Congress cites Heat coach

I think Candice Aldea and others in Ballet Philippines are equally deserving of being recognized.

Candice Adea, a
principal dancer of Ballet Philippines, won first prize in the senior women’s
division of the Helsinki International Ballet Competition, one of the world’s
most prestigious ballet competitions in June 2012

According to a news release on Ballet Philippines’ website, the
competition drew 69 dancers from 28 countries, including the United States,
China, Japan, Finland, Canada, Italy, and Cuba, among others.

Jean Marc
Cordero, also a principal dancer of Ballet Philippines and Adea’s partner, was
a semi-finalist.

He won a Special Jury Award for Best in Pas de Deux Technique (partnering).

Ballet Philippines said Adea is the most successful Filipina in international
ballet competitions, having the most wins and special prizes.

She is the first Filipino to be awarded first prize in a top tier international
ballet competition (composed of competitions in Varna, Bulgaria; Jackson, MI,
USA; and Moscow, Russia).

Adea now joins the list of Filipino ballet dancers who have received
international recognition.

The
competition’s prizes amount to over 55,000 euros. In addition, the judges may
grant one or more choreography prizes, worth a total of 6,000 euros. The jury
may also at their discretion award prizes not mentioned in the competition
rules.

The Helsinki
International Ballet Competition belongs to the cycle of International Ballet
Competitions held under the auspices of the Federation of International Ballet
Competitions (FIBC) in Jackson, MI (USA), Moscow, Russia, and Varna, Bulgaria.

Multi-awarded ballerina

In 2010, Adea
won a silver medal at the USA International Ballet Competition in Jackson,
Michigan, touted as the Olympics of ballet.

The following year, she won special awards at the Boston International Ballet
Competition (the Maris Liepa award for artistry) and the third prize at the
Seoul International Dance Competition.

With her partner Cordero, she also won the lead role in a Russian Ballet
Performance in Boston.

Coach and
mentor

In the recently
concluded Helsinki competition, Victor Ursabia, Ballet Philippines’ ballet master
and CCP Dance School Director, was the pair’s coach and mentor.

In the finals,
Adea performed Diana and Acteon pas de deux with Cordero for classical and Aku
(choreographed by Alden Lugnasin) in contemporary.

Bloggers raved about the performances of Adea, a crowd favorite.

One blog —
“Pointe Til You Drop” — said: “Magical was no other than my early favorite,
Candice Adea. Again. She danced her Diana and Actéon variation with such
technical purity, exquisite expression and warmth.”

“I think most of the audience has already fallen in love with her! Adea
and her now non-competing partner had also one of the scariest over-head lifts,
which had one of my back-stage friends praying for their safety! If Ms. Adea
doesn’t place high, I should be very surprised,” the blogger added. – VVP,
GMA News