Ballerina stamps class in dancesport

CEBU, Philippines - Ballet and ballroom dancing are all forms of dance, albeit with a completely different styles.

But one can excel in both.

This proved true for the 14-year-old Kristel Ivy Boctil Evangelista, a ballerina who made waves in dancesport competition of the 2017 Central Visayas Regional Athletic Association (CVIRAA) Meet last week in Naga City, Cebu.

Evangelista learned the ropes of ballet at the tender age of three at the Ballet Center in Ayala Center Cebu. She previously studied at the Philippine Christian Gospel School, but is now with Sto. Niño National High School in Talibon, Bohol where her father Dave is a three-termer councilor. Her mother Mary May is an accounting staff.

Evangelista religiously performed the artistic dance of  ballet while in Cebu, but her transfer to Bohol last school year prompted her to shift to dancesport, the competitive side of ballroom dance that is now recognized by the International Olympic Committee.

Even though new to the sport, Evangelista showed a lot of promise. She was champion in dancesport from the zone meet to the provincial meet of Bohol that punched her a ticket to this year’s CVIRAA tilt.

Evangelista did not disappoint. In a strong field of entries mostly from host Cebu, she stood her ground with poise and grace

on the way to winning silver medal in Latin Standard category with partner Jay Ronald Auztero in the annual sports conclave that serves as the qualifying stage for the region’s representatives to the Palarong Pambansa in Antique this summer.

More than making it to the podium, Evangelista felt happy and proud for executing a creative performance that earned her the adulation and made her the darling of the crowd. (FREEMAN)