WHERE words fail, music speaks…and where communications fall short, body language conveys emotion. There is always a strange fascination in the interpretation of one’s emotional expression through dance. There is life in itself. The passionate intensity of every sway and glide breathes Mercurial swiftness to the feet, spirited grace to the fingertips, and bouncing pulsation to the hips.
To passionately dance is to allow one’s self to be under the enchanting spell of musical trance while being lost in the lofty reverie of enthusiasm, and consenting to be enslaved by its whimsical cadence.
“Dancing is the hidden language of the soul,” quoted American modern dancer and choreographer Martha Graham. “For a dancer, there’s reverence for such forgotten things as the miracle of the small beautiful bones and their delicate strength.”
Then there’s ballroom dancing, an aesthetic creativity involving smooth transitional locomotion of mutually conceived body language between partners interacting to the rhythm of musical beats in an intimately passionate level where every single movement manifests a compromising self expression.
Ballroom dancing is, dramatically, a romantic poetry in motion…a consistently quixotic execution where the winds of ecstatic trance simultaneously dances amid couple.
For zealously devout dancer like John D. Co, the first (ever) and only Filipino to bag the most coveted Grand Prize at the Blackpool Dance Festival (the world’s UK-based biggest and most prestigious international ballroom dance congress), ballroom dancing is a magical movement induced by music that makes one transcend on a suspended element… just like a falling dew from the tip of a leaf or a bird in flight with no bough to perch on.
Dancing, for multi-awarded premier dance guru John Co, was the farthest from his mind when he was growing up. Born in Manila on March 24, 1966 to Romeo and Marcelita Co, there never was anything of such art directly or indirectly associated to his current career since the lanky teener energetically excelled in a more physically exhausting activity— Track and Field. John used to be their school’s representative to different regional and intramural athletic competitions.
It was only during his high school days at the Jose Rizal High School Arellano University when his mother, an avid fan of the famed Aldeguer Sisters (a dancing tandem popular during the 60s) and herself an alumna of the dance duo’s school, enrolled him in Bayanihan Dance Group workshop. Her mother’s tremendous passion for dance paved way for all his siblings to undergo dance lessons.
He was kept concentrated with the Bayanihan Dance Group of the Philippine Cultural Dance in 1983 and further studied dance arts and Jazz under Maricar Borromeo in 1986.
There was a time when her mother’s wish was almost thwarted when he showed interest in stage acting but timely dodged by his growing hectic dance performances at the Folk Arts Theater, Manila Hotel, and various high-status venues where he conscientiously mastered Tinikling, Muslim suits especially Singkil, La Jota Manileña, and other significantly distinct regional dances.
“That was when I started to appreciate dancing. My serious involvements with this art indubitably boosted my confidence, broaden my knowledge on socialization, and developed my personality…aside, of course, from having the opportunity to go places and meet people,” was John’s well-expressed justification.
“Actually, I wanted to be a priest when I was young…having been influenced by my active participation in the Peace Crusaders of the Immaculate Heart in Malabon City where I was a member of the altar boys as a sacristan. Father Ricardo Mallare, our spiritual director and parish priest and founder of the crusade, trained us to be effective catechists and leaders of the black rosary. I thought that would lead me to be God’s servant but my parents were against the idea…not for anything but they said I could still serve Him in my own humble way other than entering priesthood,” John related with a tone of regret.
With the very essence of dancing already imbued into his system, John shifted to ballroom dancing… this time being influenced by his FEU college professor who was a ballroom enthusiast. To augment his limited finances, John worked as the manager of the ill-fated Ozone Disco for two years and as a dance instructor in Shangrila Hotel’s Zoo Disco.
The irresistible beacon of the growing demand for recording company’s promotional dance groups didn’t escape John’s curiosity. He joined Ivory Records’ Ivory Dancers (1985-1987), Alpha Recording Company’s Alpha Magic (1988-1989), WEA Recording Company’s WEA Dancers (1989-1991), and ABS-CBN’s Solid Gold Dancers (1991-1993).
To quench his gnawing thirst for career advancement, with the proliferation of professional ballroom instructors saturating the city’s mushrooming dance venues and master the art of Latin-American dances, John went on training in Hong-Kong (under Scott’s Dancing School, 1997-1998), Germany (under Roman Frieling and Pamela Jung, June 1998), Australia (under vPaul Green and Karen Ruffus, October-November 1998), England (under Paul Richardson and Lorna Dawson, May 1999), and Singapore (under Shawn Tay and Gladys Tay, February 2000) through the support of one of her aunts who, understandably, was a huge dance fanatic.
From 2003 to 2005 his quest for extensive training brought under the tutelage of famous international dance institutions: Myck Stillanos, Lorna Lee, Sammy Stopford, Barbara Cole, David Sycamore, Denise Weavers, and Paul Harris.
And as if to put to test what he had painstakingly mastered and prove his worth in the field, John gamely joined national dance competitions sans qualms and trepidation.
In 1997, John joined ABC Channel 5’s Eezy Dancing challenge and ended as the program’s Champion and moved on to the National Dancesport Championship where he grabbed the First Runner-up position in the Latin category. At the Hong-Kong International Ballroom Championship, during the same year, John easily won the Champion’s trophy in the Pre-Amateur category.
The profusion of honors and awards only left John craving for more. Every single trophy impulsively induced challenge… every winning moment, an ego-defying dare.
The following year, 1998, he entered the Hongkong Super Int’l. Ballroom Championship where he emerged 2nd Runner-up in the Amateur Divivison and closely followed by his consistent placements as semi-finalist in the 11th Lion City Dancesport Championship (Singapore, Open Asia and Open World), 5th Asia Pacific Dancesport Championship (Malaysia), and 1st ABDA Dancesport Championship (Singapore).
His being jilted in failing to win the coveted prize all the more fueled his aspiration that eventually ignited his tremendous yearning. Armed with more intensity and determination, John accepted every competition invitation with strapping fortitude and dedicated passion…and his preparations rewardingly paid off.
The indomitable danseur reaped four Championship trophies from: 1st Ranking Dancesport Council of the Philippines, Australia and Philippines Team Match, 2nd National Dancesport Championship (Manila), and 5th Int’l. Dancesport Championship (Malaysia-South East Asia).
The world’s 1st and most prestigious dance confab in the United Kingdom, the Blackpool Dance Festival held in the Empress Ballroom at the Winter Gardens, Blackpool, England, became an ambitious scheme for John. There seems no stopping him from attaining lofty dreams and reaching (almost) unreachable visions.
“That, for me, is an ultimate dream. Just getting into it is more than what every dancer wishes for… and God answered my prayers on my 3rd attempt,” John related with innate candidness.
John placed 1st Runner-up in the Senior Latin Category and 2nd Place in the Senior Latin Category, during his first (2003) and second (2004) attempts, respectively. And finally, in 2005, he was declared the Year’s Best in the Senior Latin Category.
The realization of his most obsessed dream inevitably made him decide to turn professional, a bona fide dance teacher, and a certified dance coach at Dance Vision Dance Studio (Manila, 2006-2013) while adjudicating local dance competitions such as the Phil-Chinese Chamber Ballroom Championships, BMG Ballroom Championships, Edna’s Cup, Cebu Dancesport Int’l. Ballroom Championships, and the 2nd MAKARA ballroom Championships.
It was an almost comfortably luxurious life for John when an unexpected episode turned his life awry. A self-declared influential female medical practitioner from New York he was requested to partner with sweet-talked and convinced him to try his luck in the Big Apple with a persuading compromise of a substantial fee as her personal dance partner. The tempting offer was enticing enough to turn down.
Although John was no stranger to American soil his coming on October 2013 was something that seemed to hold a big promise. He stayed with his supposed benefactor and guardian for almost three months but nothing of the pledged monetary compensation ever materialized. He was literally living in a chained-to-the foot existence with the way everything was maneuvered and directed by the doctor.
“I was only used and abused…used as her dance partner and social escort, abused as I lost all my human rights and personal privileges,” John softly voiced out. “I regret having granted her false influence. I was already seated on an easy chair but opted to squat on the floor…”
Fury suddenly erupted when the lady doctor accused John of gossip-mongering… that the latter was spreading rumors that he wasn’t being paid…and other false allegations just maybe to get rid of him. A long-time housemaid of the doctor took pity on John and gave him $50 to be able to leave for Queens where he has friends.
Walking out of the house was like being freed from a prison after a court reversal of a wrong verdict. It was like breathing a fresh spring air after being kept long without seeing the world outside.
But a good heart always begets a good reward. There always is an unswerving path for those who stride aimlessly with pure heart.
Months later, John received his EB-1 Green Card for Alien of Extraordinary Ability that gave him the opportunity to work, live independently, realign his priorities and rebuild his almost forsaken dream.
Currently, he is employed as a dance teacher and coach at Diva Dance Studio in Goshen, New York and Dance at Innerlight in Poughkeepsie, New York. John considers the kind-hearted Puerto Rican-American Lourdes Cruz, owner of the latter dance studio, as heaven-sent for she stood as his sponsor to be granted a green card.
“Life, after all, is still worth-living. Truly, there’s a silver lining behind those dark clouds,” John said with a sigh of relief. “In spite of everything that I have been through, my enthusiasm for life hasn’t diminished its truest zest and essence. I just took it with a well-calculated step and a gentle kick…then finished it with an abrupt turn!”
“I haven’t lost my focus and I know there’s something significant that awaits for me ahead. All I need is to hold on to my faith and utilize my God-given talent for the benefit of not only myself but also those who need it most.”
“Someday, before even my guiding light fades and loses its luster, I wish I could put up my own business… maybe, a dance studio or a restaurant. I love to cook after the dance. Won’t it be an exceptional sight to see me in my dancing shoes wearing a kitchen apron and a toque blanche?” said John in closing and gregariously punctuated it with a hearty laugh.
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