13 August 2004 – Secretary of Foreign Affairs Delia Domingo-Albert congratulated the members of the Maquiling Ballet, the resident Ballet Company of the Philippine High School for the Arts, who gave command performances at Hanoi's venerable Opera House during the vaunted ASEAN Culture Week 2004 in Hanoi, Vietnam.

“Our young performers have done our country proud once more.  Our Ambassador to Vietnam, Ambassador Vic Lecaros, told me that the Maquiling Ballet almost instantly won their audience over and that center stage at the Hanoi Opera house might as well have been reserved exclusively for them. I congratulate them for their skill and for showcasing Filipino talent to our ASEAN neighbors,”Secretary Albert said.

“These young and dedicated artists do our country proud and are important part of our cultural diplomacy efforts,” the Secretary added.

The youthful Filipino dancers displayed understated elegance and admirable poise that belied their tender years as they performed "Pitong Alay" (loosely, "Seven Offerings”), a 17-minute number by famed Filipina choreographer Agnes Locsin.  Taking a cue from the ASEAN Culture Week's theme "ASEAN Arts: Tradition and Modernity," Ms. Locsin played music by Pinikpikan, combined it with the ballet idiom and came up with yet another highly-applauded number.  Ms. Locsin has been involved in the ASEAN cultural scene for over a decade.

The Maquiling Ballet company gave the opening night audience, which included Vietnamese Prime Minister Phan Van Khai, a foretaste of their capabilities with an abbreviated, 7-minute version of the "Alay" on Sunday, 08 August.  They followed this up with the full-length version 2 days later.  It was Prime Minister Phan Van Khai who originally proposed the idea of an ASEAN Culture Week during the Brunei Summit in 1999.

It took the Filipino dancers only a few seconds to win the audience over during their performances.  They slid and flowed onto the stage, filling it from both wings and, from there, danced their way into the hearts of the responsive audience from all ten ASEAN member countries.

After Tuesday’s gala performance, Philippine Ambassador Vic Lecaros and the entire Embassy staff, who came in force together with their families, joined the guests at the Opera House lobby and answered questions from fellow theatergoers. END.