Gee!

Before I enrolled at the Turning Point School of Ballet, I naturally researched about the school and its staff. I found minimal information through the internet: Ms. Mylene Saldana used to dance with Ballet Philippines.

After enrolling and about two classes, I asked my classmates. They gave me a little more information about our instructor: She's been a professional dancer since the age of 14 and has trained extensively under various teachers and in various schools locally and abroad. Her mother was a ballerina also. Our school had a campus in Makati and in Cebu. She is also a staff member of other schools in Metro Manila and in Davao.

I was pretty impressed and awed by then. I had no specifics but, shucks, look at her! She's incredible!

Then I got this weird idea to google her again tonight, a sort of break from keeping up with the news about our national crisis. And I found an article published in March 2005. And I got a whole lot of specific information:

"MYLENE S. SALDANA

Mylene started dancing at the age of 6 under the guidance of her mother, Solita Sta. Maria Saldana. In 1987, she was offered a scholarship by the Cultural Center of the Philippines dance school in their summer workshop. Thereafter, she began to take up dancing in earnest. She enrolled at the Radaic School of Dancing (St. Theresa’s College, Q.C.) where she received rigorous training in classical ballet technique using the Royal Academy of Dancing (London) syllabus. There she received outstanding results from an international network of trained examiners. A year later, she was accepted as an apprentice by the Dance Theater Philippines (UP Diliman) and a company member the following year, dancing major roles in the company’s repertoire.

Mylene joined the Philippine Ballet Theater (Meralco Building, Ortigas Avenue, Pasig City) in 1990 and became soloist from 1991-1992. While with the company, she was personally coached by Lisa Macuja-Elizalde and became a finalist in the 1991 3rd Asia Pacific Ballet Competition in Tokyo, Japan where she competed with 300 contestants all over Asia-Pacific.

In 1993, Mylene was a recipient of a scholarship from the Atlanta Ballet School (Georgia, USA). Due to her superb and spectacular performance, she was asked by the director of the Atlanta Ballet Company to be a part of their Educational Outreach Program. In the summer of the same year, she was once again awarded a scholarship from the Joffrey Ballet School (New York, USA) and had the privilege of working with the best teachers and choreographers around the world. She was also invited as guest artist with the Atlanta South Dance Company, Clayton Ballet Festival Company, Georgia Ballet and Agnes Scott University.

Mylene is a bonafide institutional member of the Association of Ballet Academies, Philippines (ABAP), a registered teacher of the Australian Conservatoire of Ballet (ACB), and attendee to the Philippine Ballet Syllabus Years I-VIII teacher’s seminar and an independent dance artist for Dance Forum, a contemporary dance company.

Mylene has a wide teaching and choreographing experience in renowned schools in Manila namely: Turning Point School of Ballet at Celebrity Club (Director), Makati Sports Club, Pink Toes Center for the Performing and Musical Arts Antipolo (Ballet Head) and Fairview, O.B. Montessori Center, St. Stephen College, Radaic School of Classical Ballet, Miriam College, Assumption College-San Lorenzo, Child’s Place, Multiple Intelligence International School and Brent International School. She is also a visiting teacher and choreographer at the Royeca Ballet School in General Santos City and Davao City."

Oh wow! That's my teacher?!