquiries, visit its main studio at 1227 Quezon Ave., QC.

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Mayor Marides Fernando tackles ‘women empowerment’

Marikina City Mayor Ma. Lourdes “Marides” C. Fernando has always been an advocate of women excellence, and this time she tackles the subject “Women Empowerment” in Ricky Reyes TV show, aired every Sunday, 10-11 a.m. on QTV-11.

The segment is very appropriate for her as host. She fits in perfectly well.

“I could discuss about women – because I know a lot,” Ricky said. “But my credibility suffers because, of course, I am not a perfect woman.”

So, Ricky presented the concept to Mayor Marides and she readily accepted.

“Topics for women empowerment is limitless,” Marides said. “I would like to give priority how the ordinary woman can uplift herself economically and, or course, socially.”

Marides added that a priority subject is woman’s relationship to her husband and to her children – how to maintain harmony in the house and how does she presents herself to them every day.

She said that a non-working woman usually denies herself soon on how to take care of herself that she becomes a sore in the house rather than the person whom the husband and children must gladly return to in the evening.

Another priority subject in the show is livelihood, especially during this time of financial crisis. The professional housewife must get out from her shell and venture to an income-generating enterprise, and this she must make her husband understand it.

Marides was elected mayor of Marikina City in 2001 and was overwhelmingly re-elected in 2004 and 2007.

As local chief executive, she introduced a paradigm of shift in local governance from being merely a service provider into an economic manager. She runs the institution like a private corporation, one where there are customers, workers and stakeholders. Her corporate approach to community management has elevated Marikina among the ranks of Best Managed Cities in the Philippines.

Under her watch, Marikina City has won several prestigious awards, all for excellence in various services to the people.

On women empowerment, she said: “Women can live with dignity and security if they are economically productive.”

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Tidbits: Happy b-day greetings today, March 29, go to broadcast journalists Tina Monzon-Palma and Ted Failon, Dr. Jose “Pepito” Oreta, Mila de Jesus, Bambi Babiera, Engr. Renato R. Agustin, Fely Ley, Laica O. Marquez, hotelier Miguel Cerqueda, Romer Rubiano, Jocelyn Soleybar Espiritu, Sister Linda Acuña, and Aaron Agassi of Star Magic…