Pinay tops international ballet competition

HELSINKI, Finland – Candice Adea, principal dancer of Ballet Philippines, won first prize in the Senior Women’s Division at the Helsinki International Ballet Competition, one of the most prestigious ballet competitions in the world.

The competition, held at the Helsinki Opera House, drew 69 dancers from 28 countries, including USA, China, Japan, Finland, Canada, Italy and Cuba.

Her partner, Jean Marc Cordero, also a principal dancer of Ballet Philippines, was given a Special Jury Award for Best in Pas de Deux Technique. He was a semi-finalist in the Men’s Senior Division.

Adea’s win caps a string of other prestigious prizes. In 2010 she won the silver medal at the USA International Ballet Competition in Jackson, Mississippi.

Last year, she won special awards at the Boston International Ballet Competition (the Maris Liepa Award for Artistry) and third prize at the Seoul International Dance Competition.

Adea is a purely home-grown talent, a product of the Philippine High School for the Arts in Makiling, Laguna and the CCP Dance School and Ballet Philippines.

In the finals, Adea performed the “Diana and Acteon” pas de deux with Cordero for classical ballet and “Aku,” a Neo-Filipino piece choreographed by Alden Lugnasin, for contemporary dance.

She was a crowd favorite from the start, with bloggers raving about her performances.

The blog “Pointe Til You Drop” says, “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 backstage friends praying for their safety! If Ms. Adea doesn’t place high, I should be very surprised.”

As in all their previous competitions, Victor Ursabia, Ballet Philippines’ ballet master and CCP Dance School director, was the pair’s coach and mentor.

The Helsinki International Ballet Competition is part of the cycle of international ballet competitions, considered the Olympics of ballet, held under the auspices of the Federation of International Ballet Competitions (FIBC) in Jackson, Moscow, and Varna (Bulgaria).

The competition is organized by the Helsinki International Ballet Competition Association in cooperation with the Finnish National Opera. The Competition is held at the Opera House in Helsinki, Finland.

Adea and Cordero’s next performance in the Philippines will be in Ballet Philippines’ Songs on July 6-8 at the CCP Main Theater, where they will premiere a pas de deux by Augustus Damian III.