From fierce
typhoons and tight budgets to losing its dancers to cruise ships and theme
parks, Ballet Philippines has weathered almost every type of storm, but as it
celebrates its 50th anniversary the renowned arts organization is determined
the show will go on. Funding is difficult to secure and there is little money
for necessities such as dancer's salaries or even shoes-but more than 30,000
people watched the troupe's productions last year, no mean feat in a nation
where millions live on  less than $2 a
day.

One of the
biggest challenges is keeping the dancers it has trained-some go on to join
world-class organizations such as Stella Abrera who is now a principal dancer
at American Ballet Theatre and West Australian Ballet soloist Candice Adea. But
many leave after being poached to perform on cruise ships or as characters at
Disneyland, who can offer 50-100 times what they make at Ballet Philippines.

"The only
thing I'm not happy about is when Disney gets them as Mickey Mouse.... That's
happened a lot and it's still happening," Ballet Philippines President
Kathleen Liechtenstein tells AFP. 
Principal dancer Denise Parungao, who started out as an $40-a
month-apprentice at the troupe, says she relied on family to help pay her rent
and understands why others left. "It's really hard because the salary
before was really low and most of the dancers are not well off," the
25-year-old explains.

'Filipinas have
more heart'

Part of the success
of Ballet Philippines has been the determination of its performers.  In 2014, a fierce typhoon knocked out power
and floods left the orchestra stranded miles from the venue, but with two hours
before the show started-the organization decided to carry on so as not to
disappoint audiences who had travelled for the show.

"The lights
came back on as the people started to fill the Cultural Center of the
Philippines lobby. It was a harrowing experience," recalls Liechtenstein,
who says they had to use recorded music in place of live musicians. "The
dancing was exquisitely unforgettable," she says, adding that the audience
agreed-giving a roading standing ovation. 
The same grit is evident down even when it comes to the use of dancing
shoes.

In big name
companies a performer might go through four pairs of ballet slippers in the
course of a single performance. "In Ballet Philippines, a dancer wears (a
pair) for a whole month. They put glue, they varnish, do everything just to
make them last," Parungao says. She buys an extra five pairs a year out of
her own pocket to make sure her footwear does not disintegrate during a live
performance.

"Filipinas
really have more heart in doing this... we give our whole selves to it,"
Parungao adds. Unlike in Russia and the West, there is no national programme
for spotting dancing talent in the Philippines and few get an early start-those
that succeed must battle to make their mark.

Love to entertain

Carlo Pacis, a
former senior soloist at the Hong Kong Ballet who briefly returned to Manila to
choreograph "A Midsummer Night's Dream" for Ballet Philippines,
believes its dancers' strengths are not just physical. "We do not only
dance: we embody the roles that we are tasked to portray. We love to act, we
love to entertain," he says. Ballet Philippines declined to give its
annual funding, but sources in the arts world said its four to six productions
per year cost at least $100,000 each.

Though it has
always had free use of the national cultural centre's facilities, the company
only gets about $40,000 a year in government backing. For the rest it must rely
on seat sales and sponsorships, as well as donations: The board of directors, a
who's who of the country's wealthiest families, collectively put up 30 percent
of the company's annual budget.

Founded in 1969
by pioneering Filipina contemporary dancer and choreographer Alice Reyes with
help from Imelda Marcos-whose husband Ferdinand ruled the country as a dictator
until his ouster in 1986 -- the company was one of Asia's first.  With Reyes still with the company as artistic
director, it remains on a short list of developing nations that have their own
ballet troupes including Vietnam, China, Cuba and Brazil.

To open its 50th
season in August, principal dancer Evgeny Ivanchenko and first soloist Elena
Evseeva of Russia's famed Mariinsky Ballet, previously the Kirov Ballet,
starred alongside local dancers in the Filipino troupe's "Swan Lake"
gala night. The production evoked the glitter of Ballet Philippines' first
decade, when the likes of legends Margot Fonteyn, Rudolf Nureyev, Natalia
Makarova and Patrick Bissell danced for the company in Manila. The troupe's
reputation continues to pack a punch. 
Chris Millado, Cultural Center of the Philippine's artistic director,
says: "It is one of the best in Asia."-AFP