It was a triumphant day for the Halili-Cruz School of Dance (HCSD), the Halili-Cruz School of Ballet (HCSB) and the Halili-Cruz Conservatory (HC Conservatory) for the staging of two shows (Summer Dance Showcase and Diversifiera) last August 7 at the Newport Performing Arts Theater in Newport World Resorts. The Halili-Cruz group is finally back onstage to showcase the talented and versatile students through the recital of participants for the Summer Dance Workshop (held at 2:00 PM)., and the much-anticipated dance concert called Diversifiera (at 7:30 PM).

Dance is a performing art; hence, a public concert is an invaluable experience for all HCSD students. Exposure by way of a dance concert and recital has been proven to contribute to the development of the student’s personality, self-confidence, artistic ability, dance technique and most importantly, discipline.  

Both shows showcased the versatility of the Halili-Cruz School of Dance students and let the audience witness how its dancers can excellently perform not just ballet but other dance genres as well – jazz, tap, hip hop, lyrical, contemporary and musical theater.  

In the concert, the audience experienced excerpts from the famous ballets – Raymonda and The Nutcracker, as well as some of the timeless Broadway hits – Grease, Mary Poppins, Waitress, Dream Girls, Anything Goes, Phantom of the Opera, Camp Rock, High School Musical and Crazy for You – exciting pieces restaged and choreographed by the HCSD faculty. Guest performer is the very talented Mr. Luke Hawkins from New York who will exhibit his expertise in tap. 

Halili-Cruz School of Dance is under the direction of its multi-awarded and multitalented Artistic Director, Ms Shirley Halili-Cruz and its equally outstanding Associate Directors, Grace Garalde-Perez and Anna Kathrina Halili-Cruz Bueno.

This is the fifth face-to-face concert of Halili-Cruz for 2022. All are different shows with different themes, concepts and dances. F2F concerts were presented in the Metropolitan Theatre and Newport Performing Arts Theatre.