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By Perry Gil S. Mallari
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Photo by
Rene Dilan |
Like iron wrapped in silk, Anna Marie Periquet
exudes both grace and power. Endowed with the poise of a ballerina
and the aura of a resolute leader, the 42-year-old Periquet is among
the most distinguished and accomplished women in the country today,
having proven her mettle both in public service and business arena.
In an exclusive interview with The Sunday Times Magazine, she
narrates her recent discovery of the discipline of dance sport and
how it had a deep and encompassing effect on the physical, emotional
and spiritual aspects of her life. Always the achiever, Periquet
conquers the boardroom and the ballroom with equal ease.
Serendipitous discovery
It was serendipity that led Periquet to discover
dance sport. “I was nursing a broken heart last year when my aunt
invited me to a ballroom dancing event to cheer me up,” she
narrates smiling then adds, “A dance expert who happened to be
present commended my form saying she knew from a glance that I am a
ballet dancer.” Further accolades and encouragement eventually
convinced Periquet to pursue professional instruction in dance
sport. She started training in the Latin Discipline category under
Edna Ledesma. Ledesma, who was a dance sport champion in Blackpool,
England, eventually, became her mentor in the sport. “After my
third lesson, Edna admonished that I’ve got what it takes to
succeed in dance sport,” she says.
Periquet’s proficiency in dance can be
attributed to her solid foundation in the art. She started training
in classical ballet at the age of three in 1968 under Totoy de
Oteyza and Inday Gaston Mañoza of the Harirarya Dance Company. For
the next 27 years, Periquet pursued dance passionately both as a
performer and a teacher covering such areas as classical ballet, tap
dance, aerobics and modern jazz.
Dance as therapy
Periquet’s love affair with dance goes beyond
the art’s frivolous and flashy façade. She gave credit to her
recent involvement in dance sport for learning how to strike a
balance in her life and for the physical and emotional healing she
experienced. Describing the helter-skelter phase of her life three
years ago she bemoans, “I worked even on Sundays then.”
Periquet discloses that prior to her involvement
with dance sport, she was a step away from developing the first
stage of colon cancer, “My medical examination revealed that I
have polyps in my colon,” she says. Looking back at that scary
episode in her life, she believes it was the grace of God and her
participation in dance sport that has led to her healing.
Elaborating the sound medical rationale on the therapeutic effects
of dancing, Periquet points out, “It brings out your happy
cells.” She is pertaining to the scientific fact that emotional
well-being has a direct effect on physical health.
Periquet remembers with a sense of awe the
healing that have resulted from the new sense of joy she derived
from dance sport, “I was retested after a while and my doctor was
amazed that the polyps in my colon were completely gone,” she
relates spiritedly. It was one great battle won for Periquet not
knowing that another great trial looms on the horizon.
Never say die
In January last year, she sustained a serious
spinal injury due to a bad fall. “I can sense that my doctor
wanted to tell me that I won’t be able to dance again the way I
used to,” she narrates, continuing, “The injury so debilitated
me that they literally taught me how to walk again.” Through sheer
tenacity, Periquet managed to come back to her feet after four
months of intensive physical therapy and orthopedic rehabilitation.
She surprised her physician not only by being able to dance again
but also by competing and winning in both local and international
dance sport competitions.
Periquet came back to the competition scene in
September 2007 with her partner Larry Iguidez Jr., a noted champion
in the local dance sport scene. “Larry was such a great partner,
teacher and mentor,” she attests. On that same month, Periquet and
Iguidez won the silver medal in the Latin Senior Female category in
the International Dance Sport Federation Open to the World
Competition. She consequently emerged as champion in the Female
Latin category in the Fifth Invitational Sapphire Ball (Close Asia)
Competition. The two victories were followed in October by the
duo’s bagging of the championship title of the Senior Female Latin
category in the Dance Sport Council of the Philippines National
Ranking and Competition. The latter was a feat to be repeated;
Periquet and Iguidez again captured the championship in the same
contest and category in March 2008.
Slaying giants
In April, Periquet’s faced her toughest
challenge as a dance sport competitor when she and Iguidez joined
the International Millenium Open to the World Dance Sport
Competition in Singapore. She relates that the contest was
participated by the best of the best in the global dance sport
community, among them the Russians. Periquet recalls a comment made
by a colleague prior to the competition that says, “It’s either
you get excited by the sight of the tall Russians or got scared and
back out of the contest. Cracking a confident smile, she continues,
“I’m always been a fighter all my life, so I got excited.”
The Filipino duo pulled off a splendid
performance proving to the crowd that height is not necessarily
might in dance sport. They bagged the silver medal in the 4-dance
Latin category and were declared champions in the 3-dance Latin
category.
In addition to her Filipino instructors Ledesma
and Michael Mendoza, Periquet also gave credit to her foreign
coaches British Paul Harris and Italian Luca Fani for the
advancement she achieved in dance sport by leaps and bounds in such
a short period of time. She narrates that Harris was more into the
interpretative and emotional content aspects of dance sport, “His
usual admonition was, “You’ve got to tell the judges and the
audience your story through your movements,” she explains.
Reality behind the illusion
Periquet also reveals the demanding physical
aspect of dance sport: “You can learn a routine in a week but it
would take months before the moves would be ingrained in your muscle
memory.” She explains that it is muscle memory and not the
intellect alone that dictates the body to perform motions that seem
similar on the surface but have subtle differences only
professionals notice. Periquet’s pre-competition conditioning,
which usually takes 2 to 3 hours a day, includes brisk walking,
running, weight lifting and flexibility training. This was
supplemented by a nutritional regimen and proper hydration. “You
can’t show fatigue in competition because it’s one thing that
the judges are constantly on the look out for particularly after you
have performed a number of ‘heats’ or routines,” she
stresses.
Spiritual undertone
Periquet also finds no problem in grafting
spirituality with her chosen sport: “Each time before we perform,
we make it a point to pray and offer the routine to God.” When
asked if she consider dance as a form of worship, she says,
“Yes,” then adds lightheartedly, “Except of course in rumba,
which is a love dance.” Periquet opines that Filipinos have a very
strong chance of winning the gold should dance sport be included in
the Olympics. Backing up her statement is the fact that Pinoys made
a slew of victories in the dance sport event of the last Southeast
Asian Games held in Cebu. But Periquet admits that the Philippines
has a lot of catching up to do considering the amount of support
that dance sport athletes in other countries receive from their
governments. “Most competing Filipino dance sport athletes now are
just relying on corporate, sponsorship and that’s not easy to
find.
Born of her passion for dance sport and the art
of dance in general, Periquet is currently gunning for an ambitious
project —a fitness and wellness center not only for people who
want to become dancers but also for those who wants to live a
healthy life. She envisions tie-ups with local government units to
bring her advocacy down to the barangay level. “I believe that
through dance and fitness I can keep young people from bad elements
and encourage them to lead more productive lives,” she intones.
Indeed for Anna Marie Periquet, the art of dance is a celebration of
life.
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