The artistic team of the world-class Halili-Cruz School of Ballet led by Artistic Director Shirley Halili-Cruz, and ballet Teachers Grace Garalde-perez, Anna Lissa Tuazon-Balmadrid, and Anna Kathrina Cruz.

Tradition continues on. 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 (March, May, September, December), will have its culminating event entitled “Celebration of Dance 2010” at the Meralco Theatre on Wednesday, March 31, at 6:30 p.m. to showcase Cast B and C.

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 girls in tutu and in graceful little movements and who throughout the year had shown their untiring support for the fulfillment of their children’s dreams.

The “Celebration of Dance” will bring together the Halili-Cruz School of Ballet students from the Main Studio and from the different branches to include the Halili-Cruz School of Ballet - Miriam College, the Halili-Cruz School of Ballet - St. Pedro Poveda College, Halili-Cruz School of Ballet - St. Mary’s College, Halili-Cruz School of Ballet - Alabang Country Club, and Halili-Cruz School of Ballet - 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 – of creativity and artistic capabilities, of dedication, of patience and commitment, and of the aspiration that began with a small dream.

In the two shows of the “Celebration of Dance” (the first was staged last night), one will see a total of 45 dances that will surely inspire dancers. The dance concert will showcase different forms of dance: Classical ballet, neo classical and modern contemporary. The youngest performer is three years old and the most senior ballet dancer is 26. All the HCSB dancers look forward to the recital as rehearsals, pictorials and the actual stage performance package the moment as challenging and exciting. 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 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 ballet training. 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 her students. Through the 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 all trained under Ms. Halili-Cruz for the past 24 years: Grace Garalde-Perez, Anna Tuazon-Balmadrid and Anna Kathrina Cruz who choreographed exciting dance pieces. All the 45 dances are original choreographies of the HCSB-QCB Artistic Team.

Incidentally, selected students of the Halili-Cruz School of Ballet are preparing for various international performances in Barcelona, Australia, Macao and the USA. They will also be participating in the Dance Xchange: The 2nd Philippine International Dance Workshop and Festival. The Dance Xchange is conceptualized by the NCCA-National Committee on Dance under the strong and innovative leadership of Ms. Halili-Cruz.

Also, the Halili-Cruz Summer Dance Workshop will start on April 7 and ends on May 30. Enrollment is going on for boys and girls, children and adult, age 3 years old to 65 years old. Courses offered are classical ballet, contemporary dance, hiphop, ballroom and taekwondo. Grand recital is on June 2010 at the CCP Main Theatre. For inquiries, visit its main studio at 1227 Quezon Ave., Quezon City.

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Tidbits: Happy b-day greetings on March 31 go to CEB Chairperson Christine S. Dayrit, Johnny “Midnight” Joseph, Maritoni Fernandez, Charisse Garcia-Chuidian, Victor Neri Valenciano, Ben Q. Avancena, Mrs. Alma Maceda Calleja, NJ Torres, Ben Asuncion, and Fred Payawan. Congratulations to Maria Donna D. Garcia and her classmates (Manila High School, Section 6) on their graduation on Wednesday at the PLM Auditorium.