Tradition continues, and today the Halili-Cruz School of Ballet (HCSB) presents its young, aspiring ballerinas and danseurs in another enjoyable celebration of talent and creativity via “Summer Dance Divertissement 2009,” the culminating event of the school’s Summer Dance Workshop. It will be held at the Main Theatre of the Cultural Center of the Philippines starting at 6 p.m. HCSB, awarded as “The Most Outstanding Ballet School in Asia,” is unique in that it is the only dance school in the Philippines that holds four grand recitals in a year – in March, June, October and December.

Today, more than 500 excited and enthusiastic Halili-Cruz dancers will be presented together with the Quezon City Ballet, the school’s performing group composed of the HCSB advanced students. Equally excited are the parents who long to see their young boys and girls perform on stage in beautiful costumes and exciting dances. Throughout the year, they have shown their untiring support for the fulfillment of their children’s dream.

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.

In “Summer Dance Divertissement,” one will see a total of 44 inspiring dances. The dance concert will showcase different forms of dance: Classical ballet, neo-classical, hip-hop, modern and contemporary dance. The youngest performer is three years old and the most senior ballet dancer is 36 years old. All the HCSB dancers looked forward to the recital as they went through rigorous rehearsals, and pictorials. It is admirable to note that many of the ballet students choose to join the recital and even the summer dance classes over a vacation out of the country.

Ms. Shirley Halili-Cruz, the strong force and prime mover behind the dynamic activities at the Halili-Cruz School of Ballet and great achievements of the school, has maintained the tradition of having dance concerts and great productions as integral to the training of their students. She believes that since ballet is a performing art, performance on stage is of vital importance. The versatility and stage presence that the advanced students have gained emanate from the stage exposure acquired during the regular performances which were opportunities that Ms. Halili-Cruz has created for their students. Through the years of dedication and commitment to her craft, Ms. Halili-Cruz has received numerous well-deserved awards and recognitions, both national and international.

Today’s dance concert is also a celebration of the very successful performances of the Halili-Cruz School of Ballet and the Quezon City Ballet in the Dance Excellence 2009 in Los Angeles, CA, and Ansan Arts Festival in South Korea. The Dance Excellence 2009 held on April 4-11, 2009 is a global dance event participated in by more than 800 dancers and dance directors from 18 countries from four continents: Australia, Belgium, Canada, Cyprus, England, Germany, Gibraltar, Ireland, Japan, Northern Island, the Philippines, Portugal, Russia, Scotland, Singapore, Switzerland and the 52 states of the United States of America. The Halili-Cruz School of Ballet is the official representative of the Philippines in the said event and proudly it brought home five 1st prizes.

Following that successful stint in America, the group prepared for yet another international event, the Ansan Arts Festival on May 2-6, 2009 in South Korea. The Ansan Arts Festival is participated in by 56 performing groups from 16 different countries. The Halili-Cruz dancers were the crowd favorite in the whole duration of the festival. The group was also one of the five top performing groups requested to perform in the closing ceremony.

The 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, Anna Kathrina Cruz and Nordic Caraig who choreographed four contemporary pieces.

By the way, the HCSB artistic team will be in Macau from June 5 to 9. Ballet classes for school year 2009-2010 will start on June 13.

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Karylle takes over Marian

Singer-actress Karylle has taken over Marian Rivera (who many still believe was the cause of Karylle’s break-up with former boyfriend Dingdong Dantes) as endorser of Blue Water Day Spa, together with Akihiro Sato. They were launched recently at the C3 Events Place in Missouri St., Greenhills, where guests and members of the media were treated to a relaxing free foot massage (too bad it was only for 10 minutes!).

Previously, the endorsers were Marian Rivera and Piolo Pascual, and they led the ribbon-cutting ceremonies at the opening of Blue Water Day Spa in Capitol Heights, Quezon City last year.

Anyway, Karylle said that even before she became BWDS endorser, she had been a frequent visitor at the spa, availing herself of their various services. Like the other patrons of the spa, she has proven that it is “a wellness retreat for mind, body and soul.” It is a place where serenity wraps around you, and with their experienced massage therapists combined with the latest spa technology, they really give customers the ultimate spa experience in the metro.

They indeed offer a holistic approach to wellness which means they take care of their customers inside and out!

Their other services include Spa Management Consultancy, Manpower Sourcing and Customized Spa Experiences through their own franchising opportunities.

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Tidbits: Happy birthday greetings for June 4, go to Ms. Maribel Dario, Sonia Pajaro, Vic Savellano, Francy Varilla, Angie Liao, Camille Arnault-Teotico, Paquito Ignacio, Darlene Bayota-Patanao, Nicholas Magnale, Lorna C. Quinones, Joshua Aquino, Harmony Cossette Tabora-Cabusao of New Jersey, USA, Angelo “Jigers” Armas and Gretchen Fullido of ABS-CBN Star Magic… Realtor Quin Baterna could have celebrated his 70th birth anniversary today but he passed away recently… Congratulations to Mrs. Rowena C. Atendido of Pio V. Corpus, Masbate for passing the examination for Master Teacher 1…