Candice Adea’s swan song that will not die
The year 2005 was the start of a massive exodus of Filipino talents from local theater, dance music and other related arts as Hong Kong Disneyland first opened its gates. Suddenly, Filipino talents—who would shine brightly, as expected, in the Hong Kong showcase, given our natural performance savvy that only gets better with extensive training—had gone abroad, leaving a vast, arid desert among local live performance companies. The attraction of performing in HK Disneyland, with its high salaries, once again meant losing our Filipino identity to a cartoon mouse.
Performance fees for local talents have, ironically, been put on the back burner despite the well-honed performance training these artists undergo. One reason is that sponsors, out to promote their corned beef or toothpaste, prefer quick-fix investments by hiring pretty faces with nothing much to offer except their smiles while holding the product. It goes without saying that the arts then suffer, especially among professional dancers whose chosen field, for some reason, is the hardest to push of all the performing arts.
Candice Adea was one of those dancers who decided to stick it out in the ballet world, notwithstanding the low pay. As a new member of Ballet Philippines, signing up just two years before the Disneyland diaspora, she was a fresh graduate of the Philippine High School for the Arts, majoring in ballet. She kept on dancing while finishing her studies at the College of St. Benilde, earning her bachelor’s degree in performing arts, majoring in dance in 2008. In 2010, she was promoted to principal dancer, firing up her spirit to join international dance competitions, winning herself a string of awards.
In 2010, she won the silver medal at the 2010 USA International Ballet Competition; 2011 witnessed her take home a bronze medal at the Seoul International Ballet Competition; and 2012 was capped off by perhaps the biggest win of all: a gold medal at the Helsinki International Ballet Competition, considered the “Olympics of Dance.” Apart from that, she bagged the Maris Liepa Award for Outstanding Artistry and Lead Role in a Russian Performance Award.
Between competitions, she was dancing lead roles for Ballet Philippines’ seasons. Her stage presence and charm were always outstanding on the Philippine stage. Among her stunning performances were in Marius Petipa’s Diana and Acteon, which she chose to dance in international competitions, where her perfectly stable pauses en pointe and her demeanor passed the scrutiny of the international judges.
In 2012 she left the local dance scene after passing auditions for Hong Kong Ballet, where she came in as a soloist, and after a few years, moved on to the West Australian Ballet in Perth, also as a soloist. It was while dancing with this company that she decided to hang up her pointe shoes after three decades of dancing just a few months ago.
Reminiscing over her journey in dance, Candice looks back on her experiences as she defines her most enjoyable role, one that is unlike what other ballerinas of her stature would choose: a maître d’ in the piece entitled Gainsbourg, a contemporary piece by Adam Alzaim, involving more acting and speaking than dancing, allowing her “to tap into a side of myself as an artist that I hadn’t fully explored yet” where it demanded her to engage directly with the audience with improvisations that gave her interpretative freedom. “If I ever got the chance to do something like that again, I would jump at it in a heartbeat,” she says. Of the classics, she points to Juliet from Romeo and Juliet, a role that has Juliet shifting from innocence, growth and pain to, ultimately, a tragic death, running the gamut of emotions while taking on the choreographic challenge.
Recognizing her feats and achievements in dance, Alice Reyes Dance Philippines (ARDP) has invited Candice to dance the lead in National Artist for Dance, Alice Reyes’ riveting masterpiece, Amada, based on National Artist for Literature, Nick Joaquin’s short story “Summer Solstice,” which deals with unequal treatment between males and females; but beyond that it invokes how society’s norms can prove restrictive, almost oppressive, leading to inequality and, to an extent, the suppression of personal desires. The role of Amada demands her character transform from a docile, dominated woman to one who is free to express herself and her individuality. Partnering with her will be one of ARDP’s lead dancers, Ricmar Bayoneta, whose strong, energetic dancing style coupled with his obvious talent in acting will lend itself to the dramatic demands of the choreographed role. The season opener is Pagdiriwang: Alaw sa Sayaw at Sining, aptly titled as a celebration on so many levels, apart from Candice’s triumphant exit from the dance world.
“Despite the challenges of limited resources, it’s truly inspiring to see how Filipino artists continue to shine and succeed globally,” she says, adding, ”Now, as I am invited to perform again, I’m filled with awe. Who could have imagined that I would have the incredible opportunity to share another farewell performance, this time alongside childhood friends and colleagues, in the warmth of my home country?”
Candice points out that, through all the episodes of her dance journey, she has taken strength from the goodness of God in her life, transforming not just the way she looks at ballet, but also life itself. “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters,” she says, quoting the book of Colossians. “This shifted my perspective entirely. Stepping onto the stage became so much bigger to me… it became a form of worship, a dance of gratitude to God for the gift He has given me… When I perform, it’s not my light that shines, but His.”
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Watch Pagdiriwang: Alay sa Sayaw at Sining on April 4 and 5, with 2:30 and 7:30 p.m. shows at Maybank Theater, BGC. For reservations, call: 0967-153-6173, or visit Ticketworld.
