THIRTEEN-YEAR-old Joanna Batioco used to dance only in events in her Gawad Kalinga (GK) village in GK North-A Bagong Silang, Caloocan City.
But on May 29, along with 50 other teenagers, she was able to fulfill her dream of dancing in front of thousands of people during the second season of GK: Ateneo Heroes Academy (GK AHA) grand recital on May 29 at the Henry Lee Irwin Theater.
The recital was entitled Pagtawid: Iba’t Ibang Landas, Iisang Hangarin. The teenagers sung, danced, and acted about the lives of the people behind GK, and how they continue to dream for the country.
GK AHA is a performing arts summer camp that was held from May 24 to 28 for GK teenagers ages 13-21.
More than a performing arts camp
GK AHA began with full-time GK workers Mike Go and Juno Alcantara. They dreamed of creating a summer camp for underprivileged youth, something that the youth from the upper- and middle-class usually experience.
“[Go and Alcantara] decided to make this summer camp for 50 teenagers of [GK] villages to give [them an] opportunity to hone their talents,” GK AHA organizer Michelle Solano said. “And if you go the [GK] villages, you will see [that] the kids are talented and they really love to sing and dance during their free time.”
Organizer Felice Caringal also said that GK AHA is more than just a performing arts camp. “That’s why it’s called Ateneo Heroes Academy because we’re really trying to bring out the leadership qualities, the Filipino values in all the participants, and not just the kids, but all the other people involved—the [facilitators and] the [Performing Arts Cluster] (PAC) orgs themselves.”
Macky Torres was a participant from last year’s GK AHA. Now he was one of the facilitators, sharing his experience from last year to the participants of Season 2.
“[Napakasaya] dahil natututo sila dahil sa amin (I feel happy that they [the kids] learn because of us [the facilitators].),” he said.
Talent and empowerment
This year, auditions were held in different GK villages in Metro Manila in order to select the 50 teenagers who will be part of GK AHA.
Batioco said that she joined GK AHA because she really wanted to dance.
“Gusto ko po ma-experience yung nagtuturo talaga sa amin ‘yung parang veterans. Gusto ko po madagdagan yung alam ko, (I want to experience being taught by the veterans. I want to expand my knowledge [in dancing],)” she added.
During the week, the teenagers underwent basic acting, dancing, and singing lessons from volunteers of the PAC orgs—Tanghalang Ateneo, Ateneo College Glee Club, Blue Repertory, and the Company of Ateneo Dancers.
Batioco said that the workshops were hard at first. “Nahihirapan po pero dinadaan ko na lang po sa tiyaga. (I had a hard time [at first], but I managed through hard work.)”
Some local artists also went to teach the teenagers during the workshops. Solano shared that actor Pen Medina came to teach the teenagers how to act, free of charge.
But Solano said that GK AHA did not just focus on the teenagers’ talents. “It’s also about building up your confidence because you are the future of this country.”
This was done through empowerment sessions at the end of the day. Local artists and speakers from GK talked to the teenagers about dreams, being a Filipino, and being a hero.
Inspiring heroism
At the end of the week, GK AHA was about inspiring the teenagers and the audience.
Solano said that GK AHA gave the teenagers the chance to showcase their talent.
“They won’t be thinking [that] only Ateneans can [perform]. When you show them [that they can do it], they’ll start dreaming bigger and they’ll start believing in themselves more.”
Caringal also said that through GK AHA, the teenagers were able to inspire other people. “So it’s not just [discovering what changed] within themselves, but we’re telling them, and we know [that] when people watch them… they’ll learn about being heroes also, and [they’ll] get inspired to do something for their country.”
