A Mission En Pointe

The moment they arrived in Davao City, the Ballet Brigade’s mission was clear.

Guided by Ballet Philippines president Kathleen Liechtenstein, the Ballet Brigade aims to introduce ballet to children across the Philippines, inspiring them with dance and providing scholarships to help develop undiscovered talents. The brigade also actively engages in the traditional dances of the community, immersing itself in the local culture to participate in an enriching exchange of dance across generations.

The Davao brigade consists of the Leichtensteins, MayMay Leichtenstein, her daughter, Dr. Lauren Leichtenstein, Sheree Chua, Wilson Limon of NiñoFranco and Ballet Philippines’ four core dancers: Clarisse Miranda, Ramona Yusay, Carlo Pagoda and Mark Bucay.

Before the five-hour trip to Lake Sebu, the brigade stopped by the Southern Philippines Medical Center, specifically in the children’s cancer ward, where the dancers brought joy to kids and their families as they waited for their names to be called for their treatments. The brigade also stopped in Malita, Davao Occidental, where they held a masterclass for aspiring young dancers.

The Ballet Brigade eventually arrived at the School of Living Traditions (SLT) in Lake Sebu, founded by GADOR Awardee Maria Todi, who tirelessly works to preserve and promote T’boli heritage.

The SLT encourages students to learn how to play traditional instruments and embrace the melody of their chants and songs. Todi invites the village elders and bastions of T’boli culture to teach during weekends, fostering a sense of community and building bridges between generations.

They have invited young children to participate in a masterclass taught by young dancers from the Metro. Some children come in their Kegals, traditional wear for people of the T’boli tribe, while others wear leggings. The kids listen intently as they do stretches, breathing exercises and proper posture guidance. They do pliès and epaulès and soon run through the positions with the music.

The children were enthralled when Clarisse donned a tutu and performed a five-minute piece with Mark. The mood was electric when Ramona and Carlo entered with a Neoclassical number.

After the class, Maria Todi settled some students behind a gathering of instruments consisting of the K’lintang, a set of seven horizontally laid gongs played with a gong stick, two T’nonggongs — drums, and a sloli (flute) — and explained that the dance the kids were about to perform mimicked a bird.

The Kadal Tahaw is a dance for good harvest. The students began, and then Rosie Sula, National Living Treasure for chants, and even Todi herself, danced for a few beats before inviting the ballerinas to join in by draping a malong around their necks. Small steps forward, small steps back, hands gracefully rising and falling, like the flapping of a bird’s wings. A turn if you have good balance.

A touch of the drums brought the music to a halt as Todi plucked the hegalong resting at a pillar in the School of Living Traditions. The hegalong — a two-stringed lute — was once owned by Ma Fil, who eventually had to sell it as he had gotten sick. The guest who bought Ma Fil’s hegalong left it at the school so it would still be played.

The children began chanting. One chanted about the rain and a mother calling her child back: “Go home,” she says, “or you’ll be sick.” MB Rosie Sula had one for the dancers — a chant to thank them for this exchange. Her chants come to her extemporaneously. She sings how she feels, she sings of the moment.

“As long as one child is inspired, that is everything we aim for,” MayMay says. Since touching down in Davao City, it is the mantra that reverberates with the brigade. They continue to dance; they dance for hope, they dance for inspiration, they dance for the dreamers of tomorrow.