By Michele T. Logarta
Ashley Salonga, 13, a scholar at the School of Ballet Manila, wants to be Kitri in Don Quixote one day.
It is a role that is technically demanding and very difficult and one that all ballerinas dream of doing.
“She is lively, and naughty. I love the music and her dress. It is always red!” says Ashley.
Ashley saw her first Kitri danced by Lisa Macuja, prima ballerina and founder of BM. Lisa’s Kitri is seared in Ashley’s mind and she recalls, like all others in the audience probably did, watching Lisa and counting her do Kitri’s famous 32 fouettes – a quick whipping movement of the raised leg usually accompanying a pirouette – at the end of the ballet.
“I like Ma’am Lisa’s pirouettes and extensions!” says Ashley. Shyly, she lets on that she can do 16 fouettes now.
Ashley has been a student of ballet for ten years now. She started at the age of 3 at the Charmaine Studio of Performing Arts in Cavite City.
It was her grandmother who brought her to ballet school, shares Ashley’s dad James. The young girl took a liking to it and never stopped. She went to ballet school every Saturday and Sunday and attended every summer workshop.
In 2011, Ashley transferred to the School of Ballet Manila. She attends classes at BM every day, from Mondays to Saturdays, and commutes from Cavite to Pasay City where BM is.
The daily commute doesn’t exhaust her, she says. While James, who drives his daughter every single day, says laughingly: “Kaming mga parents ang napapagod (We, the parents, are the ones who get tired).”
“We transferred her to BM because she wanted to be serious in ballet. And we know that the best place for ballet is BM because it can provide her with the training she needed,” James explains their choice of dance school.
Ashley already knows what she wants, despite her young age. “I want to be a professional ballet dancer. I want to follow their steps and be like Ma’am Lisa.”
James and his wife Globelle take Ashley’s ambitions very seriously. “Nag-iisa siya so buhos na talaga (She is our only child and so we give her our all),” says James.
At St. Edward Integrated School in Cavite City, Ashley has to be in school at 8 a.m. and is dismissed at 4:15pm. Her father picks her up promptly and en route to BM, she changes out of her school uniform to ballet togs and eats merienda in the car. She is at BM from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. for classes while her father waits, along with other parents, for her to finish. They’re back home by 10:30 pm.
It’s a grueling schedule for both father and daughter.
James has left the corporate world and went into the trading business so he has control over his time and can be with his daughter when needed.
Ashley, on the other hand, has become an expert in time management. “Ginagawa ko na po ‘yung assignment ko sa school if I have free time, para wala na po akong gagawin na project and assignments pag nandito na po ako (I do my school assignments whenever I have free time so that they’re done right away. I don’t have to do any schoolwork when I am here in BM).”
Fortunately, James says, even with all that she does, Ashley is in the top five of her class. She will be in grade 8 this coming school year.
Ashley has been a half scholar at BM for the past two years now. As such, she enjoys 50% off the tuition.
“Lagi kaming nagbibiruan. ‘Yung ginastos namin from the start, sana nakapagpatayo ka na ng house and lot mo (We, the parents, always like to joke about expenses. What we have spent from the very beginning, we could have already bought a house and lot),” James reveals.
Half scholars and full scholars of BM perform at school recitals and occasionally at company shows where there is a need for a large cast.
Ashley was in Lola Basyang, in Sibol at Gunaw as a butterfly and in The Nutcracker as an eaglet and a soldier.
Last year was a banner year for Ashley.
For the first time, she joined a ballet competition – and an international competition at that. She was selected to be part of the BM delegation that competed in the 2015 AGP in Hong Kong. There, she competed in the Junior B division for 13-14 year olds.
Although she did not advance beyond the first round, it was an important event for both Ashley and her parents, who had accompanied her on the trip.
Ashley recounts that she was not only nervous and excited, but actually sick with fever. Prior to departing Manila, she had been hospitalized due to allergies and fever.
Before the actual competition, the dancers would have class onstage. She was already familiarizing herself with the stage and the spotlight but after ten minutes, she got dizzy. Ashley reveals that she fell and stumbled during practice.
Inspite of being ill, however, she managed to psych herself up. “Go lang ng go. Ang nasa mind ko po, kahit bumabagsak na po ang katawan ko, kelangan ko i-set up ang katawan ko na kaya ko ito. Magagawa ko (I was determined to keep going. Even if I felt like collapsing, I knew I needed to make my body do what I needed to do. I told myself I could do it).”
Ashley’s parents were a bundle of nerves.
“We were more nervous than her. Halos nangagatog kami… ang hirap panoorin mo ‘yung anak mo mag-compete. Mas kabado ka. Pero sayang ‘yung ticket namin eh. Also it was her first time to compete. We are more than proud. And even hanggang first round lang siya, for us, if ever na hindi siya manalo, training pa lang she’s already a winner, bonus na ‘yung award, if ever na makukuha niya. (We were more nervous than her. We were shaking. It is so hard to watch one’s child compete. You are more nervous. But we had to watch! We didn’t want to waste our tickets and, also, it was her first time to compete. We are more than proud. Even if she just reached the first round, she was already a winner, in terms of all the training that was invested in her. The award, if she did get it, would have been a bonus.)”
Ashley is currently training for this year’s AGP. She is rehearsing the same variation she did last year, the Swan Lake Pas de Trois, and another, the La Fille Mal Gardee Lise variation, that she didn’t get to perform then.
She says she will try harder this year. “Bawal magkasakit!” she says, is the lesson she learned from last year’s experience. Indeed, she can’t afford to get sick.
But, she will have to make sure to mind her academics as well.
“Sinasabi namin sa kanya na pag bumaba ang grades niya, we will stop ballet… eh mahal na mahal niya ang ballet so hindi niya pinapabaayan ang school niya na mag-suffer (We always tell her that if her grades go down, we will stop ballet. But she loves ballet so much and makes sure she doesn’t allow her grades to suffer),” says James.
Her parents do not doubt their daughter’s abilities at balancing school and ballet.
Ballet, James agrees, has taught Ashley the practice of discipline and skills that she needs in daily life. He observes that ballet teaches children to be obedient because they must follow instructions. Children who study ballet, he adds, may be deprived of their childhood and their playtime but he believes the sacrifice is worth it.
“Doon pa lang nakikita mo ‘yung disiplina nila sa sarili nila. Alam nila kung anong gagawin nila sa everyday life. Alam nila kung ano tamang kakainin nila para hindi sila magkasakit. Alam nila kung kelangan nilang matulog ng maaga. Gagawin nila ‘yun para lang makapag-ballet sila (You see their self-discipline. They know what to do in their everyday life. They know that they should eat properly so that they don’t get sick. They know that they should sleep early. All of this they will do so that they can pursue ballet),” James enumerates. “They don’t mind not having play time or not having Internet. Just as long as they can dance. Ballet saves us half of the parenting! You don’t have to make them do anything because they’ll do it on their own.”
On the cusp of her teen years, Ashley still has a lot of growing up to do. Meanwhile, she sees her path clearly. She is determined to become a member of BM’s main company. While that is her primary goal, she is astute as ever and has something else planned for the future. She wants to have a bakeshop-cafe. She’ll bake and sell cookies and cupcakes, including her favorite red velvet cupcakes.
As for her parents, they dream of the day Ashley’s dream comes true. Says James, “One day, we want to see her perform her favorite role, Kitri, in Don Quixote. Kasi doon siya masaya” (One day, we want to see her perform her favorite role, Kitri, in Don Quixote. Because that is what makes her happy).”