Straight A student from Cebu aces New York ballet intensive

Gisella Gandionco (right) and her fellow ABT intensive classmate pose in a arabesque position. (CONTRIBUTED PHOTO)

Ana Gisella Gandionco is just like any other teenager who is excited to enter university, except that she has danced with the best of the American Ballet Theater.

Gandionco, a 17-year-old PAREF Southcrest high-school graduate, took part in ABT’s three-week Collegiate Summer Intensive last month in New York City.

“ABT is one of the most prestigious ballet schools in the world, and it was a magical feeling being in ABT every morning, seeing that everyone had the exact same goal in mind: to get better in ballet,” Gandionco told Cebu Daily News.

Of about a thousand ballerinas from all over the world, who applied for the intensive, and thousands more who took part in physical auditions held in several states in the US, Gandionco was accepted based on a video audition she sent from the Philippines.

“I never expected to get in. I’ve been a ballerina for as long as I can remember and it was such an amazing experience, receiving the letter of acceptance and just walking to ABT every morning,” she said.

Gandionco was the youngest in class. Yet she landed the merged lead roles of Kitri and the Dryad Queen from Don Quixote for their final show.

Having the lead role amongst 50 other older ballerinas motivated her to work harder, she said.

“I wanted to feel like I deserved the role over all these other girls. The intensive was truly ‘intense’ and it is only here in ABT where every ballet dance felt like it made sense,” she said.

Gandionco has been a company member of Balletcenter Cebu and has been studying ballet for 12 years, or since she was four years old.

She has danced several lead roles for the company, the most recent being “Cinderella,” in Balletcenter’s Cinderella production in 2014.

After years of being in ballet for kids, she moved on to pointe classes for older students in Balletcenter. There, she vowed to be the best ballet dancer she could be.

Gandionco managed to balance school work and her ballet lessons. She graduated as a straight A student while attending extra classes in ballet.

She has also joined three national summer intensives in the Philippines with Ballet Philippines and Steps Dance Studio in Manila.

“Being a professional ballerina has always been my dream,” she said.

Her love for ballet began when she attended her first class following the footsteps of her older sisters, Lia and Tanya Gandionco.

Her two sisters stopped ballet when they proceeded to college. But she promised herself she will continue training even when she is in college.

“Ballet is such an amazing art and discipline, and there is so much you can learn about your body and yourself when you take ballet seriously,” she added.

Knowing the pressures that come with college, Gandionco believes that continuing ballet training will help her achieve balance in her life as a student.

“I don’t see myself stopping dance anytime soon. I’m just getting started,” she said.