Candice Adea won first prize at Helsinki International Ballet Competition
Candice Adea won first prize at Helsinki International Ballet Competition
After the success of Lisa Teresita Pacheco Macuja-Elizalde who is the first Philippine-based prima ballerina and first foreign soloist who ever joined the Kirov Ballet in 1984, Helsinki International Ballet Competition, Finland - The most prestigious ballet competitions in the world hailed 25-year-old Candice Adea for the first prize on Senior Women’s Division. The competition drew 69 dancers from 28 countries, including USA, China, Japan, Finland, Canada, Italy and Cuba, among others.
In the finals, Adea performed Diana and Acteon pas de deux with Cordero for classical and Aku (choreographed by Alden Lugnasin) in contemporary. She was a crowd favorite early on, with bloggers raving about her performances.
The blog “Pointe Til You Drop” says, “Magical was no other than my early favorite, Candice Adea. Again. She danced her Diana and Actéon variation with such technical purity, exquisite expression and warmth. I think most of the audience has already fallen in love with her! Adea and her now non-competing partner had also one of the scariest over-head lifts, which had one of my back-stage friends praying for their safety! If Ms. Adea doesn’t place high, I should be very surprised.”
Adea is dubbed as the most successful Filipina in international ballet competitions-with the most wins and special prizes. On top of that is her record of being the first Filipino to be awarded First Prize in a top tier international ballet competition (composed of competitions in Varna, Bulgaria; Jackson, MI, USA; and Moscow, Russia), and of course she joins the list of Filipino ballet dancers who have received international recognition.
Jean Marc Cordero, the partner of Candice Adea also won a special jury award for Best in Pas de Deux Technique (partnering). Jean Marc is also a principal dancer of Ballet Philippines.
The competition’s prizes amount to over 55,000 euros. In addition, the judges may grant one or more choreography prizes, worth a total of 6,000 euros. The jury may also at their discretion award prizes not mentioned in the competition rules.
The Helsinki International Ballet Competition belongs to the cycle of International Ballet Competitions held under the auspices of the Federation of International Ballet Competitions (FIBC) in Jackson, MI (USA), Moscow, Russia, and Varna, Bulgaria.
The Competition is organized by the Helsinki International Ballet Competition Association in cooperation with the Finnish National Opera.
Adea and Cordero’s next performance:
Country : Philippines
When : June 24, 2 pm
Where: CCP Little Theater
They will also perform in Songson July 6-8 at the CCP Main Theater, where they will premiere a pas de deux by Augustus Damian III.
Source: ballet.ph
Additional Photos of her performances
