Filipino student-dancers took home several top awards at the recent Hong Kong Challenge Cup Dance Competition, held at the Y Theater in Chai Wan, Hong Kong.
The contingent was composed of the De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde Dance Majors, and members of the Saint Benilde Romançon Dance Company. They bagged the Overall Best Dance Performance Award, along with five gold medals and one silver.
An interpretation of “Little Swans”, which tells the story of four babies who wake up without their mother, by student-dancers Lois Laylo, Ghian Red Arboleda, Jaydee Jasa and Mark Juelar, under the guidance of Benilde Dance Chairman Christine Crame, was conferred Overall Best Dance Performance.
Gold medalists include Michael Patrick de la Torre’s performance of Track, assisted by Trainer Cir Garing; the pair of Jaydee Jasa, and Mark Juelar for Brothers, mentored by Crame; and the duo of Nicole Gutierrez and Ralph Nuguid for Jaded.
Silver was awarded to Martha Lelis for Sayah Adalah, with the choreography of fellow dance student Tonjie Mangao.
Adjudicators included founder and director of the Asia Pacific Dance Association Corinne Yee BCS, and principal dancer and lecturer of Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts Ko Chun Kwai.
The merits were granted according to the points obtained by the finalists during their presentations. Participants who achieved a score of 90 points and above received gold, silver for 85 to 89 points and bronze for 80 to 84 points.
The Hong Kong Dance Challenge Cup is an annual competition which promotes dance and cultural exchange. This year over 1,200 contestants from 600 teams, hailing from seven different countries, namely, Mainland China, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and South Korea, competed for the laurels.