There is a lot to celebrate as the Halili-Cruz School of Ballet observes its 38th year with a grand showcase concert at the Newport Theater for Performing Arts, Sunday, July 30, at 2 and 7:30 p.m.
The school director, Dr. Shirley Halili-Cruz, describes her own evolution as mother, dancer and teacher while recalling the school’s modest beginnings. “I think I have gone full circle,” she says. “I’ve raised wonderful children, trained students to become future dancers and teachers, crossed generations to conceptualize program and mounted projects that bridged culture of dance. I’ve shared resources to build good lives for others and in the process, showcase the rich dance heritage of the country.”
It is not easy being one of the driving forces behind the dynamic dance community in Metro Manila.
Running both the Halili-Cruz School of Ballet (HCSB) and the Halili-Cruz Conservatory (HSC) involved careful planning with the right dance syllabus.
While HCSB is oriented on classical ballet, she also established the Halili-Cruz Conservatory (HCC) to cater to other dance genres to include contemporary dance, hip-hop, tap, modern dance, jazz, musical theater and lyrical dance.
Dr. Halili-Cruz pointed out their school of ballet continues its original objective of providing a systematic and wholistic classical ballet education anchored on the 12 level ballet syllabi she authored. “Our yearly dance recitals are aimed at featuring selected students to showcase the best of the ballet school and the conservatory.”
When she founded her school of ballet in 1985, she was already into teaching dance of various genres. She taught ballet, jazz and Polynesian dance in Siena College, Sta Catalina and St Paul College, among others.
The thing is she was already into teaching while undergoing training as a dancer.
Early dance training included being principal dancer and soloist of the Dance Concert Company under director-choreographer Eric V. Cruz.
Her dance background also allowed her to be part of theater productions of the late Fr. James. B. Reuter.
She didn’t stop after Manila schooling. She trained and completed professional teaching courses in New York.
It wasn’t easy starting a dance school.
There are just too many concerns quite far away from teaching dance. Like financing and designing the school structure and brainstorming designs for five studios with facilities like dressing rooms, offices, comfort rooms, canteen, quadrangle, parking lot and many others.
She added: “I chose teachers and school staff who are graduates of our ballet school and who share my vision.”
Next order of the day, she authored 12-level classical ballet syllabus, examination and grading system and, defined the unique offering of the school.
Her efforts paid off handsomely.
In time, she became part of international dance affiliations which enabled her to aim for a high standard of dance education. Soon the dance school was representing the country in world festivals and later winning international competitions. “It has always been clear to me that the school is a way to realize my passion for dance and my commitment to provide a legacy of excellent dance education in the country.”
From the very beginning, she considered challenges as sources of new ideas on how to raise the level of dance education. “I am essentially a positive person in terms of outlook. I look at problems as a good way to find new approaches to teaching dance. I also found a strong support from my family, mentors and friends which made a lot of difference.”
Soon she was invited to establish ballet school branches at St. Pedro Poveda College, Miriam College, St Mary’s, Ayala Alabang, Siena, BGC and four other sites. “As always, we have very good enrollment. The first ten years were so exciting and challenging as well. We were doing international study tours, participated in international competitions and festivals. We subject our students to international dance examinations. This is to ensure that our dance syllabus and our students are at par with their international counterpart. We were not disappointed. We get regular invitations which is an indication our dance program has international approval.”
The most stressful in the 38 years of existence of the school was of course how it coped with the pandemic.
“We confronted the problems head-on and did what was possible under the not- so ideal circumstances. We immediately implemented online teaching. We didn’t have to close the school. We are aware this was the most challenging period not just for our school but for the dance studios around the globe. The last four years tested our capability to adjust and just be resilient. The problems tested our programs and enabled us to discover new paths. We navigated through the virtual platforms with great success as we sustained at least 500 students within the said period and maintained our school staff and teachers.”
Thus far. HCBS has mounted five online recitals and four face-to-face concerts at the school’s main studio with 500 students among them some foreign dance enrollees.
What does it take to run a dance school from her experience?
Dr. Halili-Cruz: “One must have a clear vision and objectives. The school was founded out of my passion and commitment to share my talent and knowledge. It is always a case of non-stop learning while keeping abreast with new trends in dance education and providing students with exposure opportunities to further hone their dance skills.”
Apart from Grace Perez, the other associate director, Anna Halili Cruz Bueno, completes the mother-daughter dance teaching tandem: “It was very easy for me to absorb my job because I’ve been with her since I was seven years old. I know how she teaches and how she encourages all her students to enjoy and love dance. I guess I inherited her passion for the art and to strive for excellence in anything that I do.”
(On July 30, 2023, the Halili-Cruz School of Ballet and the Halili-Cruz Conservatory will present Summer Dance Divertissement 2023 at 2 p.m. and the “Diversifiera 2023” at 7:00 PM. at the Newport Performing Arts Theater. The 7 p.m. show will have the Philippine Madrigal Singers and the Manila Philharmonic Orchestra as special guests.)
